Brian's Race Report from Firebird

5/29/04 - 5/30/04 Firebird East, Chandler, AZ

Hi all,

Well, what started out as a great weekend ended up a little less than good. I was looking forward to this race weekend quite a bit considering the fact that I had taken the lead in the SuperTwins class and was still leading the Heavyweight SuperSport class. I had two class titles to work for. Also, the last time I raced at Firebird was my first ever race weekend, so I knew I could do better this time around.

On Wednesday before the races Tom, Pat, Mike, Alan and I all went to the BSR Pit Garage (Pat's garage/shop) and started prepping the bikes. Tom helped me out a LOT by doing the pair valve mod on my bike (getting rid of the emissions crap they put on them, which made it run a LOT smoother) while I installed my forks, which I had just gotten back from Dan Kyle. I also installed new brake pads. Besides working on my bike, we helped Mike prep his bike, which was the 999 he just bought from Pat. I guess Pat may be coming back towards reality and realized that he doesn't actually NEED 3 race ready Ducati's. He'll have to suffer with just 2 now! Unfortunately, Pat is still injured from his crash at Vegas, so he won't be racing with us this weekend but he will be in the pits with us to show his support. On Friday we came back and loaded everything into Tom's trailer.

On Saturday morning I got up early and met Tom at his house at 5:30 am. I had only gotten 3-4 hours of sleep the night before and was pretty tired but excited. We drove to the track early hoping to get a good spot near one of the power poles so we wouldn't have to use the generator. Pat and Mike drove separately and arrived a little after we got unloaded. A little bit of last minute prepping, unloading and trash talking and we were ready to go! It was going to be a long and HOT day of practicing with the temperatures above 95 degrees.

A little bit of drama happened Saturday morning when I went to my Dunlop tire rep and tried to reserve my normal 208 GPA race tires. Because of back to back AMA races the 2 weeks before, he didn't have any of my tires!! All he had were the US versions that I had tried in Las Vegas and hated. That sucked. I had 2 choices. One, suck it up and use the tire they had. I didn't like this option because I was 2 seconds a lap slower on that tire in Vegas. Option two was to try out some Michelin tires; the same ones Pat and Tom use. I decided I would do my practices on Saturday on my old Dunlops and buy new Michelins before the end of the day so I could scrub them in before races on Sunday.

The other thing I had to deal with on Saturday was setting up my newly reworked suspension. Dan Kyle sent them back with a guess at the settings but I would have to dial them in at the track. I decided to do a session or two on them before starting to tweak them. With help from the guys and Gary Milcheck we set up my suspension between practice sessions and I was feeling really good on the bike. Even before making any changes, I was already faster in my first practice than I had been all weekend the last time we raced at Firebird. After getting things set in, I was really doing well lap time wise.  We ended up lowering my front forks 5mm from stock and adding 5mm (from stock) to the ride height in the rear. This GREATLY improved my turn in speed. There were also some compression and rebound changes we made, but those are a blur at this point (more on that later).

By the end of practice on Saturday, I was down into the 1:06 range and the 5th fastest Amateur on the track!!! Based on this info, I decided to add the money race to my agenda for Sunday because the top 10 positions pay money and even 10th place would pay for the race by itself.

Saturday night I got plenty of rest and was ready to go Sunday morning. I got to the track a little early because I knew that the Michelin tires I had put on at the end of the day Saturday were sized differently than the Dunlops I had set my suspension for, so I would have to make geometry changes to my bike to compensate. Tom had gotten to the track about an hour before me to help his nephew out (he was doing a track day near by). When I got there, he was already working on my bike getting it ready for us to raise the rear 4mm more and lower the front 5mm more (the Michelin rear is shorter and the front is taller). With Tom's help, we were able to get my bike changed and put back together in time to make it to the first and only practice session. Thanks Tom!!!! During that first practice session the bike felt great and I felt great. My times without pushing were already as fast as the day before so I was excited.

The first race I entered was the GTO 25 minute race. This race was going to be HARD because 25 minutes is a long time for me, plus it was already hot outside. Sunday was going to be A LOT hotter than Saturday. Having pre-registered for the GTO race, I started from Pole and got a pretty good start. I went into turn one 2nd or 3rd out of the Amateurs and even in front of a couple experts. I decided I was going to put my head down and push real hard for the first few laps to try and get a gap on some people and put some of the slower experts between us. Thanks to the make shift pit board we brought (HOLY COW it's awesome having a pit board --- priceless), I was able to see that the gap I had built was growing so I could take it easy on my tires. I backed off when I saw 20 seconds on the next person and ended the race 35 seconds ahead of 3rd place. I finished in 2nd place and won money!!! This is actually the best I have ever placed because of the more competitive nature of the GTO class (compared to the races I have won) so I was really excited. I was also happy to have won some money.

