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Aaron’s Analysis – WERA National @ Grattan

By Aaron Bagwell:

Expectations were high going into the weekend for myself and the LW Twins side of the Witchkraft garage. Thanks to Eddie and Joe this was not just a play on words. Garage 8 had been reserved for the Witchkraft team to call home for the weekend.

When we arrived Friday afternoon Eddie was already on his way to an impressive weekend. By the end of the afternoon sessions Eddie had dropped into the 1:22’s on his Yamaha R6 and set a new personal best. Little did we know that Eddie had only begun his charge. More on this later ..

Saturday morning opened up with rain and a slick track. I decided to still go out in the morning and run a few laps to get the juices flowing and see the track. However, Saturday was scheduled for the WERA National Endurance series 6-hour race. Witchkraft Racing had decided to devote its resources to one of its rivals from years past Carney Racing. The rivalry has always been light hearted and both teams have huge respect for each other. The Carney’s would be running their ’03 Yamaha R6 with riders Andy George, Steve George and Nik Von Matt (ex Mexican National Champion, nicknamed “Nitro”) in the Middleweight Superstock class. This class included National Endurance regulars like Ghetto Customs and Dalke Motorsports, so we knew that it would be an uphill battle.

Morning endurance practice went well although the conditions did not bode well for fast times. The team order was set with Nik leading off followed by Andy and then Steve. A fresh set of Pirelli rubber was put on the bike and the count down to the start of the race was on.

The Carney’s were last on the grid and last into turn one. This would not discourage them though. Endurance racing is funny because you cannot win it on lap 1 or really hour 1 for that matter. The key seems to be consistency and good pit stops. As it turns out that was our strategy. We were not the fastest team in our class by a long shot but the bike was consistent even on old tires. The pit stops were quick for the equipment we were working with. Even the mid-race tire change was good. We definitely did not hurt ourselves on pit lane. As the clock wound into the final hour the Carney’s were running 5th in class and gaining on the fourth place team. Once passed them we came in for our last stop which included fuel and a rider change. Nik Von Mat would be going out to try and close the deal. Nik had struggled earlier in the day with arm pump and was running consistent laps but a little off the pace. As this was happening the third place team Dalke Motorsports was having some mechanical issues with their shift linkage it appeared. While they were in pit lane we were able to make up the laps and pass them for third. With less than an hour left we were in third place with a little over a one minute lead on Dalke. They were gaining 4 seconds a lap at our current pace though so it was decided that we would pull Nik in and send Andy out to finish the race since he had run the best times of the day. The change went well other than the excitement of Andy nearly looping the Yamaha leaving the pit box. The last hour was exciting as Andy battled a worn front tire and a pursuing Dalke team to hold on to third place in class and tenth overall. The emotions of that last hour were swaying back and forth from "We got this" to "It is going to be really close", but by the end the Carney’s had about a 10 second gap at the flag.

Congratulations to those boys. They come out once a year for this race and always manage to put up a good fight. This year they reaped the rewards with some nice trophies and a chance to speak to the masses at the podium ceremonies. Way to go guys.

Sunday morning we woke up to clearing fog and a chilly morning. Not to be deterred, the processes of race day went on; Fuel, tire warmers and a once over of all controls and systems on the bikes. I would only be running two races today, Lightweight Twins Superstock and Superbike on the SV. Due to the combined Regional / National format I would have a long wait; we were race 14 and 17.
As the fog broke and morning practice went on the track was looking good. First practice session I wanted to go out and get up to speed and get comfortable so I could get back down into the elusive 1:26’s that I ran last year at this event. As I cam around for the second lap and drove out of turn one into two I cam up on a slower Kawasaki EX250 which runs with the Lightweights in practice. Trying not to get held up to bad I ran a wider entry into turn two and tried to square it off and misjudged my track position. I ended up to far inside and got on the pavement transition at the apex and lost the front, low-sided out into the grass. This is not what I wanted for my first session on race day. The “good” news is that I was able to keep my leg under the bike as we slid across the pavement and minimized the damage. As I picked the bike up and rode to the corner workers station it looked as if all I would need would be a rear brake lever and a footpeg. The wonderful thing about the track is that people are willing to help and share parts for a fallen comrade. This would be the case today. Thank you to Jason Smith a fellow competitor for the use of his spare footpeg without which I would have been dead in the water. Bike repairs made and a quick replay of the incident in my head put me at ease. Crashing sucks! However crashing and understanding why you crashed is always easier than crashing without understanding. It was a simple rider error. It won’t happen again.

The second practice felt good. The bike was fine and the repairs were adequate. My practice time was a little slower than what I had hoped but I felt like the set-up of the bike was good. A fresher set of tires and a rush of adrenaline from the “green” flag and I felt like I would be in the hunt for a podium.

