From: sturges@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Richard Sturges)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles.racing
Subject: Weedend at Summit
Date: 21 Jul 92 14:17:38 GMT
Reply-To: sturges@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Richard Sturges)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

Well, it has been a while since I've subjected the group to a lengthy
post-race dissertation so I will recap Summit Point this past weekend.

I went up friday night and Steve (Harris), Tony (Braddock) and I set
up a large pit area; about 600 ft2 of tarp, three bikes, dirt bikes, 
19" tv, stereo, and futons for each of us.  The last race weekend my
EX had run well and I didn't expect much wrenching.  Steve had a fresh
motor.  (well, it's a TZR250 so it always has a fresh motor on friday
night)  Tony's FZR400 is stock so it always runs great.

We each went out for our two practice sets and worked out minor bugs. 
I run a total loss system and it didn't want to hold a charge, so I
was charging the battery every break.  Then the charging clamp slipped
and shorted the battery to the frame.  I've never seen a battery smoke
like that before.  After that it would last about 7 minutes after a
charge.

Steve let me take his TZR out for a few laps 'cause I had never ridden
a 2-stroke, at least not since I've learned to ride well.  (I raced an
RZ350 four years ago and hated it)  I was very impressed with the
lightness and ease with which it cornered.  None of the wallowing and
squirming that I have become accustom to with my EX.  We are trying to
plan for next year and a pair of really cool 125's are definitely in
the running.  It would be best if we could talk a few other people
into it.

All afternoon I helped teach the MARRC Roadracing school which was
pretty fun.  Some promising new racers there.  During that time
Michael Green was winning his race and Tony ran the amateur GTU with
decent lap times.

Sat night we had a keg for all our friends, and some other people, and
had the Hockenhiem and Dutch GP's to show after dark.  Another dude
(forgot his name) went home and got a 4' projection tv so we has a
great time watching those two tapes.  It was a big weekend for
socializing; the harley dudes had a band set up on the other end of
the track and on Sunday the Gotham race team had a bunch of Ducatis,
Bimotos, Ferraris and other exotic cars on display, and were cooking
free burgers.  Jeff had his Bimoto DBRS1 there, one of three in the
country.

Back to the racing.  I ran Heavyweight Supertwins in the first race of
sunday but got a poor (ok, atrocious) start and was just getting back
up to 4th or 5th went the EX started dying.  It would occasionally
sputter at high revs.  We had replaced the battery but it sure was
suspect.  Dave Fine had been nice enough to loan me one but during
that race I couldn't help but think 'well, Dave IS the competition...'

Very unfortunately during this race Guy Stuart took a bad fall in turn
one and broke his arm very badly.  He was helo'd to Baltimore; I will
check on his condition this afternoon.

I ended up sixth, and after things had cooled done we found the
battery was fine (no pun intended).  The plugs looked OK but maybe
worn (they were new on Sat morning).  We replaced the plugs, cleaned
up the battery connections and tried a different black box.  Whatever
it was, it ran great for the next two races.

Tony took a second in Lightweight superbike, and turned his personal
best of 1:30.03  He was of course happy.

Steve and I bother went out for Sportsman, with me on the front row
and Steve on the first row of amateurs behind us.  I had new rubber
now also.  Unfortunately, the start was delayed about 40 seconds as
the officials moved, then removed, someone who had mis-gridded.  My EX
overheated and when the flag dropped it was spitting water in my face
and was way down on power.  It was one lap before the temp dropped and
the power came back.  I was running in fifth place, about 20 seconds
behind the lead group and running the same times they were (low
1:30's).  Very frustrating, as this was the way the race ended also. 
Dave Back won the race and stretched his points lead on me to 15 pts,
with two races to go.

Steve, in the mean time, had also over heated and his TZR seized half-
way thru turn one.  He was able to avoid a highside somehow.  I
believe that he is now ready to throw out the @#!$#$ two stroke.  He
has 2 firsts and 2 DNFs.

I had one more race, lightweight supertwins, and one more chance to
beat Dave.  Mike Meyers, riding the Gotham Racing ultra fast ducati
750 had 9 for 9 wins and was the favorite.  Dave and I were tied for
second in the standings.  Unfortunately for me I missed the warmup
lap.  We were late getting out of the pits and as I approached pit-out
the guy in front of me went but they dropped the red flag in my face
as the 4 minute board was raised.  Rules are rules but I thought they
were being assholes.  With plenty of time to sit on the front row
thinking about my cold tires and how pissed I was, I channeled that
energy into a clutch smokin' start from hell that took me into turn
one a solid first.  But unwilling to fully gas the cold tires I was
passed by Dave and Michael coming out.  Turns three and four are not
real sticky and I thought it best to take it a bit easy there.  This
left me in sixth place expert, with two? novices in front also.

Dave Back had actually lead the race all the way to the straight,
which is the first time Michael has ever been behind another rider. 
Dave was just smoking and there was no way I could catch him.  By the
end of the first lap I was up to 100% traction and had passed up to
fourth, with the amateur Jesse Myers and third place expert Fritz in
front. I could pass Fritz on the straight, before the finish line 
each lap, but he was able to get me in four.  Jesse, on the other
hand, has one bitchin' hawk that I could only draft down the straight. 
I couldn't pass him in the infield but I knew that if I could then I
could distance him enough, and leave fritz stuck behind jesse.

We got into traffic on lap 5 and on lap 6 there was heavy traffic
going into the infield.  I stuffed a backmarker (#205?) pretty hard
and felt bad for about a nano-second.  I had serious race face.  I
dragged my knee in turn ten for the first time ever going into lap 7
and got good draft on jesse, very determined to beat him to turn one. 
I had been braking at the 2nd cone.  jesse slowed just after the first
cone and I took it to about the 2 and a half mark.  Hard on the
brakes, off-brakes at the usual spot and flick in doing maybe 6 mph
faster than normal.  I held one as best I could but both wheels just
drifted further and further.  I ran out of track and snapped it up,
ran thru the grass and out to an auxiliary road.  I popped the clutch,
(it started :) and I rejoined.  I lost just a few seconds but lost two
places.  Finished 5th.

I guess the moral in this:
1)  don't read my race reports as they are too long.

2)  I maintained the same brakes-off to flick-in margin of many
    feet.  If I had narrowed the gap, and had just 10 more feet of
    brakes, I could have made the turn and been a super stud.

3)  Never trade 3rd place just to pass a novice!!!


Til next time, 
Rich, Team Charm Captain
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles.racing