Brian's Race Report from Buttonwillow, CA

7/11/04 Buttonwillow Raceway

First off, I'd like to say that Tom stepped up big time and bought the entire team (including the new member, Mike) pit shirts and t-shirts with the Team BSR logo on them. They are AWESOME! Now we just need to add sponsor logos and we're all set. Thanks Tom!!!

Now, skipping all the not so fun travels parts....

Well, after crashing out of the last round (concussion & skull fracture) 7 weeks ago, I was VERY eager to get back on the track. For one, I was anxious to see if I would be mentally "out of it" or if I could get back in the saddle right away. Also, I was just tired of not riding!

I had never been to Buttonwillow, but the track seemed like it was going to be very fast...unlike anything I had been on before. When I got there, I was not wrong. This is a VERY fast track, and VERY fun.

I was happy to see that by the end of my second session I was under 2:08 and not too far off the pace of the fast guys. The fastest amateurs were doing a 2:02 at that point. I guess I knocked all the sense out of my brain because I was feeling no hesitation from my last crash. By the end of the day I was down to 2:04.3 and honestly felt that I could easily do a 2:02 and set a personal goal to break the 2 minute barrier. I think it was doable. Notice the word..."was".

On Sunday, I put new tires on and was ready to rock and roll. I did a 2:05 in the morning warm up without even pushing...in fact, I was cruising just to scrub in the tires. I wanted them to last for my 5 races. I was entered into the GTO, HW SuperSport, HW Superbike, Unlimited GP and SuperTwins.

Race 1: GTO

I registered early, so I was on the front row for this race. I got a GREAT start (my best ever...wheelie 2 inches off the ground the entire straight) and went into turn one in the lead. I actually did the entire first lap in the lead until the last corner where Brian Land passed me on his GXSR 750. He is one fast mofo! I knew this would happen because he was already doing 1:58 in practice, so I had hoped to tag on with him in the GTO and learn something. He's the same guy that beat me in the GTO in the last round. Well, at the end of the lap I was 3rd because I missed a shift on the straight. Entering turn 1 #969 made what I think was a stupid pass. It was the first lap of the GTO (25 min race) and to make the pass he had to cut all the way to the inside of turn 1...like 3 feet from the inside! I saw him there, so I let him go and tucked in right behind him. Well, on the exit his stupid pass caught up with him and he high sided 3 feet in front of me. It was in the middle of the turn and I had no where to go. I ran into his bike and was launched over the bars. At the time we had to be doing 80 mph, so I was launched quite a ways up in the air and forward and tumbled for what seemed like a long time. I just remember tucking my arms in and thinking "don't get another concussion!!!" I hit my head no less than 6 times as I tumbled. When I got up I stumbled over to the flag area holding my hand which was not feeling right. I ended up passing out while standing there, so they red flagged the race. Long story short, despite the first impressions of the doctors, I did not break my hand but it is seriously swollen and sprained. The rest of my body feels like it was a rag doll in a washer. I am bruised and sore EVERYWHERE. All in all, I am ok though. I was worried about my head because of the skull fracture 7 weeks ago, but my head is fine besides some bruising on my forehead.

My bike is pretty jacked up. When I hit the bike in front of me, it flipped over and landed on it's top before tumbling. Also, the guy behind me (#707) also had no choice but to hit my bike. 3 bike pile up.

The guy who crashed in front of me had a broken hand I hear...he left the track without talking with anyone. #707 ended up racing again.

I know the accident was just part of racing, but I'm pissed because it was not my fault and because I KNOW that I could have done VERY well this weekend and broken the 2 minute barrier. Oh well. At least I learned that previous crashes do not seem to impact my lap times!

The worst outcome is that I'm completely broke and don't know when/if I'll be able to fix my bike and be racing again.

Special thanks to my team (Team BSR) for taking care of my stuff (again) and taking it back to Phx for me. Also to Tom for paying for the gas (again) and for Pat's use of the toy hauler (again). Thanks also to the guys at Helmet Harbor for getting me a new helmet so quickly after my last crash.....listen for the phones because I'll be calling again.

Cya,

Brian Kirkland CCS Southwest #34

Check out all the pics in the Photo Gallery.

Thanks to all my sponsors: Helmet Harbor, Lockhart Phillips, VaporBlue, Desert Truss, Savoca Construction, & Michelin.