I arrived at the track late Friday afternoon, turned a few wrenches on the bike real quick then passed through tech inspection. I had the bike on rain tires at the time for transport since all my race takeoffs are on the street bikes or sold. It was quit hysterical getting the "why you got on rain tires, you know something we don't...ha ha ha!", I must say it got funnier each of the 40-something times it was said to me within about an hour.

So Saturday morning my tire distributor once again dropped the ball, leaving out the whole part that he would not be at the track, nor mentioning who would be there with my tires and support. After being up since 6:30 I finally tracked down the tires around 9 when someone said to me, I think I saw that brand over at Underground. I went over there and spoke with Rick who also was not informed of anything by our distributor, so we're both going to work on addressing that issue this week so we don't run into these problems yet again. Rick himself was a pleasure to deal with, changed the tires correctly, quickly and even set my pressures correctly and was sure to tell me where he set them and ask if I wanted them set at anything different. I'm not mentioning the brand of tires intentionally, since I'd like to have the problems corrected before I support a company, or more specifically a distributor who just can't seem to get his sh%t together.

After squaring away that whole fiasco, I had just enough time to get out for my second practice, good thing since it had been a while since I had seen the track and I couldn't make it for any trackdays, or Friday open practice. The bike, which was smooth as silk tearing around the north and south course at VIR was all over the place in practice, there was chatter hard on the breaks coming into the corners, the front was diving, the rear was way too soft, and the bike didn't settle down until far later into the corner entrance than I was comfortable with. I spoke with Peter Kates at GMD Computrack Boston at the riders meeting and had me bring the bike right over and made a bunch of adjustments to the suspension to get me through the weekend. Many thanks to him for all the time he spends helping me out, even when he's up to his eyes with work. At the end of the weekend I decided to finally send the bike home with him and get some real work done. I figured with him giving me such great support for free, I'll get something amazing for dropping him a few hundred bones.

Well after the lunch break and suspension adjustments I found myself on pre-grid. And I remembered just how much I missed this. This is my first season as an amateur and I've been very excited about it, hoping to win at least one championship. I've pre-registered for the whole season this year so I had great grid positions in all of my races. My first race, middleweight supersport went very well. I got a decent start as did Athena, I had to go far outside in turn one to try to get the holeshot but ended up on some very bumpy pavement and had to back off a bit through turn 1A. I followed behind her for a few laps running at a decent steady pace but with some speed to spare. Just about the time we started to catch site of an expert racer lagging behind their pack I was able to shoot by Athena in turn three and take lead of the race. I held first until a lap and a half from the checkered flag but was passed and was not able to pass back, for the win, but did stay right on that riders tail. On the last lap of the race Jeff Wood and Scotty Greenwood lapped by me at warp speed in turn 9 on either side. It was pretty amazing to see those guys go by just a few inches away from me, I still can't believe I'm out there racing the same track at the same time as them.

Got a quick break and it was time to get back out for my next race, heavyweight superbike. I got a great start and lead the race from for the first 4 - 5 laps. After two laps I could hear a racer close behind me and could see his shadow (or maybe it was mine?) out of the corner of my eye coming through a couple of the turns. Following me up past turn 7 I got spun up the rear tire pretty good, but the bike held it's line and stayed planted, thanks again to Peter Kates for those settings, and those great tires. Then he passed me, it was the same rider from my previous race. This time he was able to put a bit of distance on me, I think I may have backed off just a little after the slide, then got back up to pace. I ended up with a second place finish and a laptime of 1:19:30, only two tenths of a second of pace from my personal best from last season. He was running a pace somewhere in the mid 18's, though it may not seem much to some of you non-racers, one second or even half a second on pace makes a huge difference on the racetrack.

I got a nice long rest after those races before going out for the big race, the Dash for Cash, last race for Saturday, middleweight GP...'the money race'. I got another great start, took the lead in the race and was moving at a great pace. I lead the race for about 4 laps, when I was passed by that very same rider coming out of turn 12. Jim fish also pulled next to me but I was able to push by him down the front straight and put a bit more distance on him with some late breaking into turn one. I was on a great line and feeling very confident through the turn when I felt the rear tire sliding and spinning. The front tire stayed in line perfect and i was sure I could save it. I had my knee on the ground and was really pushing it hard to try to pick the bike back up but it just wouldn't grab traction and get back in line, then I heard some metal parts scraping and decided it'd be a good idea to let this thing go and take my medicine. I slid for a while on the asphalt which didn't bother me at all, but hitting the dirt pushed my bad ankle a little further than it liked and i ended up with some repairs to make and a very sore left side. When i picked up the bike I had a flat rear tire, and figured when I had the bike that low the bead eventually jumped off causing it to go flat, it turns out the next morning when I took the wheel off to get a new tire mounted I found a big hole clean through about the diameter of a pen cap. I must have picked up a screw or nail on the track unfortunately. That explains why I wasn't able to save the crash.

