Brian's Race Report from Las Vegas

9/17/04 - 9/19/04 Classic Course

UPDATE:

You can read about this weekend on Road Racing World magazine's website! We made it onto Road Racing World!

http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/scripts/NewsInsert.asp?insert=10617  http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/scripts/NewsInsert.asp?insert=10623

Up front warning...it's been 4 days since we left for Vegas, so I may have forgotten or mixed things up a bit. That should be expected when I run 9 races in 3 days....keeping track of them is hard!

After only 3 1/2 days home since racing in New Mexico, we were off to Las Vegas for the biggest (theoretically) race of the year; the Las Vegas Festival of Speed. The Las Vegas races were held in conjunction with a round of the Formula USA series, which is a national level pro series. Also, we would be racing most of the races twice because it was a twin sprint weekend (basically 2 race weekends in one). Because of these factors, we expected this round to attract a lot of racers. According to CCS, there were over 600 racers registered this weekend. Click here to see a copy of the weekend's race schedule.

We still had most of our stuff packed from New Mexico, so loading up the trailers was not as big of a deal. We did take the bikes out to do some prepping on them. Oil changes, dyno work, safety wiring, etc. Thursday night we loaded everything up and were pretty much ready to go.

Thursday

Tom and I were able to get off work earlier on Thursday, so we decided to leave ASAP so we could get to Vegas before registration closed. We wanted to get into the track and reserve a pit space for our toy hauler and RV. We also wanted to get registration out of the way before the lines got bad Friday morning. Because of a few delays, we weren't able to get on the road until around 1pm on Thursday. We made it to the track at 6:30, just in time to register and get a pit. Mike and Pat didn't get out of Phoenix until 6:00 and didn't arrive in Vegas until 11:30 or 12. That was fine because Tom and I had already reserved them a spot.

Unfortunately, because Pat and Mike didn't arrive in time to register, they weren't allowed into the pit area. Tom and I had to go out, get the RV, drive it in and prepare the pit ourselves. Pat and Mike took Tom's truck to the hotel to sleep while Tom and I stayed at the track that night. We took that time to get Tom's wheels off (so he could get tires mounted) and do last minute prep. I decided to run my old tires from New Mexico on Friday because they were still decent.

Friday

Race Results: GTO - ???

Friday morning, Tom and I woke up early to the sound of motorcycles running. It was probably around 6am. We were able to get the pit completely set up and ready to go before the gates were open for the un-registered riders. Pat and Mike were first in line.

Friday was going to be a day of hurry up and wait. Because of the Formula USA national, there were only 2 practice sessions before racing started for us. It was kinda hard to learn the track in only 2 sessions. Last time we were here we ran a different configuration that went the opposite direction and used some new sections. This time we went clockwise and used only the old sections.

When we came back from one of the practice sessions, Tom noticed his wallet was missing. In addition, he had $1800 in cash in it! Later, Pat found out that cash from his wallet was missing too. Someone had come into the toy hauler and stolen over $3000 in cash from Pat and Tom, and Tom's wallet. Later that day, we found out that about 7 other pits had also been robbed. Someone had planned things out well and robbed people as they were out on the track. Within 30 minutes, one of the credit cards from another pit were being used in a town down the road.

Unfortunately, this type of crap did not end with Friday morning as things were getting stolen all weekend. Our friend Brian Land (who pitted next to us) had his wallet stolen Sunday. Needless to say, I kept my wallet in my pocket or hidden at all times. It sucks to think that someone who races could have been involved with this. You put your trust in the people on the track next to you.

With this early drama, and with my mental issues related to recent crashes, I did not ride well at all on Friday. I entered one race that day and did very poorly. I don't even know what spot I took, but it was near the back as I was well off the pace. Tom and Pat were doing 1:28/29 second laps, while I was doing 1:32. The lap record was 1:19 something. Needless to say, I was very frustrated with myself. I didn't even drag my knee all day! I changed my tires that evening and spent time planning my next day.

Mike had some more problems with his Ducati 999 this weekend. I guess there's some problem with the coils on the regular 999 where if you're racing it gets too hot and they short out. Once again, he was not going to be able to race. I feel really bad for him, but at the same time it's awesome having him in the pits. He REALLY helps out and kicks butt.

Friday night, the wives/girlfriend were driving into town to be with us the rest of the weekend. Since they wouldn't be there until near midnight, we decided to head to the casinos for food and a little fun. A little fun turned into too much fun for a race weekend, and a couple of the people went home a little messed up. We didn't get into bed until well after 1:30am.

Saturday

Race Results: Heavyweight Superbike - ?, Heavyweight SuperSport - 5th, SuperTwins - 1st, Unlimited GP - 6th.