Now the wait commenced. The best part though was that teammate Eddie Kraft would be racing several races before me which helps the time move along. And race he did. As I watched Eddie out on the Honda East, Flagstar Bank sponsored Witchkraft Yamaha R6 I thought back to our beginnings in the sport. We both started racing with GLRRA at around the same time and had shared the track together for many years as competitors and most recently as teammates. He has matured as a racer a lot this year after battling injury most of last year. It is fun to watch as he leads Regional races and at this National event he would battle with the likes of Vesrah Suzuki’s John Jacobi, Cory West and Tray Batey. Not to mention AMA regular Taylor Knapp and always fast Robert Jensen. What stood out to me this weekend was not just the fact that he was gridded up with these guys but that he was able to stand up to the sustained pressure of these guys racing within inches of him and be able to hold them off and not give in to the constant pressure. I honestly think that is an ability that racers develop as they take the step to the next level. Way to go Eddie, it was an honor and a privilege to watch and help with your program and I look forward to more in the future.

With the excitement of my first race of the weekend building I grabbed my grid positions and prepared myself. It was nice to have my crew, my sons Jordan and Dylan, there to help with fuel and tire warmers. The first race was the National LWTSS class. I would be in the middle of Row 1. As the green flag waved I felt like I had started pretty well but still ended up in third into turn one behind Jason Smith and leader Eric Koeningsburg. I knew I would have to get by Jason quickly if I wanted a chance at getting to Eric. Eric has a very strong motor and a few trick parts that make his 2nd Generation SV very fast. As we completed lap one I could got a good drive onto the straight away and drafted Jason into turn one and passed him on the brakes. I could still see Eric in the distance and needed to push. The pace was only in the 1:28’s for me and Jason and Eric had thrown down a great second lap in the high 1:26’s and opened a pretty good gap. Unfortunately this would be how it finished. Eric led me to the line by nearly 7 seconds running that high 1:26 and a few laps in the 1:27’s. I needed to pick up the pace.

The second race was LWTSB which was a Regional class but would have the same combatants with the addition of Allan Burley a North Central regular. He has a fast bike so it was going to be a big challenge. Once again I had drawn a front row starting position and was looking to get off the line well. And once again Plan A did not happen so going into turn one I resorted to plan B, “Go faster” than everyone else the rest of the race. Eric ran wide into turn one and Allan led the way Jason slotted into third and I would be in forth, definitely had my work cut out for me. Eric recovered quickly and was able to get under Allan entering the off-camber turn three. I knew I had to push hard to clear Jason and Allan. As we came out of four and over the section called “the Jump” I recalled Eddie’s advice and did not use the brakes at all. Wow! You can really go fast through that section of track if you are brave. The problem was that Jason and Allan run a wide line through five so I could not get under them in the left hand portion of the esses. As a matter of fact I almost ran into the back of Jason on the first lap as he had to check up to avoid Allan at that same point. The rest of the first lap was pretty processional as I tried to figure out how to get by these guys. I got a great run up the hill and onto the front straight and could get along Jason but was not able to get a pull with the draft while out next to him. It was at that point that I decided to take them one at a time. So as that lap proceeded I knew that I could get that same drive up the hill and wait late on the brakes and get Jason into turn one. So as we went into turn one beginning of lap three I was now in third with just Allan to contend with. The pace of the race was slow in the 1:28’s and I knew that if I could clear Allan that I could run better times and have a chance at the win. At the end of that lap in the “Bus Stop” I was able to pass Allan but he came right back by on the drive up the hill. I left him too much room on the exit and he wound up that big motor. So as we entered that same corner on lap four I again went around the outside and pinched him a little on the exit to delay his ability to get back on the gas and ten concentrated on getting a good drive to the straightaway so that he could not get back by me. Once clear of the traffic I was able to run a second faster and into the 1:27’s but I was not done. I could see Eric coming back to me as I pushed hard on the final lap. I knew that I would have to get him before the straightaway or else his motor would allow him to get to the line first. I was able to run a 1:26.7 but came up .277 seconds short at the checkered flag. If only we had one more lap; or if only I could have cleared traffic earlier. Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say.

What do you take from a weekend of second place finishes? Well, first and foremost it was a safe weekend. It was good close racing and a fun weekend with the Witchkraft team watching Eddie’s awesome performances. Lastly, although we were not able to win any races we had run the fastest SV lap time of the weekend on a truly Superstock bike that I have purchased and maintained with a bone stock motor. This is something that we can build confidence on as we get ready for the next Grattan Regional round in August.

Thanks to all those that help me. Eddie, Joe, Doug and the whole Witchkraft family. Thanks to Tom Beagle at Honda East of Toledo. Thanks to my boys Jordan and Dylan. Thanks also to Kim, Sonny, Phil and Rhonda and all the fans of the sport who come to watch the excitement.

Thursday, July 16th, 2009 | POSTED AT: 5:29 AM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports