tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004

tigerblade · 01-02-2007, 04:57 PM

Younger Oil Racing
2003 Season

Motorcycle: Honda RC51

Competition Numbers: #91 Novice CCS & WERA, #191 Novice CRA

Official Sponsors: Younger Oil Racing, Price Sign Company, Lockhart-Phillips Privateer Program

Products Used: LP Racelite windscreens, Michelin tires, Chickenhawk tire warmers, Multi-Tech bodywork, Vortex rearsets, Dan Kyle fork work, Penske shock, Spidi leathers and gloves, Bohn back protector, Sidi boots, Shoei helmet.

April 12-13 2003: Mid-America Motorplex, Pacific Junction IA (CRA)

I decided to take CRA’s new rider school though it wasn’t necessary because I was qualified for a competition license through Jason Pridmore’s STAR school, which I had attended in June of 2002. Still, I thought it would be best to attend the school to make sure I understood all race procedures. I’m still on a steep learning curve, so all the information I can absorb will only help. For the on-track sessions I was paired with instructor Pete Bohlig of Nutsack Racing, who was extremely helpful throughout the weekend.

My first race was Heavyweight Supersport. I was not expecting to be very competitive in this class since I would be racing against 750cc inline-four machines, namely the GSXR-750 which is both lighter and more powerful than my bike. Since I registered for the races at the track, I was gridded on the last row. The Expert riders took off in the first wave, followed by the Novices. Needless to say, my start left much to be desired. Luckily, I caught the group in turn one on braking, though just in time to see a couple of bikes either on the ground or in the grass. I made it cleanly through and began to settle into the race. I surprised myself a little as I began to pass a few people and was getting faster each lap. Unfortunately I must have been a little too enthusiastic, as I spun up the rear wheel on the last corner of the track while trying to get a good drive down the main straight to begin lap 6 (8-lap sprint race). I was already leaned far to the right in the corner so there was almost no impact from the crash. The bike slid off the edge of the track and I didn’t even get a bruise out of it! I got back to the pit and assessed the bike and myself. The only real damage was a broken windscreen and a ground-down rear brake pedal. I filed down the brake pedal so it had no sharp edges and re-teched the bike.

The second race was Supertwins. This race was much less eventful and I ran a couple of seconds per lap slower than I had in the HWSS race. The wind had picked up and I was fighting the bike when facing it. I determined that a windscreen was a very beneficial thing to have. I ran rather conservatively and finished 6th place Novice. I wasn’t battling for a top spot, but it did feel good to take the checkered flag for my first completed race.

tigerblade · 01-02-2007, 04:57 PM

May 25-26 2003: Mid-America Motorplex (CCS)

I decided not to run in the Heavyweight Supersport race this time since the track was very sketchy at the time. It had rained off and on all morning and several riders had crashed during the day. When I get another set of wheels it will be easier to switch to rain tires, but I had just mounted a fresh set of Michelin DOT’s for Saturday on my only wheels. My hope was that the track would dry sufficiently for the Supertwins race that was later in the day.

It did. I got a much better start this time and ran a decent race. I got hung up behind an Expert rider for a few laps and spent too much time running at that pace instead of getting by quickly and going for the next position. I finally made a pass and it stuck but my friend also got around on this SV650. He finished in 4th place while I took 5th. We were close enough to 3rd place that one of us probably would have had a shot at it if I hadn’t slowed us down in the middle of the race. Lesson learned: get by quickly! The race was still a success as I took home my first “wood”, a 5th place plaque.

June 14-15 2003: Gateway International Raceway, St. Louis (CCS)

I took advantage of a trackday on Friday the 13th to learn the track since I’d never ridden at Gateway before. Again, there were problems with rain but we did get a few dry sessions so I at least knew the track layout. I wasn’t very excited about the concrete walls that loom large in your vision when making the transitions from the infield onto the banking, but it wasn’t as hairy as I’d imagined.

Supertwins was my first race. My start was mediocre but I was in a decent position going into turn one. Another rider lost a chain, which went flailing across the middle of the track, but there were no incidents due to that. My RC51 didn’t seem to be the ideal machine for the tight Gateway track and I later discovered that my rear suspension needed some tweaking, but the race went well. I battled with a couple of other bikes during the race and finished with another 5th place plaque.

The Heavyweight Supersport race was bittersweet. A couple of laps into the race I was running two seconds a lap faster than I had been in the Supertwins race. I felt really good and was hoping to move up a few positions until the bike lost revs and died while braking for turn 2. I coasted to the side of the track out of the racing line but couldn’t restart the bike. Very frustrated, I pushed the bike back to the pits where it started on the first try. Since then we’ve taken the tank apart and put it back together, checking all connections and vents. Hopefully something was either pinched or loose and the problem won’t repeat itself. I guess that’s racing!

My next track time will be June 21-22 at Mid-America Motorplex for STAR school. I’m looking forward to getting more instruction from the STAR people. This time I hope to focus on more specific areas and maybe I’ll start getting some top 3 finishes…

tigerblade · 01-02-2007, 04:58 PM

June 21 2003: STAR School, Mid-America Motorplex

What’s that saying about “the best-laid plans”? I was very excited about the prospect of taking STAR school for two days at MAM. There were several RC51 guys and gals there including my VIR co-conspirators Rick and Dave (affectionately known as Sprinkles), as well as Steve and Lorraine all the way from the Left Coast. Even the infamous LDH (Mike) was there. We were all looking forward to learning and having fun with Jason Pridmore and the STAR gang.

The first few sessions are usually taken pretty slowly, getting acquainted with the track and working on technique. The first session was spent taking turns riding behind an instructor at a very sedate pace. We were all very surprised when Mike lowsided. He’s a very experienced rider and no one could really come up with an explanation why he went down. Luckily he wasn’t injured (though I think his ankle swelled later) and the rest of us went into the next classroom session.

The second session was a little freer, but we were still keeping speeds down. Jason challenged us to stay below 80 mph on the straights, which I did. On probably the second or third lap, I went into turn 7 at a decent pace, leaned down into the turn. All of the sudden, the front tire tucked under and I was instantly on the ground. The bike just slid across the track and into the grass; I had a more spectacular journey across the pavement. Basically, I was barrel rolling. I finally came to a stop when I got to the grass. I spit out a clump of dirt and started to take an assessment. I could feel a cut just below my left eye and I couldn’t lift my right arm. The eye was not a huge concern; the arm was. It’s pretty scary when you try to move something and it doesn’t cooperate. Two of the STAR instructors stopped to help. One rode my bike back to the pits while I got a ride on the back of another’s bike. I was dropped off at the ambulance for them to check me out. My first thought was that I’d broken my collarbone, which is a very common motorcycle injury. The EMT’s couldn’t find anything wrong with the collarbone and gave me an ice pack for my eye, which was now starting to swell and turn purple (I had a nice shiner for about a week and a half). I wasn’t really in much pain if my arm was at my side, but trying to lift it was impossible. I went back to the trailer to see if it would improve if I just gave it a minute. I could move the arm without pain if I lifted it with my left hand, but just couldn’t make it go on its own. I put in the call to my parents who picked me up and took me to the emergency room. Thanks to Dave and Rick for loading up everything at the end of the day.

I imagine that I didn’t look like most motorcycle accident patients in the emergency room. With a black eye and a hurt shoulder, I probably looked more like I was in a fistfight. The doctor thought that I’d most likely done some ligament or tendon damage, possibly rotator cuff. We were very concerned if it turned out to be rotator cuff since that seems like a difficult injury to heal. They took some x-rays just for fun and that’s when we found out what really happened: broken scapula (shoulder blade). The technician asked me “How did you do this again?” Apparently, that was only the second broken shoulder blade they had seen at that hospital. The other case was a man who fell off a 40-foot ladder…

I had a follow up appointment in Columbia with an orthopedic doctor who just confirmed what the other hospital found. They told me I could ditch the sling and start to regain motion in the shoulder. It was very sore for a few weeks, but got better and is now 100% normal again. I really felt embarrassed for crashing at school since STAR runs a very safety-conscious program. Of course, they can’t control riders’ mistakes. The problem is that I, like Mike who crashed before me, don’t know exactly WHY I crashed. The interesting thing is that we both had a blue powdery residue on our tires. Hmm…

tigerblade · 01-02-2007, 04:58 PM

August 9 2003: Heartland Park, Topeka KS (CCS)

A new upper fairing and windscreen had the bike ready to go again. The Arai I’d been wearing earlier in the year was damaged in the crash, so it was replaced with a new Jimmy Moore replica Shoei. My new leathers held up great during the crash, so we just cleaned them up a bit. They were sure thrown into the fray quickly: I got them one day before the crash!

