Witchkraft Racing: The Search for Speed

Home » Race Reports » 2002 GLRRA aka MGP :: Round 5 – 8/23-25

2002 GLRRA aka MGP :: Round 5 – 8/23-25

A BAFFLING WEEKEND.Â CARBURETOR’S ARE EVIL AND NEW BATTERIES SHOULD KEEP A CHARGE

Friday Practice:

I need an SV.

Plagued by problems again, this weekend of racing was the worst yet. My dad and I took the Hawk to Chad’s dyno the weekend before and everything looked good. After about 20+ dyno runs, the Hawk peaked out at 64 hp and sounded great. Getting back on the track however didn’t show the same results. Still having the same bogging problem at low rpm’s, it wasn’t quite as bad as it had been. Given that and the damp track conditions for most of the day, there wasn’t much practice to be had. Maybe it was a good thing because quite a few guys were crashing on Friday.

Saturday:

While the problems still persisted, there wasn’t enough time to try and fix them, so I was just going to try and ride through the problem (easier said than done) for the races. I knew the competition was going to be even tougher this time around. Bob (#54, Watson) was finally back with his bike working, Aaron (#77, Bagwell) had really stepped up the pace and Loren (#127, Black), Jovie (#316, Barnes) and Chip (#191, Kraus) all had new slicks mounted on their SV’s. On top of that, there were two mystery Canadian SV guys. One apparently with 80+ horsepower and the other with a #1 plate on his bike. Hmmm ..

In addition to having some different carb settings this time around, I also moved the battery from behind the tail section to down in front of the engine. I had seen this done before and thought that shifting more weight to the front of the bike might be advantageous.

Race #2 – Lightweight Supertwins

After some dismal starts last round, I wanted to make sure to not repeat that again this time around. Once the green flag dropped, I was first out of the gate and into turn 1. Of the 8 laps in this race, I think I led the first 4 or so. During this time, the bike was bogging in most areas of the track, although not terribly bad.

On the fourth or fifth lap, I hit a false neutral going into 1, and I knew Bob would be right there to take advantage of it. He passed me on the inside and I had to fall in behind him. I followed him pretty close for the next couple laps, but had a difficult time staying with him. In addition to Bob being a great rider, the torque he had coming out of the turns was no match for the hiccuping my bike was doing out of every turn. I noticed this especially in turns 1 and 9. I was able to close the gap a little bit going in, but he was really opening it up coming out – and this was something I couldn’t easily “ride through”. Down the straight, he was pulling on me too. This wasn’t the case last time we were out together. Damn those SV’s! :) On the straight though, I glanced at my lap timer (new addition – not sure yet how useful it will be yet) and saw that my best lap of the race was only a 1:29.0. I was definitely off the pace I was running last round.

With about 2 laps to go, the bike started getting a little worse. This is typically what has been happening. Something to do with the bike getting hotter I suppose. Coming out of of the hairpin and up the hill, there was a big hesitation from the Hawk, as I was going through 10A and 10B. Coming onto the straight, I was passed by the Canadian guy with the #1 plate. At the time, it looked like he was an amateur, but with the #1 mounted on his bike, he could have been an expert I thought. In any event, he passed me coming onto the straight and I was able to pass him back on the brakes going into 1. However, I was watching his bike during the braking process to make sure I’d get by him, so I didn’t see my brake marker. To compensate, I had to run a little wide through 1 and he was able to duck under me to retake 2nd place. I followed him on the last lap and thought that there might be a couple spots that I could pass him, given he was relatively new to Grattan. He ran the perfect lines though and there wasn’t anywhere that I could make a “clean” pass.

SIDE NOTE: I think a lot of guys out there don’t understand what a “clean” pass is. This was greatly illustrated in many of the lightweight races this weekend. Running way wide (almost off the track) in turns because of going in too hot, “pushing” others wide while trying to make an erratic pass, chopping and almost clipping off the front end of the bike you just passed. Everyone blows a turn or makes a mistake while out on the track, but certain guys are doing it way too often. And you can see that it catches up with them because they are the guys who are out there crashing the most.

So I ended the race with a 3rd place finish. Bob won his first race back, which was great, although I wish I would have had a chance to dice with him a little more. I was still surprised that I finished where I did. I was expecting Allan, Loren and Chip to be right there during the race – I think they might have gotten held up somehow. Allan finished 8th, so that actually gave me a 4 point lead in the overall points for the class. This was pretty much the only highlight of the weekend.

