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WERA ’13, Round 2 & 3 – Mid-Ohio (Turning up the Heat)

Our trip to Mid-Ohio for WERA's second round on the schedule was a much-anticipated one. We'd be practicing Monday and Tuesday with races Wednesday and Thursday. AMA Pro had just finished racing here the previous weekend and while I would have liked to have been part of the big show, this would be just as fun (and a lot cheaper!). Dates are hard to come by at Mid-O, which is why the racing was mid-week. The weather forecast was dry, but 90+ degrees each day which would make for a challenge. With the heat index, people were saying it was around 105 degrees each day.

My dad and I arrived Sunday night to setup shop in garage 15, which would be our home for the next four days. Aaron would be arriving Monday night but Doug had to stay home with back issues flaring up for him, which was a major bummer. Speaking of injuries, the wrist was still in the healing/rehab phase, but the pain was manageable. After how Grattan went, I figured the limitations would be tolerable.

Monday and Tuesday went off without any major issues, aside from going slow. Monday was extremely hot – the hottest day of the week. I was struggling to feel comfortable on the bike and put in good times. There weren't many clean laps on the over-crowded track, so getting into a rhythm wasn't happening but I'd have to make the best of it. I couldn't get out of the 1:37 lap-time range which was I was rather unhappy about. My personal best from 2007 was a 1:31.3 on a previous-generation 2005 Yamaha R6. I had a long way to go.

By the time Tuesday rolled around, Dad and Aaron were riding well and having a good time. Stymie and Jillian were there, as well as a bunch of other friends/racers from the region, including Nick at STG. We had a good group of us for dinner that night, about nine of us total which was fun. I was still struggling with lap times and bike setup, but was hopeful racing would help snap things into action.

As Wednesday morning arrived, race practice started – a clear track – finally. In the second morning session, I dropped down into the low 1:35's, which was at least progress. The bike still wasn't feeling great and we continued to make adjustments. Stymie and Jillian were in the garage next to us, with Nick, Gary Kole and Eric Swahn on the other side.

Aaron was riding really well. He was dropping time each lap and looked really good on the bike. Trouble struck though as he had an engine issue in the last practice session of the morning, taking him out for the rest of the event. It was a shame as Aaron has been riding great and getting faster each time on the bike. He surely would have been in the mix come race time.

The first race of the day was 600 Superbike. Up until this point I felt clearly off the pace and wasn't sure how the races would pan out. As the first green flag of the event dropped, I was able to get the holeshot into T1 and lead for a few laps, before being passed by Chad Lintner and David Dannemiller a couple laps later. I hadn't raced against these guys previously, but they were local to Mid-O and knew the track well. Chad is an AMA guy and David certainly knew his way around. I ended up finishing 3rd out of 18 bikes, dropping down to a 1:34.2. It was progress from practice, but I had wanted to be in the 34's on Monday, not Wednesday – which makes for an uphill battle in finding a bunch of time once the races start. The fast time of the race was a 1:33.2.

Next up was 750 Superbike. We made a couple changes to the bike beforehand, as I was having issues with front-end feel/confidence and the rear end squatting/running wide on acceleration. Lining up, I had a good start, but went backwards as the laps ticked off. Eric Spector passed me, along with Aubrey Bailey – a fast guy from Canada. Dannemiller went by as well as someone else, putting us back to 5th at the checkered flag. It was another big grid which was good, but lap times weren't improving. A 1:34.5 was my best lap. Best lap of the race was a 1:33.0.

600 Superstock was next. This race had a similar script to the first two. Holeshot, get passed, go slower. I finished 2nd behind Dannemiller again and the best lap was a 1:34.7. Wrong direction! Generally you're supposed to go faster as the races progress, but I was struggling. I was pressing too much and trying to ride the bike when it didn't feel comfortable at all. I was too tight on the bars, my hand was falling asleep halfway through the race and all in all, just wasn't riding well.

My dad's races went great. He won both Lightweight Superbike and F2 by comfortable margins. He had great launches and really looked smooth – he was just on it. He set a 1:40.1 in the first race and a 1:39.9 in the second race. As far as I remember, anything sub-1:40 around Mid-O is pretty quick on a lightweight bike. He had big grids as well as there were not only the WERA regulars racing, but some new faces getting seat time in for the AMA Vintage Days that were happening after WERA was done (they have classes for twins also).

The day was running a little behind and WERA had to move the final two races of the day to Thursday morning since Mid-Ohio wanted extra money to run past 5:00pm. This meant our 750 Superbike race moved. Given the heat, I didn't mind the delay but that meant five races tomorrow.

Due to the mechanical issues, Aaron left that night to head home and pull the motor from his bike. Our same group headed to dinner which was a good time with lots of laughs. Later that night at the hotel, dad and I looked over the notes trying to figure out how to go faster.