Both of my races were on Saturday, so my father and I drove to Lawrence KS on Friday night and the rest of the way Saturday morning. It was HOT at the track and I was very glad to have the new perforated leathers. Unfortunately the same problem that plagued me at Gateway surfaced again during morning practice; the bike died in turn one after the long straight. Since the bike ran fine at MAM during STAR school, I had hoped that the problem was solved. Guess not. I spoke with the Dynojet technician, with Jeff Wood’s mechanic Leif, and even called Dan Kyle at the shop out in California. All that anyone could guess was venting of the tank or the tipover sensor. I had just met a claims adjuster, Jack, who works for the same company as I do. We had e-mailed several times when we discovered that we both had the motorcycle bug. Handily for me and unfortunately for him, Jack and his father had come to the track to watch the racing. He was roped into racebike diagnostics. Since I had always intended to change the bike back to street form, I had built a new tray for the battery, electronics, etc. in the tail of the bike. The tipover sensor is mounted solidly to the front of this tray rather than cut up the stock plastic one. Jack had the idea that maybe it was mounted too solidly and that the harsh bumps at Heartland Park were enough to jar it into killing the bike. We rigged up a piece of rubber to mount between the sensor and the tray in hopes that it would isolate it enough.

The first race was Heavyweight Supersport. Luckily since I had registered at the track, I was gridded on the last row. I had planned to start from the back anyway in case I had problems. The last thing I want to do is cause a potential problem for other racers (I’ve seen it recently referred to as becoming a “rolling chicane”). Apparently I hadn’t paid enough attention when writing down my grid position. While I was indeed on the last row, I’d failed to remember that I was in a row of my own. At the grid, I actually lined up in the last row of bikes. I had only passed one racer when I saw my number and the meatball flag. The first thing that went through my mind was that something was wrong with my bike, but then I was relieved to realize what I’d done. I served my stop-and-go and got back to racing. The rust from not being on the track for a month and a half showed, as did my lack of laps at Heartland Park. I finished the race 10th Amateur (out of 10). One thing good to come from the HWSS race was that the bike seemed to be fixed. Or so I thought…

My first race was race number 6 on the day. Supertwins was race number 15, the last race of the day. I spent the meantime trying to move as little as possible and avoid heatstroke. I was optimistic for the race since the bike seemed to be running well again. I gridded in the correct spot this time (last row) and we were away. At the beginning of the race, I kept a few other bikes in sight and planned to go after them once I felt comfortable. I didn’t really get the chance, as the bike died again in turn one after a couple of laps. I got it off the track, restarted the bike, and then pulled back into the pits. If it’s not fixed, I’d best not be racing.

I now believe that the tipover switch being at a different angle from stock has caused the problems. It’s kind of moot now since it looks like I’m going to be done for this season. I don’t want to make a modification that will prevent the bike from going back to street form and I was thinking about getting a smaller bike that I can run in more classes anyway. One that doesn’t like to eat tires so frequently (“Michelins: Mmmm Mmmm Good!”). I definitely learned a lot this year and hope to start next season with a little more confidence and experience. I’m planning to take at least one school, probably “Super Dave” Rosno’s Visionsports school. Dave is at most of the regional races and I don’t think he has such a thing as a “former” student since he makes himself available for continuous learning. I hope at this time next year I’ll be contemplating a case for all of those future trophies. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people. Racers are definitely a different breed and I can now proudly count myself among them.

Special thanks to my parents (I wouldn't have been able to do this without them) and to my grandfather for all the decal work. Also to my “Crew Chief” Eric who has spent a lot of time helping me prep the bike and track down gremlins. Thanks to all the Columbia racers (even Cabbage) and our hangers-on who helped tremendously in the pits at Gateway. Aaron and PJ at Lockhart have been great when I need anything from them. I would also like to thank the members of Fireblades.org, ROGUE, and the CCS forums where I have asked a lot of questions and received a lot of good help. To anyone else who has helped along the way, you are appreciated!

tigerblade · 01-02-2007, 04:59 PM

Younger Oil Racing
2004 Season

Motorcycle: Suzuki SV650S

March 28 2004, Heartland Park Topeka (CCS)
It rained off and on all day Saturday in Topeka. I pulled the forks first thing in the morning and had new springs and cartridge emulators installed, then pretty much sat around all day. Still had the Dunlop street tires on the bike and thought about going out for a practice session or two just to see the changes to the track (slightly different than last year). Instead of using the drag strip for the main straight, now we use what was hot pit lane last year. The interesting part is that at the end of the straight, it funnels down a little with a concrete wall on the left and a tire wall on the right, goes up a hill with a blind right-hand kink over the crest. I don't know whose idea it was, but I don't think they were thinking about the bikes when they built it...