Race #4 – Lightweight GP – Leg 1

I had a good jump in this race and led the first couple of laps. It wasn’t long before Nick (#64, Cummings) was right alongside me, looking to make a pass. I first saw him through the sweeper, as he wheelied over that dip on the outside (as the fast 125 guys seem to do), but I was able to out brake him into 9 to hold onto the lead. Nick came right back alongside me onto the straight away, as we both went down it side by side. As we went down the straight, I only pulled half a bike length on him! In addition to being an awesome rider, he’s got a lot of speed in that 125. So as we approached turn 1, he was on the inside and I on the outside. I was able to out brake him into 1 and fend him off a little longer. That was about it though because he passed me on that next lap (not sure where exactly) and started to pull away.

As the race wore on, I slowly began to go backwards. Bob passed me and then Adam (#20, Sylvester) passed me. My lap times were even further off then they were before. I finished 4th, which wasn’t too bad, but I knew things could have gone better. I’m tired of using the bike as an excuse, but it’s just continually been a problem.

Race #6 – Sportsman

Of the last two rounds this year, this has been the most disappointing class. I won the first 3 races of the year, somewhat comfortably and then I lost last round to Allan by half a wheel and again finished 2nd this time around.

On the start, Ted (#871, Wheeler) had a great start from the front row and was leading early down the straight. I had a bit of a wheelie off my start, as Allan was ahead of me too. Going into 1, I got by both Ted and Allan to take the lead. I led the first 6 laps or so, dealing with the bike, which now seemed to be getting worse. On the 6th lap, the bike was really bad and I knew Allan was coming. Coming out of the bowl, he came along the outside of me in the sweeper as we went through it side by side. As most people know, it’s kind of hairy going side by side with someone through the sweeper – with all the bumps scattered throughout it, it makes for an interesting situation.

The first time through the sweeper, Allan hit the bumps on the outside and went way wide. I was watching out of the corner of my helmet and thought he was going on the grass. He looked to regain his composure and pinned the throttle going into 9. I, doing the same (pinning the throttle, which really wasn’t “pinning” because the bike was coughing at 7 grand) kept the lead solely because I had the inside line going into the hairpin.

On the 7th lap, the same thing happened. Side by side through the sweeper, only this time it was a little closer. On the brakes hard and downshifting, I missed 2nd gear and went too deep into the hairpin. Allan, right next to me couldn’t do anything because I was right there. Not wanting to force the turn and possibly push Allan off the track, I sat there and waited for Allan to turn in – giving him the lead, as I tucked in behind (stupid me! :). The last lap wasn’t even a race. The bike was bogging everywhere and wasn’t pulling hard at all. I didn’t have a chance at chasing Allan down and again settled for 2nd place.

Looking back, it was a smart move not forcing the issue through 9 against Allan. Even if I had kept the lead up until the last lap, I wouldn’t have been able to keep Allan behind me. Allan and I have had some pretty close racing this season and he’s one of the few guys I feel comfortable and safe racing with. I pretty much know how he rides and I know he’s not going to make a risky move that might jeopardize himself, along with another rider. I think we’ve gone side by side through most of the turns at Grattan – you’d think I’d have learned to go faster through those by now. :)

Race #8b – Amateur GTP

I had talked with my dad that if the bike was still running bad this race, I’d put my hand on my head coming onto the straight to signal that I was coming in. The bike was so bad on the first lap, I tapped my helmet, threw my leg out and pulled in. DNF.

Sunday:

As a prelude to Sunday, my dad and I set out to see what the problem was with the bike. We took the bike to the dyno again to see what Chad thought. Chad’s given us a bunch of ideas and even though the problem still persists, he has been a HUGE help with the bike and getting the most horsepower out of it as possible. The bike again ran fine without a hiccup on the dyno. Fellow Hawk racer, Shawn (#56, Alexander) let us borrow his carbs for testing purposes (thanks again Shawn) and we put them on. I took a warmup lap in one of the last Middleweight races of the day to see how the bike ran. It ran fine in the 4-6k rpm range, but didn’t pull past 7k. This should have been normal, given Shawn was running smaller main jets than I was. Since this seemed to fix the low/mid range rpm problem, we took this as a step in the right direction.

Sunday morning, we switched jets and were ready to rock. I went out in practice and the bike felt good. However, the last 2 laps of practice, the problem started to happen again at 7k or so. Upon looking at everything, confusion set in as now my dad thought it might be an electrical problem, as opposed to a carb problem.

I also came to the conclusion that the battery relocation plan wasn’t working as well as initially planned. While the bike turned in easier, flicking the bike from side to side was more difficult – which I noticed almost everywhere on the track. The extra weight down low didn’t allow me to ‘flick’ it in as easily as I had been accustomed to. This in turn changed my lines, where I was running wider coming out of turns that I usually did. I later removed some fluid from the forks, creating more of an air cushion which did soften things up, but caused a big chatter problem going through turn 4, something I never experienced before. Being a fine line with the amount of fluid in the forks, I added a little more back to try and compensate. With that not being extremely accurate science, I think I’ll just put the battery back where it was for the next round.

Race #1 – Lightweight GP – Leg 2

I had big plans for this race. Allan, Nick and I were in a tie for the points lead here. I knew Nick was quicker than I was, but I was confident that I could finish in the top 3. As the race started, I got the hole shot and led into turn 1. It didn’t take Nick long to pass me this time as he pulled alongside coming out of turn 4 and up to the jump. We were side by side over the jump and I guess if I really wanted to, I could have forced the issue and kept the lead, having the inside line. However, I knew that Nick ran something like a 1:24 lap time earlier in the CanAm qualifying session and I knew he’d pass me sooner or later.

SIDE NOTE: a 1:24?! He’s an amateur! Can’t we have him bumped to expert status immediately? :)

Anyway, I was in 2nd for the next couple laps when the bike started going south. It was only happening coming onto the straight and it was only for a couple seconds, then it would come back to life. I could see my dad and Shawn standing up top watching, hearing that something was wrong. The next couple laps it got worse – even worse than things had been on Saturday. I was going down the straight, at what felt like 60 mph, while the tach just sat at around 7k rpm. I was yelling, “NOOOOOO!!!!!” in my helmet as I jumped and wiggled on the bike – trying to do anything to “jolt” it back to life. About five bikes whizzed by me on the straight – one of which was fellow Witchkraft racer Chuck, along with Allan and Taylor (#144, Knapp), who clipped my left leg and handlebar on his way by.

This race was quite odd. Going into turn 1, the bike, “came back to life” and I passed a few people back. I was able to pass Chuck and Allan going into the hairpin. I came onto the straight and the bike sounded normal again. Later on that next lap however, the same thing happened – blubbering everywhere and 60 mph down the straight. Again, more bikes passed me – Chuck again, Allan again and Doug (#513, Root) this time. Once again, the bike came back to life later that lap and I repassed Chuck. As we came onto the straight, the bike was running great and I repassed Allan and Doug on the straightaway. As the bike crapped out again, the three of them passed me, along with some others. The bike made one more feeble attempt to run for about half a lap and I was able to pass Chuck again (as we later laughed at our dicing that race), but that was about it. After that, the bike really felt unsafe. A couple times coming out of 1 and in the sweeeper, I would try to get on the gas hard and it would pull, then shut off – getting me up and out of my seat.

As the race wore on, I looked up coming onto the straight and saw my dad putting his hand on his head. He obviously wanted me to come in, but I had to stay out and get as many points as possible. I finished the race being as smooth as possible, just making sure I stayed on two wheels. I finished 12th, unfortunately eliminating my chances for a class championship.

Race #5 – Heavyweight Supertwins

Upon the warmup lap, the bike felt fine. But once the green flag dropped and we were into turn 1, the bike was acting up again. Maybe it’s something that only happens at race pace – whether it’s at full throttle or more vibrations are occurring at that speed – I was beside myself at this point. The bike came and went a few times during the race – at which point, I was passed and repassed some guys. I was so frustrated at this point, I came in after 6 laps, just to get scored for the race, where I finished 10th.

Conclusion:

With all the high points this season, this has been the lowest so far. I came in planning on 1st and 2nd place finishes for most of the weekend, catching up to Allan and the 4th place overall amateur. Instead I came out barely keeping 5th place and losing ground in most of my classes.

Higher hopes for the final round 6 …

Tuesday, January 1st, 2002 | POSTED AT: 12:05 PM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports