Vol. 3, #3
Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI. - July 4 - 6, 2008
I finally got to race!!
Troy Walbaum, his wife, Sheila, Janet and I took off Thursday to race at Road America over the 4th of July weekend which is the largest event on our series schedule. Not only is Road America the largest track we race on at 4 miles in length it’s also draws the largest number competitors. With two different series running CCS/ASRA and USGPRU and racers from all over the country I knew the races would be tough but I was up for the challenge! It’s kind of a tough race to start your season with but that’s how my season has been.
Another perk to this event is that Buell Motor Company celebrated it’s 25th Anniversary at this event. There were fellow Bueller from all over the world there as well so I definately wanted to run well in front of the “faithfull”.
Friday registration and tech went smoothly and after setting up our pit in Buell Alley I was off to practice. Since Road America is a large fast track I started off on the conservative side to get my racing legs back but it went well and I felt with the six races I would be competing in over the weekend I’d have plenty of opportunity to polish my skills. This year each race was increased one lap to five laps which is 20 miles of hard riding per race!
photo by Mike BoomerSaturday - Race #1 - Thunderbike
To say I was a little nervous would be an understatement!! This race was packed with talent from as far away as New Jersey so I knew I’d have to be on my game! I had a great start but struggled in turn 5 on every lap and kept losing contact with the pack, I just couldn’t find the fast line at race speed in that corner but the rest of the race went pretty well. I finished 9th. and was really happy that I finally had my first race of the season under my belt!
Saturday - Race #2 - Lightweight Formula 40
At this event LW-F40 is combined with 125cc Grand Prix and Ultra Lightweight Superbikes so it became a large grid with Experts and Amateurs racing together.
During our warm up lap one of the experts on an SV650 blew up his engine, laying down oil on the track and eventually crashed pretty hard which brought out the red flag. By the time the track clean up got done we were told this and all races afterward would be 4 lap dashes.
Now with one less lap the start would be even more critical and I really blow it by missing a shift right after the drop of the green flag. RATS!! So now it was go time and even though I still struggled in turn 5, I was able to close on the guys ahead of me but I pushed too hard into the chicane and shot off the track, was able to get back on fairly quickly but the gap I’d closed was gone so I had to settle for 6th place in that race.
Saturday - Race #3 - Lightweight SuperSport
Friends and neighbors, Mike and Katie Boomer had watched the previous races and gave me some suggestions I took to heart; which lead to a fun battle with teammate, Troy Walbaum, in this race but a few mental bobbles put me behind him and I wasn’t able to close enough to get back around. This was by far my best race of the day, placing 8th and I finally felt more comfortable on the bike at race speed so I looked forward to the same three races on Sunday.
photo by Mike BoomerSunday’s races were packed pretty tight for me and I was a little concerned about my fitness level since I would only have one race in between each of my races which usually figured out to a 20 minute break. I figured I’d be fine for the first two and if I had concerns I’d ditch out of Lightweight Formula 40. The weather was great in the mid 80’s with low humidity and little wind so it looked good as long as I felt good.
Sunday - Race #1 - Thunderbike
What a great race! I got a good start and it was on! I finally figured out how to get through turn 5 and managed to stay in the race mid pack. It was a very close pack but I made a very minor error in Canada corner trying to pass two guys at once. I got in a little too hot, missed a gear on the way up the hill and immediately lost two spots. Fellow Buell racer, Ben Schmidt, #133, and I battled the rest of the race, he got around and I ending up in 8th.
I actually learned a lot during that race and was pumped for my next outing!
Sunday - Race #2 - Lightweight SuperSport
I was pumped for this race but unfortunately on the start I hit the rev limiter in first gear right away, went for second and missed it. Well the pack quickly moved away from me so I had to put my head down and get to business. I caught Ben and had a great late breaking pass into turn 5 and was on my way! I knew I was closing on the pack through the next few laps then Ben draft passed me on the front straight! It was the last lap so I had to get to work again and managed to get by him again on the way to turn 5, I kept telling myself to relax and be smooth through the rest of the corners and it almost worked but I pushed a little too hard just before the front straight, did a little off road riding and watched Ben roll on by. I closed on the front straight but he had more oats than I did and I had to settle for 8th.
What a fun race, though!!
Sunday - Race #3 - Lightweight Formula 40
After a quick drink of water, filling the bike with gas and a 10 minute rest, it was first call for my last race of the day. I felt great and with all the laps I’d run up to that point I decided to follow the advice of all the fast guys, “slow is fast”.
I figured I’d try harder to hit my turn in points and see if this theory actually worked. This was my cleanest race of the weekend. I hit all my apexes and brake points and it seemed like I was going slower but I didn’t have any issues the whole time and to my surprise I finished 3rd!
This was my best finish to date and I’m sure I turned my best lap times of the weekend.
All in all it was a great weekend of racing and camaraderie with all the Buell racers and fans during Buell 25th Anniversary. It was cool having bike founder Erik Buell hang out in our pits for a while and sign a 25th anniversary banner for Janet, too.
Troy and I are planning on getting to the next round at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis in late August which will be the complete opposite of Road America’s 4 miles of fast sweeping turns as Gateway is a 1.6 mile, tight turn track.
I’ll keep you posted!!
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