Kuunku

Willow Springs
11-18-07
Novice Open Heavy Weight
Race Report


I won't bore you with all the details......

1st Session:

I went out to just loosen up and clear my head, and make sure all my referance points were in the same spots. When I came in I just didn't feel right....I don't know if it was the bike or me...I just felt uncomfortable!

Times

2:01.201
1:38.405
1:36.208
1:35.263
1:34.404

So I tried to shake it off and go out for the next session.....


Session 2

I only went out for a couple laps, and the faster I went the worse I felt...I didn't know what was wrong, I thought maybe I was just having a bad day. Then I started thinking...I was running the slicks from Daytona, and I thought that might have something to do with it. Jim Cox told me to be real careful on the left side of the tire because the "Daytona" tire is very hard on the left side.

So I mounted up another set of Dunlop NTec slicks and got myself ready for the next session.

Times

1:43.923
1:35.408
1:34.530
1:35.922

Session 3

I went out and right away I felft better ...it had to be the tires! So I just started to relax and put down some good laps. I was getting some chatter in my front end entering T2(there's some little ripples there). It wasn't a big deal, but I was losing feel in the front end when it was happening.
I ended up turning a 1:32.4.

I finished up the session feeling pretty good!

Times

1:58.378
1:38.298
1:34.671
1:34.324
1:33.295
1:33.080
1:32.427

Session 4

This session was more dedicated to set up, I tried to realy pay attention to what the bike was doing. Lenny(from Race Tech) and I made some compression and rebound changes to try to get rid of the "chatter" I was feeling going into T2.....It was getting better!

Times

1:49.146
1:39.821
1:35.494
1:33.487
1:32.823

Session 5

Lenny and Dave gave me a lechure about how I don't practice hard enough.....

And after thinking about it....I hate to say it but there right!

So this session I was going to go out and try to put down some hard laps!

The bike felt better and better every time I went out.
especially in this session. I was very happy because I went out and turned lap times that were my "race pace" times from Aug.

1:45.127
1:34.746
1:33.324
1:33.049
1:33.009
1:33.432
1:31.861
1:31.872

Sunday Morning Session

The bike felt great so in the sessions in the morning I just worked on my corner speed in T2(since the chatter was gone...Thanks Lenny), and my transition from T8-T9 and my exit of T9 on to the straight.

Times

1:58.745
1:38.681
1:34.341
1:34.655

Sunday Morning Session #2

As I got more comfortable with my transition in T8-T9 and my exit of T9, my times reflected it.

Times

1:53.221
1:34.289
1:33.590
1:34.683
1:32.371
1:32.230

It was race time(after I waited all day....race 17)

I'm gridded on the second row, all the way to the left. It's sweet because they grid 4, 3, 4, 3, etc. So I have a clean shot at T1, in between the 2 guys on the front row in front of me.

The flag drop's...and I get a ok start..not great! I'm hanging with the guy's on the front row and all of a sudden, everybody park's it on the brakes! I go shooting out of the group I was in. I take the inside line and keep it pinned till the last second, get hard on the brakes and there are 2 guy's comitting to the corner above me...so I let them go in front of me.

I'm third coming out of T1....I almost ass-pack the guy in second going into T2 when he got on the brakes early! I wasn't expecting him to do that so it messed up my drive into T2 and I couldn't pass him right away....After that, all I remember is I passed him going into T3 on the brakes and I think another guy came around the outside of us. So I made a pass and stayed in 3rd!

Another rider went into 1st and I tried to get around the guy in 2nd. It was my own fault that I didn't pass him sooner...I was staying too close to him, and when he got on the brakes, it scewed me up! I never set him up properly.

I can see the guy in 1st starting to pull away, and now I'm getting anxious. So it takes me a lap to pass the guy in front of me. I made the pass exiting T4 down the hill on the inside of T5, once I got by, I pinned it down the back staight and into T8. At this point the guy in 1st was pretty much gone but I didn't want the guy I passed to catch me. I ended up putting down my fastest lap ever at willow....1:29.243...2nd Place!

This weekend was one of the best I've had since I started racing. At the track this weekend it was all business.....and it paid off big time. After every session Lenny(Race Tech) put me through a debrief corner by corner, and it made me think about everything in detail. When it came time for my race, I had the confidence, and feel to just go out and race and have fun.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Lenny from Race Tech(my bike felt like it was on f%$#n rails, Jim Cox(Dunlop/Jim Cox Racing)for setting me up with the soft NTec rear for the Race, and Dave for pushing me and giving me the confidence to go faster!

Thanks for reading.......

Here is a few pics from the race.......

Attached Images

	CP2_4958 (Medium).JPG (99.8 KB, 5 views)
	CP2_5004 (Medium).JPG (71.6 KB, 7 views)
	CP2_5158 (Medium).JPG (47.3 KB, 8 views)
	IMG_6117 (Medium).JPG (74.6 KB, 5 views)
	IMG_6123 (Medium).JPG (69.2 KB, 6 views)

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Jay fooey

Great write up! It's getting me excited, because I plan to get out there next month and do the NRS!

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Kuunku

Nice, you going out at Willow or WERA west(Calif. Speedway)?

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Jay fooey

Willow Springs ...

I'm just not very comfortable with doing WERA west just yet, being I've only have been to buttonwillow 2 times, LVMS 1 time, and the rest 0 times. Pretty amazing the closest track to me "California Speedway" is only less than 40 miles away and I've never riden it. Been there a lot to hang with friends in the pits...

My main track experience has been Pahrump & WSIR.

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Kuunku

You gotta get out to Ca. Speedway, it's a blast!

I've only been to Willow 3 times(for race weekends), and I did a trackday at Puhrump earlier in the year, that's a fun track!

Vegas is a great track, I just wish there were a few more fast corners there. I went there twice last year.

What kinda times you doing at Willow?

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Jonny Rocket

Are you guys coming out for the December round?

Kuunku

I think I am, Dave is not. We are doing some suspension testing at Fontana in early Jan, and racing wera west there a couple weeks later and he wants to focus on that.

My wrist is still busted from a MX crash a few weeks ago, so if I come out I think I'm just coming out Sun......do my two practice sessions and race through the pain. I'm probably not going to be 100% sure until about TUES.

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SPEED

Awesome!! Congrats on your lowest time ever at Willow!!

Thanks for sharing.

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Jay fooey

1:34's on a basically stock bike, no suspension work.

but I plan on tracking out this bike or buying a race bike before the January race weekend.

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Kuunku

Sweet, those are some good times on a stock bike. How many times have you been to Willow, and where are you riding next?

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WERA WEST #113
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