Brian's Race Report from Vegas

4/30/04 - 5/2/04 Las Vegas Classic Course

Hi all,

First off, I would like to thank Amy for being so supportive. I'd also like to thank Tom and Pat for helping me out so much. Finally, I want to thank my sponsors Helmet Harbor (new!!), Lockhart Phillips and Dunlop. These are the people who make it all possible.

Well, this race event was one that I was looking forward to for a while because it was 3 days of racing and I expected bigger grids and turnout than at the previous events. A couple days before the event, Pat let me use his shop to do some work on my bike. His shop is AWESOME. I installed new gearing (15/41), a new 520 DID ERV2 chain, removed the EVAP canister, and changed the oil. I also helped Pat prepare his 999 Ducati for it's first race weekend because his 998 Ducati blew up on the Dyno.

On Thursday afternoon we loaded up Tom's trailer with our bikes and gear and were on the road for Vegas by 2:15 pm. We actually made good time and checked into the hotel 4 1/2 hours later. Knowing that we were in Vegas and would be tired after racing the other nights, we decided to go to the strip for some fun before going to bed. After dinner and a little bit of giving money to the casino, we went back to the hotel and crashed.

DAY 1

We wanted to be at the track early on Friday because we knew that the line for registration and then tech would be LONG (CCS has not done a good job of organizing this process yet) and we did not want to miss the first practice since none of us had ever been to this track. Gates opened at 7 and the track was supposed to open at 8am for first practice. We had only 2 practices on the schedule before our first race!!! Well, we got lucky because we ended up being one of the first 10 people in line for registration and therefore had no problem getting through that line and tech after wards. Still, CCS ran way behind (problems with the track) and bikes did not roll on track for a couple hours. By then we were relaxed, unloaded, and ready to go.

Because of the morning delays, CCS redid the schedule and we ended up with 3 practice sessions before our first race. By the end of the practice sessions, Tom and Pat were running decent amateur times around 1:41 and I was around 1:44. I struggled a lot mentally and with my tires for some reason.

GTO

Our first and only race on Friday was the 25 minute GTO race. All 3 of us were running in this race. On the start I got a pretty decent start and actually was able to use my outside position on the grid to help me gain some spots going to turn 2. For a while I was leading my buddies as we went around some slower riders. At one point we went around a guy who must have over cooked it into a turn and messed up because he almost ended my weekend. What happened was hair raising. I was leading Pat through turn 7 (crash city this weekend), which is a right hand turn. Immediately after 7 is a left hand 180 degree sweeper. What this guy did was miss turn 7, go off course straight ahead and go across the track as I was exiting turn 8. He missed t-boning me by about 3 feet. I actually saw him coming, and heard him hit the gas to avoid the collision, but there was nothing I could have done. Pat (who was right behind me) said it scared him bad. Needless to say I went up and thanked that rider after the race for gassing it to miss me. As his reward for not hitting me he ended up hitting a fence way off the track. His bike was un-rideable but he was fine. This crash caused a red flag which stops the race.

Because not enough of the race had run to call it complete, they decided to restart the race from our original grid positions and turn it into an 8 lap sprint (8 laps remaining). Once again I got a good start but this time my friends got even better ones. By lap 2 I was behind both of them and started reeling in Tom who was reeling in Pat. The last 3-4 laps of this race were the funnest racing I have ever been a part of....almost. For those laps, the three of us were nose to tail the whole time, in one order or another. At one point I passed them both only to run off the edge of the course on exit and fall back into line in 3rd again. We basically traded spots for 3 laps...it was a BLAST. Then, 3 turns before the end on the last lap, Tom got past Pat. On the next turn Pat tried to get it back but blew the corner and went real wide....so wide in fact that he crashed. I was 2 bike lengths behind him when he went down. At the time it did not seem bad but we ended up having to take him to the hospital so they could stitch up his knee (hit a rock on impact). I finished this race in 9th place (out of 15), right behind Tom. All three of us had fast times of 1:39 in this race with Pat just in front of Tom and then me.

DAY 2

I don't know why, but this was a terrible racing day for me. I don't know if it was my head not in the game after Pat's crash, my head just not in the game period, the new front tire I tried for the first time or what. I struggled all day long.

