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Aaron’s Analysis – WERA @ Grattan, Round 7

By Aaron Bagwell:

It would prove to be a very trying weekend at the track. On the positive side I would be helping Jonas McCluskey, a long time friend, this weekend on his Elm Plating Yamaha R6. This would be his first race weekend of the year. Eddie, Joe, Tom and Doug would be filling the Witchkraft garage for the weekend. Joe had brought the SV and would prove to be the Ironman, as usual, in the LW class.

Saturday was filled with exciting racing action with the Solo 20’s being run. As much as I would have liked to run I was sitting this one out due to the financial impact of extra entries and tires. It was difficult as I watched all the LW bikes out on track picking up speed while I watched. This seemed to get in my head and turned into a common theme for the weekend. After the Saturday Solo’s I went to the Pirelli truck to get a new set of tires mounted up for Sunday sprints. Unfortunately Pirelli was short on space and brought no Diablo rears for the SV. I was going to have to run on some tires left over from the previous two rounds. This was a less than ideal situation and once again affecting my psyche.

Let’s step back to Saturday morning and our two rounds of practice. Session 1 went well with me leading the times, for those who ran transponders, you know who you are. Session 2 the bike still felt good but we were not picking up the speed or running the times I am capable of. There was work to be done.

Sunday morning came early. Again practice started off Ok. The bike was comfortable but the times were not great. I decided to try a gearing change and see if that would help. The fresh gearing was not a great improvement but I decided I would leave it for the first race LWSS in order to give it a fair evaluation. I mounted up a new Pirelli front and the rear tire I had from the previous rounds with over 40 laps on it.

LWSS. The race almost never got off the line as I pulled a rather large wheelie and about lost the bike at the start. A quick recovery and off we went. I was fourth into turn one and working on closing the gap. It took me a lap or two to get to the back wheel of Witchkraft member Wes Swain who was finally returning to action. I was able to get around him into the esses and pushed to open the gap. As I drove hard through the sweeper I had a big moment with the rear of the bike stepping out. Tires, I just had it in my head from than on that it was that rear tire. I would be forced to ease up the pace and bring it home in third. Not a great finish in my mind but it was good for points. My times were still off only able to get into the 1:28’s.

LWSB. After the struggle for grip in LWSS I decide to go back down a tooth to my original gearing. I was hoping that this would help me to carry more corner speed and make the transition to the throttle less violent at the tire. I had a much better start to this race but still back in the field. I was fifth into turn one behind Jason Smith and Allan Burley, both of these guys rode well this weekend, props to them. I kept trying Jason into the bowl but could not quite get the drive I needed to complete the pass. I found that my best section of the track was the exit of four through the esses and into the “bowl”. I had talked to fellow Witchkraft teammate Eddie who showed me the way…In all reality he simply told me to quit being a “wimp” and go harder through that section. As I approached the esses on lap four, I crested the hill and found that my seat had become dislodged somehow. I tried to asses the situation quickly but found the only solution was to toss the seat into the grass and finish the race. The idea sounded great but what a difficult four laps that turned out to be. My legs were burning and my knees were aching from the awkward seating position. Surprisingly, my times only fell off about 2 – 3 seconds. Thanks to Eddie for the signals on pit lane that let me know I had a safe gap to the next rider. A fifth place finish was not what I had expected or hoped for. Lap times in the 1:28’s were not where I should be.

Formula 2. Formula 2 is a race that I do not usually run. I was hoping to run this race to gather some extra points and track time in hopes of acquiring my AMA license over the winter. The way the weekend was going I would need all the extra track time I could get. This race is always very competitive with the mix of 2 stroke Grand Prix bikes and four stroke twins. I never could find the pace. I once again struggled with grip and could not get the drive out of the corners I desperately needed. To make matters worse I was tightening up due to the struggles of the weekend and managed to pull one of my clip-ons out of position. The bike just felt out of sorts…I soldiered on and finished eighth. Worst finish of the year. Times were even slower that the previous races with my best only in the 1:29’s.

Thoughts. What do you take from a weekend like this? I was frustrated about a lot of things and I let them affect my riding. At the end of the day the riding has got to be the focus! The tire issue should have been avoided by calling the Pirelli vendor ahead of time and letting him know what I needed. The poor start; I should have taken some time and practiced a few starts either at home or on the warm-up lap. The seat…Ohhhh the seat. Use mechanical fasteners that are designed for the job of holding it on and not zip ties. With all that in mind, relax on the bike. Be loose on the bars and enjoy what you are doing. This is competitive but it is also supposed to be enjoyable or why else would we be out there.

Better weekends are to come. I think in every racers career he has a weekend where things just don’t click. I feel the most important thing is to learn…take something from those weekends that you can turn into a positive. That I have done.

Lastly, thanks to all those who help me and support me at the track; the Witchkraft Honda East team: Eddie, Joe, Tom and Doug. Their ideas and knowledge are invaluable. Thanks to Jonas McCluskey for the accommodations and comradery. Thanks also to my crew for the weekend consisting of my sons Dylan and Aaron, there help with warmers and tire changes was appreciated.

Friday, August 28th, 2009 | POSTED AT: 6:45 AM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports

3 Comments on “Aaron’s Analysis – WERA @ Grattan, Round 7”

Doug wrote on 3 September, 2009, 7:13 AM
I just realized this is the last SV post from Aaron. I’m sad. I really liked that bike. It saved Aaron’s butt on many occasions except when Aaron didn’t do any maintenance. It carried Aaron to some excellent, well deserved race results…and now it’s gone. ‘sniff’
Eddie wrote on 3 September, 2009, 7:35 AM
It’ll be good to see Aaron on a 600. Although the tears from his eyes will be coming when he starts realizing how many tires he goes through compared to the SV. :)
Doug wrote on 3 September, 2009, 9:20 AM
This is going to be very interesting… Aaron on a razor sharp rocket. I’ll bring the bandaids and burn ointment. :)