I got a fresh rear tire mounted in time to make my second practice session. I scrubbed the tire in at a pretty slow pace and my ankle was really sore so I didn't push a very fast pace. I decided right there to take it easy in may afternoon races. I got out for the heaveyweight supersport race started with a good grid but put in a horrible start. I was not in any condition to go out 100% and I didn't want to push past it and get myself or anyone else hurt. I went into turn one in about 8th place, and after a few laps i picked up a spot and worked on the next. I wasn't able to make a pass before the end of the race, another lap and I would have had it, but I was about a foot off of the next racers rear tire when we came across the finish line. I think I ended in 6th or 7th place, but in sub-par condition I was satisfied with that. Another quick break and I was back out on the grid for the unlimited GP race. I got a decent start, going into the first turn in 3rd place and made a quick move to get into second and give chase to the leader. He had a bit too much distance on me and continued to pull away, more so since I was off my pace and still not up for going close to 100%. I pushed that race at a safe and comfortable pace without trying to be a superhero and ended in second place by a longshot.

Overall it was a great weekend to kick off the season, and I'm happy with my performance, all except for the crash, which can't really be blamed on anyone. Great to see everyone up at the track, and great to be back out there racing. I'm off to deals gap in N.C. next week for vacation and then it's straight back to the track. I certainly have a lot of work to do at the gym, not having any free time over the winter with school I'm far out of shape and need to get back to the gym. Mostly upperbody which is extremely sore today, so hopefully I can get some training done on that, and get my ankle to heal up a bit so i can get out there hard at the next races and try to turn those second place finishes into firsts.

 

good report jay!

sounds like a blast and i wish i was racing...got something in the works for the future potentially, but i'm not holding my breath.

lap times getting down there i see! those last couple seconds are the hardest earned and i dont know how scotty/jeff/etc get past the 14's. 18's are pretty fast, 16's will win races in Jr. perty good for this early in the season.


you gotta tell me, whats up with the tires!!

 

The tires are great, and the people at the track supporting them this year were excelent as well. Rick from underground really took care of me. Getting the hole in turn one was noones fault. I'm having major issues with the distributor same as I did last year, I've got someone tracking down his bosses contact so I can see if the distributor is a reflection of the company or not.

I was talking to my friend Deb who's getting her company sportbiketechnolgy.com off the ground. I guess she spoke with Chip and is interested in carrying Motophoria gear. I guess they have plans to work something good out.

 

Good write-up Jay. I've got to get down to see you race this summer.

 

racing is sick ,i have no ***** when it comes to that ****
!!

 

jay, what kind of tires???

good for endos?? motard?

i gotta give chip a call, been slacking like crazy!

 

Bridgestone BT002's. Med rear soft front. i'll be running two rears and a front each weekend, if you're in need of takeoffs let me know and i'm sure we can work something out. They have good life left when they come off, even for a couple more races just not enough to get through the weekend, and I hate jumping into a race without putting 2-3 laps on the tires to scrub them first.

Great feedback, I was cranking past 7 at near full lean and lit up the rear with the most predictable slide I've ever had, didn't miss a beat and kept it moving, I would have landed in the treehouse if I had been on pirellis.

of course that's all dependent on how things go with the distributors boss. Otherwise i think I'll be looking at mich. or dunlops.

 

Sick Racing Bro.........I actually had Peter set up my front forks on my gixxer.......Def a lot smoother and the feedback is much greater......also I do Love My Pilot Powers....Just doesn't get any better, Try them you won't be disapointed.

 

Peter does great work, I could do the install for the parts I'm buying but I need to have it run through computrack to get the geometries right. Pilot powers are great street tires but they won't cut it on a racetrack. The power races are the racing line, and they're nice but mich. hasn't offered me any sponsorship, and even their bulk rate pricing is close to $100 more per set compared to my deal. I ran a set of them last year and had no complaints.

 

Hell Ya Peter gave me some serious feedback....and he is a Weath of Racing Knowlege.....I did mean Pilot Race but I have never ran them on the track. You know my roomate Keith M. we both moved down to FL to Ride more and I have ridden almost every day since the first of the Year and its always 70-80+ and Blue sky's. Keep up the thread on Racing.

 

I'll keep the updates coming. Should have some pictures too. I might be back with some tales and pictures from deals gap next week too. 318 turns, 11 miles.

 

nice, i'll give you a call...how good are they for a trackday or two?

i looooove pirellies and am a little scared of bridgestones, but i'm outta the scene.

i hate dunlops bc of the hard carcass, and michelins are a nightmare for me, but only because of a horrible experience on my 92 f2 - my 1st day on the track!

 

Mich. has a great tire, but the price tag is up there, the pirelli's...when they go they're done, not even enough to finish the lap, if those spin up at all you'll find yourself in the dirt somewhere, and I liked the dunlops just fine but other have claimed that they get greasy. The stones would be great for a full trackday with no problems there's tons of life left in them when I'm all finished up. I'm waiting to talk to corporate because my distributor has his head up his ***. If they can be straight with me then I'm sticking with the tires. When are you gonna get me a job instructing? I love helping people around the track.

 

hmmm, i loved my pirelllies bc i could feel them going off and they were predictable, but like i said, that was 3-4 years ago.

heard other good things bout the stones though...might have to be my next choice.

i am def interested in a couple sets of your tearoffs...i run race fronts constantly and need to keep a few sets for trackdays if i ever get to do any this year.

lemme put a word in with jayroot to see about instructing..prolly wont hapopen this year, but now is the time to get your foot in the door for next year.