Unlimited GP

I was signed up for 3 races this day. First was the Unlimited GP. I had a terrible race. I got a bad start and was at the very end of the pack before the end of the first lap. I ended up getting stuck behind an expert rider who honestly had no business with an expert plate. He was terrible as he would park the bike in all the turns and make all kinds of insane moves. He almost made me crash at least 3 times, and maybe 4. At one point he ran me off the course. At another point he slowed so much in the corner that I had no choice but to pull a stoppie on the curbing. I got so many tank slappers that race that my wrist hurt the rest of the weekend. When I came into the pits after the race I had visible marks on my front tire where I had locked the front and slid on it. In addition to these issues, for whatever reason, I could not shift the bike this race. Coming up the straight I would miss a shift every lap. On one lap I did the entire straight in 3rd because it would not shift! I finished 22nd in this race with a best time of 1:41.7....over 2 seconds off my time from day 1. After the race I worked on the shifting rod angle and that helped fix the problem I had with shifting (Thanks Tom for helping me get ready for the next race!)

SuperTwins

My second race of the day was SuperTwins which is where my RC51 is most competitive. Tom was also in this race. From the start I got seriously held up the first couple laps and Tom got away. I was still struggling in this race but I finished in 2nd place WAY behind Tom. Tom actually finished 2nd overall ahead of all experts besides one. My fast time of this race was 1:39.1.

HeavyWeight SuperSport

My last race of the day was HW SuperSport which I really wanted to do well in because I was leading the points in this class. Once again I struggled but this time it was more my fault. Despite having the 2nd fastest amateur practice times before the race, I finished in 5th place with a fastest race time of 1:38.4. I was only 1/2 a bike length behind 4th place at the end.

At the end of the day I was VERY frustrated. Despite bringing home 2nd and 5th place trophies, I had not ridden well at all.

DAY 3

I was determined to do better on the last day. I decided to spend more time worrying about my own riding and less time worrying about other riders. I also got rid of that crappy front tire I had tried the day before. On this day they would be running the races from day 2 in reverse order. We missed the warm up session because we were at the Pharmacy getting medicine for Pat. When we got back to the pits Tom helped me remove the fans from my bike because they actually interfere with the air flow to the radiators and run hotter with them on! They are only useful when you stop the bike but I don't plan to do that while racing. I was overheating the bike on Saturday big time.

HeavyWeight SuperSport

For the first 2 laps of this race I rode a very easy pace as I had just put fresh tires on right before this race. They were not even scrubbed in. After 2-3 laps I picked up the pace and started picking people off. Toward the end I got into a heated battle for 3rd place. We passed back and forth a bunch before I finally beat him to the line. 3rd place in this race was good for me mentally. I was ready for the day. I had gotten my times down to 1:36.8 in this race.

SuperTwins

This was my best race of the weekend. I got a GREAT start (hole-shot for amateurs and even passed some of the experts who started 30 feet in front of us before turn 1) and picked off riders left and right. In the end I was WAY ahead of everyone in amateurs (1/3 of the track in front of 2nd place before I backed off) and even all the experts except for 1. This is my 2nd win in this class and I now lead the points in this class too! I was able to drop my times down to 1:36.7 in this race. The fastest expert in this race ran 1:34 so I have some work to do.

Unlimited GP

At first this race seemed like it would be a recap of yesterday's race. I got the worst start possible as I got pinched off in the inside of turn 1. This race was red flagged right before the end because of a crash that happened directly in front of me. Another rider and myself were catching up to 2 slower riders. I would pass this guy every lap in the twisty sections but he would pull me on the straights and get it back. At the end of the front straight he tried to late brake after a slower rider but did not pull it off. In fact, he had to brake so much to try and not ram the other rider that he did a stopie and flew over the front of his bike and hit the rider in front of him with is body! Shortly after that his bike landed on it's TOP! I was only a bike length behind this so I had to brake hard and swerve to miss the 2 riders and bikes as they slid by. After a long race and a red flag, I finished in 15th place.

I'm not sure that I am going to compete in the Unlimited GP class any more because my RC-51 is not very competitive in this class. To pass people and make it stick I have to pull banzai moves as its just not worth it. I was getting pulled by everyone on the straights which is very frustrating. Instead, I'll probably run the HeavyWeight SuperBike class where my bike will be more competitive.

So, this was an up and down weekend. Pat is doing well considering his accident. I learned a lot from my struggles on Saturday as well as from some tips from Tom. Tom and I both got a 1st and 2nd in SuperTwins...the battle is heating up. I am expecting good things for the next round at Firebird in 1 month.

Cya,

Brian Kirkland CCS Southwest #34