Vegetarians Unite

5/5 – 5/7 – Barber Motorsports Park

Barber Motorsports Park is my favorite track. The whole place feels like an exclusive country club, except instead of a golf course, it features a race track…and what a track it is. Fun stuff. If you like motorcycles, make the time and go to Barber. The museum alone is worth the trip, but if you’re so-inclined, the track is one of the best in the country (maybe the best).

I arrived Thursday night after a short 180 mile drive from my new home in Nashville. This move to TN has revolutionized my commute to every track, lopping around 240 miles off to every track I race. This is particularly cool in light of $3/gal gas.

Luckily for me, Gil Cutchen, Ryan Nelson, and Tom Lees had saved a pit spot for me, so once again I’d be able to pit with my friends. This is a Good Thing on many fronts. Not only is it more fun that way, but if help is ever needed it’s right there.

The weather was to be a factor once again. Friday dawned wet and cool, but the weather report said that we could expect clearing and even some sun in the early afternoon. The forecast for the weekend was as follows:

Saturday: perfect in every way
Sunday: building an ark might be a good idea

Ugh…rain again on race day. As I mentioned before, I’m ok with riding on rain tires, but I would really rather race in the dry…it’s just more fun to ride on a nice sunny day. Saturday was looking good though, so at least the Solo would be dry.

The weather did dry out on Friday afternoon, allowing a couple of dry practice sessions. I was comfortable and I felt fast(ish) so all good there. I don’t have a lap timer, and the WERA timing setup wasn’t yet operational, but I guessed I was lapping in the 1:42 area. Not great on a 600, but ok for me. I knew I’d have to pick up the pace on Saturday if I was to run at the front in the solo. This turned out to be both true and false.

Saturday was, as predicted, a beautiful day. I had a good practice, and the time sheets told me I was running 1:43 laps. They also told me that I needed 1:38’s if I was going to run in the top 5. I felt that cracking 1:40 in the race was definitely doable, but 1:38 seemed like a stretch. But, regardless of my lap times, I would get my shot at running at the front of the pack. How can this be?

The Middleweight Solo 16 was a 4 wave race, with over 60 entries. I was gridded on Row #1, in the center. Yes, that’s Row 1, as in, one position away from the pole…with 62 ravenous maniacs behind me. I held out hope that I, The Worst Starter Ever, could leap off the line and hook up with a fast guy, and away I’d go to glory and beyond…and that’s exactly what happened.

Well, it’s exactly what happened, if you substitute “leap off the line” with “nearly stall and have the entire first wave pass me.”

It was ok though. As it happened, my friend Scott Unger was one of the passers, but he didn’t’ get away. I re-passed him on the way around T2, and he, in turn, re-passed me into T5 when I got held up a bit in traffic. It was, as they say, on. For the rest of the race I gave chase, and we dipped into the 1:41 range. I never was able to pass him, but I had a great time trying.

One highlight of the race was catching and passing our friend Alex on his TZ250. We both passed Alex around the outside of the T13-T14 complex, significant only because of the relentless smack talk we’d endured the preceding week re: 600’s carrying no corner speed, etc. Sweet.

Sunday morning I decided not to race the C classes, and instead changed my registration to B Superstock and B Superbike. Much to our delight and surprise, the morning rain cleared off and the rest of the day was dry. This combination of class change and weather improvement served to lift my spirits considerably, and come time for BSB, I was ready to go out and have a good time riding.

Due to my class change, I was gridded in the 3rd wave. This didn’t bother me, as I was content to gradually work my way through the pack as I was able, and I wasn’t at all worried about the result. This attitude was part of my overall ‘this is supposed to be fun’ scheme, and it worked out nicely. I eventually caught up to a guy on a new Aprilia, and we had a great battle to the end, which he won by about 2 bike lengths. Oddly though, even though I felt like I was riding loose, happy, and fast, it turned out I was almost 2 seconds off of my Saturday pace.

BSS was the last race of the day, and because I was seriously thinking of selling the 600 when I got home (I’m still thinking about it), I decided not to run that race. Instead, I packed up and went home.

If my lack of enthusiasm is apparent in this post, please read the one from last night and you’ll see why. My Number 1 mission from this point forward is to do whatever it takes to bring the joy back to my racing, and I will be doing exactly that, in short order. Solong Meatgrinder, hello fun.

Don’t give up on me…I’ll be back!  (

Notables:

Harry “Mr. Wu” Wolle: first race weekend on his new Ducati, second race weekend as an expert…didn’t’ stop him from winning the DSS race after a great battle with Tom Lees. Congrats to both!

Scott Padgitt: First year on an 05 R6…12th in CSS Expert, turning 1:35 laps. That, friends, is no joke. Scott is a Fast Guy, and he’s super cool to boot. CSS Expert is the single most competitive class in WERA racing, just so you know. On the track in that race were Josh Hayes, Josh Herrin, Brian Stokes, and more fast dudes I don’t remember. 12th in that crowd is something to be proud of, and is a true accomplishment.

Steve Breckenridge and Augusta Triumph Ducati: Steve put the new Triumph 675 on the box on the Expert Middleweight Solo 16 on Saturday. The bike is virtually stock (stock shock, no motor work) and its speed was impressive. Steve has been The Real Thing all along, and now his bike is The Real Thing too. When these guys get that bike sorted…look out.