The second race of the day was a new one for me...the Heavyweight Superbike. My bike is pretty stock, so these bikes that can do pretty much as they please would have a power advantage. This ended up being one of the most exciting race I've done. I again started from Pole and got an ok start. I ended up being behind a few slower guys that took a while to get around. By the time I did, the leaders were quite a ways ahead of me. I put my head down and made a good gap on the guy behind me but I saw Ted (owns AZTrackday.com) in front of me on his tricked out 600 (none of us believe it's stock) and I really wanted to catch him. Ted was about 5 seconds in front of me so I had to push pretty hard to catch up. He had been faster than me all weekend but I caught up to him with only a couple laps to go. On the last lap, I passed Ted on the back half of the track (the bus stop turn) and led him all the way to the last turn. I knew that Ted's bike had a ton more power than mine so I figured the only way I would beat him to the line was to get a better drive than he did out of the last corner. So, I tried to set him up. I knew he would try and take me on the inside going into the last turn so I pushed him a little more inside before sweeping back outside to get the good line for a good drive. He passed me just as I was about to tip it in for the corner and he completely blew the turn. He went wide, had to almost stop, turn it and then get on the power. I got a GREAT drive out of the corner and bolted towards the line 2/3 of the way down the track. Ted beat me to the line by 1 tire length. We crossed the line elbow to elbow going I'd guess about 120-130 mph (I never look down at my speeds on the track). It was an awesome race for me; a very exciting last lap; and a disappointing ending. I was still happy to get a 3rd, but I was bummed that I got beat to the line. Ted did ride a great race and this was a Superbike class, so he won fair and square.

The next race was the money race that I had not pre-registered for. I had to start on the 5th row where I would have started from pole if I had pre-registered. Oh well. I knew it would be tough to catch the leaders starting from that far back, but I thought I could still make it to top 5 and make some decent money. I got a GREAT start on this one and passed 6-10 riders before turn one. I put my head down and really started picking off guys. This is where all the mayhem started. Mike actually went down on turn 2 trying to avoid taking out a rider who had cut him off, so he was out. 2 other guys also crashed out of this race before.... Near the end of the race I was in the top 7 at least and catching up to Tom. I felt like I had a chance to get by Tom and the rider in front of him. Somewhere near the end of the race (some people said about 2 laps to go) I crashed going into the bus stop turn. The bus stop turn is at the end of a short straight where you go from 120ish mph down to 15-30ish for a sharp left turn. It's also right after a hump in the road, so the bike is often loose on brakes. According to the corner workers, I just got into that corner too hot and when I turned in for the corner the front washed out and I low sided. This makes sense to me because of the damage on me and my bike and also with how I was riding. I made up a LOT of time on people by late braking into this turn all day. I guess I finally found the limit.

UPDATE: according to the racer who was about 20 feet behind me, he said when I crashed my head hit the ground and I slid without moving. He was pretty sure I was unconscious. No idea how long.

I don't remember much from the race beyond a couple snapshots (like following Tom, the start, etc). I don't remember the crash but I do remember standing up, feeling VERY wobbly and dizzy while trying to figure out which way to stumble off the track to avoid oncoming bikes. I also remember standing in the dirt being mad at myself for choosing the wrong side of the track to run off of (I was stuck out there instead of being able to walk back to the pits because I chose the wrong side of the track). I remember a flash of being in the ambulance talking with the guy and seeing Pat and Amy in there. The next thing I remember is sitting in my truck with Mike who was driving us both to the hospital (remember, he had crashed in this race too and his leg was jacked up). He was in a lot of pain, so that was kinda a crazy move but I didn't care...I was loopy. After getting in the truck, I think I remember everything going forward. We spent 5 hours in the hospital (mainly because they forgot to put me in line for a cat scan).

It turns out that Mike has a contusion on his leg to go with some major bruising of his bone and muscle. He also has some road rash on his elbow. When I went in there, I figured I had a concussion because this was all too familiar of a feeling (been there, done that already....twice). What sucked is when the doctor told me that I had a concussion as well as a "non-displaced skull fracture 3 centimeters long". When she told us, she described it as a broken bone in my head that had broken clean but did not move out of place (so it was lined up well). If it has displaced, I would still be in the hospital she said. So, I got a broken head. The worse news is that she said I could not do any physical activity where it might get hit (even mildly) for at least 6 weeks. There goes racing next week in California, as well as racing the week after in New Mexico.

My bike is in VERY good condition considering it went through a crash. I'll only have to replace the left foot peg bolt (the peg is fine), the shift lever (or maybe just the small part you use with your foot), and my left frame slider. My pipes were barely scratched, my tank was not touched, and my radiators are fine!! Unbelievable crash damage report...barely anything. Mike's bike on the other hand....I'll let him tell you. My leathers are in good shape too. There's crash damage on the left shoulder (my shoulder is pretty bruised and very sore right now), the left shoulder blade and even the left side of the neck. No tears or damage needing repairs. My helmet will need to be replaced. The left side is pretty beat up right where the fracture in my skull is (see pics below). Good thing I have a sponsor like Helmet Harbor!!!

From what I hear, Tom had a good couple of races after Mike and I left. The bad thing is that the 2 races series that I was leading in were the two races that were to come next (my 4th and 5th races of the day). That SUCKS!!! Still, I walked away from my first race crash decently ok with two 2nd places and some money. I also lowered my lap times to 1:04, which is a KICK BUTT lap time for an amateur. One second faster and I'll be able to place VERY well in expert classes. I probably would have come home with a 2nd, a 3rd, a top 7 in the money race, and two more top 3's.

A special thanks to Amy and Mike for putting up with me for 5 hours in the hospital. Also, a special thanks to the pit crew (Pat, Sally and Amy) who did an awesome job helping us out and doing the pit board. Thanks to Tom for all the work he did for me on my bike. Thanks to Gary for setting my suspension. Thanks to everyone who took care of me while I was loopy and loaded up all my gear for me. You guys rock! As always, thanks to my sponsors: Helmet Harbor, VaporBlue.com and Lockhart Phillips.

Cya,

Brian Kirkland CCS Southwest #34

PS. more pics of crash damage coming soon.