After only 4 1/2 hours sleep, I was up and heading to the track. Pat got up early with me and drove me to the track. Mike was there (he stayed in his RV) and Tom arrived at the track a little later. I was very frustrated with myself for how I rode on Friday and I knew I needed to get out for the 1 practice session on Saturday to work things out (yes...they only had one practice session Sat and Sun!!!). Immediately I felt much better on the bike and knew I could turn things around. Still, drama struck only 3 laps into the practice session. My bike started sounding like a Buell and I knew immediately what was wrong ... somewhere my exhaust had come apart. It turned out that the nuts holding on the rear header pipe had fallen off and the header pipe was not connected.

After a little drama (the nut sizes are odd...not something I had spares of), I found a guy in Dale Kieffer's Racer's Edge Michelin pit who is the Technical Manager for the Freddie Spencer Riding School, which is based out of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His name is Scotty La Combe. He was AWESOME. He took me over to the Spencer garage (1/4 mile away) where they work on all the school's bikes. He gave me the exact right parts to fix my bike!! He was awesome for taking the time to do that. I am constantly amazed about how most racers help each other out. It only took about 10 minutes (once I got the right parts) to fix my bike. Drama over. Thanks for the help putting it back together Mike.

Race 6: Heavyweight Superbike.

This race was rather frustrating as I got passed by a ton of people on the start. I was still feeling a little skittish on the track and didn't really get into any race battles with anyone. I think I finished a lonely ??? place.

Race 8: Unlimited GP.

For some reason, CCS cheaped out this weekend and made the money race a "not for money" race (or "trophy only race" as they call it). Kinda sucks that they still charge 2x the normal race price for this race. Didn't realize this when I registered for the race. Oh well. I did have a good race with a guy on a R6 that I think I could have passed, but things didn't work out that way for me. I finished 6th place and would have won $85 if it was a money weekend.

Race 9: SuperTwins.

This is the race where my bike is most competitive. It was also my best race of the day as I got my times down to 1:26.5. That's 6 seconds faster than Friday!! After the first lap, it was a pretty un-eventful race as I was trying to chase down the lead expert but no-one was challenging me for the amateur lead. I won the race with a large lead, and Ball Sac Racing took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd!! It was good to win another race after having so many issues recently.

Race 12: Heavyweight SuperSport.

This was a fun race for me. I got passed by Pat on the start and had to work my way up to catch him. He would pull away from me on the straights with that 150 hp 999R and I'd have to make it up in the corners. I ended up getting right behind him starting on the last lap and could have passed him in 3 places I think, but I knew only 1 of them would allow me to win. I knew if I passed him before the back straight, I'd get re-passed on the straight, so I waited for turn 7 to out break him. It took us both a little wide, but I was in the lead. I then proceeded to take VERY tight lines for the last 2 turns to ensure he would have to go around the outside of me if he wanted to re-pass. This line is not the fastest, but it's the most defensive. I was able to hold him off to the line for the mini-win (if you consider 5th place a win). It was a fun battle. I guess Pat got a big wheelie trying to get a good drive to pass me out of the last turn...that would have been a cool picture. I think Pat ran faster times than I did this race, but somehow I still won. I think Pat needs someone to chase to go fast.

Race 14: Unlimited SuperSport.

The last race of the day for Team BSR was the Unlimited SuperSport race. Tom and Pat entered that race, but I did not. Pat decided that he didn't want to be tied with Tom in the crash totals for the year, so he took a small low side on turn 4. Luckily, that's a relatively slow corner and his bike crashed remarkably well. All he had to do was replace his left side rear set with the stock unit he brought and he was good to go. I wonder how it feels to have a bling bling bike like a 999R ($35K msrp) slide down the road. Probably not good, but Pat was relatively up beat....he was ok and the bike was ride able.

Saturday night we decided against having as much fun as the night before, and everyone took it easy. After we had a buffet dinner at the Rio, Tom, Sally, Mike and Michelle headed back to the RV and hotel for some sleep. Amy and Michele wanted to gamble a little, so Pat and I stuck around for another hour watching them play some slots and Amy played some Roulette. After losing $20-40, we went to the hotel to get some sleep. This time, we got in bed before 11.

Sunday

Race Results: Heavyweight Superbike - 3rd, Heavyweight SuperSport - 6th, SuperTwins - 1st, Unlimited GP - 6th.

Pat, Tom and I woke up early enough to get to the track before the 7:30 riders meeting. I skipped the meeting (sent Pat and Tom as my delegates) so I could mount the wheels & tires Dale Kieffer was nice enough to have ready first thing for me. I left my wheels with him overnight and he did them first thing in the morning, before the line of guys waiting. Thanks Dale!! We all made it out for the morning practice.