Thursday morning practice went off okay, still throwing changes at the bike. I was into the 1:35's in practice, which was good – but it still wasn't good enough from where we should have been. I went up to the keyhole to watch dad during his practice session. Just watching his lines, how he rides and throws the bike around, he's really riding well.

Following practice, the 750 Superstock morning race went alright. We finished 2nd behind Eric Spector. He had his 750 pretty dialed in. Still, I should have at least been able to give him a fight. Lap times were in the 1:34's.

Over lunch, we talked about things and how I could ride better. I would try and change my body position a little to make up for my lack of confidence in the bike. Fingers crossed something would help.

With the double-header format, Thurday's first race was again 600 Superbike. Dannemiller and Lintner weren't racing, which actually was disappointing as they were good carrots to chase. As it would turn out, carrots would not be in short supply.

Off the line, I had a good launch into T1. By this point Eric (Swahn), Cale (Jones) and I were getting to know each other pretty well, since we were gridded together in just about every race. I was able to lead the first few laps of this race and had a small lead at the halfway point. After that, the lead started shrinking and I knew there was someone close behind. I started to run some defensive lines and that ultimately hurt me, as on the last lap, Aubrey (Bailey) passed me on the outside of the back straight into T7, as I was trying to protect the line. I chased him for the last half-lap, but couldn't get by him anywhere cleanly. He ended up winning by half a second at the line. We shook hands on the cool down lap and congratulated each other on a good race. Man, I couldn't help but feel that I gave that one away. That's racing, but running defensively isn't something I normally do. The good news was that we had finally gotten back in to the 1:33's, with a 1:33.6 and we were ten seconds clear of third place. Aubrey had the fast lap at a 1:33.1.

750 Superbike was up next. We finished 3rd in this one behind Spector and Aubrey. While we did a 1:33.5, both those guys were down into the 1:32's. I was still fighting the bike and we were making changes in between every race – usually not a good sign (and a sign of something else being the problem I would later realize). Nothing felt hugely better and I was still struggling with a half-numb hand that was wearing the grip off the clip-on.

600 Superstock was the best finish of the week, although not the best in terms of lap times. We would win this one with Rick (Lind) chasing the whole time. Rick had just done the AMA round here the weekend before, so he was quick and movin'. By this point, I was flat-out frustrated about things, but was able to hold off Rick to the finish.

Last race of the day was 750 Superstock. Before this one, I threw some changes at the shock. I had been studying our setup notes and at this point, figured why not. Dad had his hands full with his races, so I thought I'd try something – which turned out to be a change in the wrong direction. It was bad enough that I was waiving people by during the race as to not get in their way or fall down myself. The back of the bike was now stiff as a board and totally non-compliant. I think we ended up 4th by some miracle or battle of attrition. I was tempted to pull off, but didn't want to give in and quit on the last race of the day.

Dad's races went great. He won one and finished second in the other to a local fast guy. The good news was dad set a new personal best lap at a 1:39.3, with his lap timer showing a 1:38 if he had pieced the splits together ideally.

As for the battle of lap times against Stymie, he won this round with getting into the 1:31's – a fine place to be and one I was left looking up at enviously.

Overall I'm frustrated with how the week went. The results themselves were good and the grids were big, which is great – but I'm more concerned with lap times. I want to make progress from year to year and improve my riding, not go backwards. Granted, it had been five years since racing at Mid-Ohio which surely didn't help, but I know the track well-enough by now. After talking things over with everyone, I think I pressed too hard and tried riding too "fast" from the get-go. That pressing led me to wanting to make quick-fix changes on the bike early in the week, before I was up to speed. Once the times weren't dropping, I tried to fix things and ultimately made things worse. Charging corners, reverting to old habits and generally just making it difficult to ride fast. I also based our setup on something that worked five years ago, rather than our setup that worked great most recently at our last race weekend. As a buddy of mine (Mark) said, there's really no point making changes when you're a bunch of seconds off your normal pace. I think he's right.

The positive take from all of this is one – we know how to make the bike difficult to ride at Mid-O. :) Two – it's just one event. And three – it's simply up to me to ride better and I know how to go about working on that. This level of racing is competitive and mistakes can be made quite visible rather quickly. We had a good run at Grattan, so while that's not my favorite track, it will be good to go back there and regroup.

Thanks for reading.

Photos courtesy of Kyle Hunter.

Monday, July 22nd, 2013 | POSTED AT: 5:49 AM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports

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You're currently reading "WERA ’13, Round 2 & 3 – Mid-Ohio (Turning up the Heat)," an entry on Witchkraft Racing.
Published: 07.22.13 / 5am
Category: Race Reports