Immediately I knew Sunday was going to be scary. The wind was insane. It was a sustained 30+ mph wind! When you're riding down the straight leaned over just so you can go straight, that's pretty bad. The first time I went through the 120+ mph knee down turn 6, I felt the wind pushing my bike outside. It pushed me so wide I was unable to get on the gas until I was straight up and down because it pushed me about 20 feet outside my normal line, all the way to the dirt! That was scary. In addition, you could feel the wind pushing you harder into some turns and keeping you upright in others. Down all the straights, I was getting bad tank slappers. A couple of turns on the damper helped with the tank slappers, but it was still crazy. I hear in some race series, they stop racing when the wind is over 9 mph.

Race 3: Heavyweight SuperSport.

This was my first race of the day, and it took about 3-4 laps to figure out how to ride with and against the wind. By the time I figured it out, I was already well behind the guys running my pace. I finished an un-eventful 6th place. It's insane how much the wind affected the bike. Wheelies, tank slappers, pushing wide, pushing up, and more.

Race 5: SuperTwins.

This was a fun race. Tom was more on the pace today and took the lead into turn one off the start. He then passed a couple experts that held me up quite a bit, so I had a little gap to real Tom in. After a lap or so, I was right on his tail going through turn 6, the fast sweeper. I laid on the brakes WAY late into turn 7 passing Tom, and over shot my line a little. Tom re-passed me on the inside of turn 7 going to 8. I followed him around another lap or so and could tell that he was holding me up in a couple spots, but he was moving pretty well. Once again, I passed him into turn 7, but this time I held my line. For the next 2 laps to the finish, I put my head down and pushed. I ran my 2nd fastest times yet (1:26.8) in this race and won by a couple seconds. Tom took 2nd. Pat was beat out by another guy on a 999...one that he had creamed the day before. I think Pat was feeling a little hesitant after crashing.

Race 6: Unlimited GP.

Once again, I was in the "not for money" money race. This time I got a better start and ran much better times. I actually held off Ted Rich for a few laps, even though he was doing faster times than me all weekend. He finally got by me on the back straight using the extra power he has on that GSXR 750. He waved to me as he went by....punk ;-) I finished 6th out of 15. If it had been a money paying weekend, I would have made $85 on this race.

Race 11: Heavyweight Superbike.

This was my best race of the weekend. Not only did I place well, but I had my fastest times yet in the last race of the weekend (1:26.3)! Off the start, Ted got right by me and I decided I wanted to try and follow him to learn where I could be faster. I wanted to try and do my own waving. After the first lap settled down, I was in 3rd behind Ted with him about 2-3 seconds in front of me. Over the next 5 laps, I reeled him in to within 1 second! On the 2nd to last lap, we came up to lap a rider who is much slower than us. Ted was able to get him going into a corner, but I got seriously held up by him. He went SUPER slow through the corner but still used up the entire turn on the exit!! He ran me into the dirt and I lost a good second on Ted. That happened right before the white flag letting us know there was 1 lap to go. I still did not give up and braked as late as I could for turn 1. On the exit of one, I got on the gas early and felt the coolest thing I've felt on a bike yet....a power slide to turn 2! The rear end starting sliding out in a very controlled way, I heard the RPMs rise and I felt the bike shooting forward. It was AWESOME! I pulled Ted back in a bit, but wasn't able to close the gap in the last lap. Despite finishing 3rd, I ran the 2nd fastest times of this race. I feel I could have passed Ted if this lapper had not held me up.

I am pretty pleased that my times were faster on Sunday in the wind. I feel that the wind was good for another second or two, so I think I could have been in the 1:25s minus the wind...only 6 seconds off the lap record. I did a 1:26.5 on Saturday without the wind, and I rode MUCH better on Sunday in the wind to do a 1:26.3.

Because of the wind, my shoulders were really sore at the end of the day. We were fighting the steering controls all day long.

The ride home was nice because Amy and I rode with Mike and Michelle in Mike's RV. That made it more comfortable for the passengers because we could walk around, play cards, etc. With a pregnant wife, having an accessible restroom at all times is very valuable!

The End

Minus the theft, Pat's crash and Mike's bike, this was a great weekend for me. I got the cobwebs out of my head and rode pretty well on Sunday. We got some pretty good pictures that Mike took with Pat's camera, as well as some shots from professional photographers at the track (Superbike Pics & Trackday.net), so check them out in the photos section.

Oh, my friend Brian Short had an insane crash going into turn 5....it looked like he was riding a bucking bronco out there! I don't know how he saved it, but when he did he was heading about 100mph towards a fence in the dirt and had to dump it. I'm amazed he was ok, but his pit crew said he was fine. I even saw him on the pit wall cheering me on a race later! He was really moving all weekend...it's a bummer he wasn't able to finish out the weekend upright.

I want to give a special thanks to Mike for working so hard in the pits. I know how bad it sucks to not be racing, but he didn't complain too much. Also, thanks to our wives/girlfriends for making the trip to Las Vegas. It's nice to have a cheering section. Thanks to our sponsors Helmet Harbor, Pipe City, Motorex, LP, VaporBlue and our new sponsor Desert Truss!  

Brian Kirkland #34