Anyway, didn't want to buy rains AND race tires yet, so just put on a set of Michelin S2's (S2 rear is newly available in a 160 this year). Went out for the one and only practice session Sunday morning. The track still had water standing in a few places, but most of it wasn't on the racing line except for T1. I can't really complain about the track since it sounds like Larry Denning set a track record this weekend. First race was LW Superbike. I think the bike had a total of 50 miles on the odometer at this point. Got a decent start but slowly lost touch with the pack and ended up 8th. I think I only beat a couple guys. The suspension and tires worked great but I was not liking the stock rearsets and lack of steering damper. The SV is definitely a lot different than the RC51 but I think I'll like it a lot when I get it (and myself) sorted.

Second race was LW Supersport. I got another decent start but the top guys got away from me eventually. I settled in a little and started to click with the bike toward the later laps. Didn't see where our lap times were posted, but I'm sure my last laps were a lot quicker than what I had been running. I ended up 4th, so at least I took home some wood the first weekend on the new bike. I'm looking forward to the tracks I'm more comfortable with; maybe I can get up front.

tigerblade · 01-02-2007, 05:00 PM

April 23-25 2004, Road America (CCS)

Well it was an interesting weekend. We drove all day Thursday to get to Elkhart Lake (about 10 hours driving time from my parents' in NW MO.). I stood in line for about an hour and a half at Siebkin's to get registered that evening. Friday morning I arrive at the track and find there are no more electric hookups available. There was a NESBA trackday Thursday, plus a Learning Curves licensing clinic, plus it was a Formula USA weekend...in other words I should have known better. So we unhook the trailer and drove a few miles to nearby Plymouth and buy a generator. I'd planned to get one sometime this year anyway, just didn't think I needed it this early. Didn't think cold Michelins on a brisk April morning in Wisconsin was a recipe for anything I wanted to sample (high on Saturday was around 47 and low 50's Sunday). Anyway, I got back in time for the second practice session and got out to at least see where the track goes (first time up there). Probably got in 3 laps, maybe 4. People were going off left and right in just about every session of the weekend. Four people dumped their bikes at pit out, just getting onto the track if that tells you anything... Got another practice Saturday morning, again maybe 3 or 4 laps, then it was time to race. The grids were decent sized; I believe I counted 18 entrants in all my races (not counting combined classes running at the same time). LW Superbike was first; I ran around and finished 15th. My second race of the day was postponed to Sunday because we had a curfew of 6 PM, and with all the crashes we were behind schedule (as is always the case). That put us at 19 races to get in on Sunday since all the Formula USA races were that day. Sunday morning rolls around to find everything damp from rain during the night. I get to the track at 7 and nothing's happening. Well, if anything WAS happening you wouldn't know because of the fog... We kept waiting for the fog to burn off which didn't happen sufficiently until around 11. All CCS races were then changed to 3 laps (instead of 5). In the meantime I went in search of rain tires. Michelin was sold out of rears, so I bought some Bridgestones from my buddies at Lithium Motorsports (great bunch of guys; they did my fork work). Went out for practice and promptly had a great time. Even though I'd anti-fogged the crap out of my visor, still had to crack it open a few times on the straights to clear up my vision. The rain tires were awesome. The only "moment" I had was under the Toyota bridge, but then it was a problem for everyone. There was a debris flag there all day because it was just plain slick there. A few people tested the Airfence. The first race of the day was my makeup race from Saturday, LW Supersport. I had a good time and don't think I lost the leaders by much. My braking was really good but I still need to work on corner entry speed. Finished 8th. My second race of the day (LW Supersport again) was now race 3 with the new schedule. Pretty much the same as the first race except on the last lap I was coming up behind an expert GP bike toward the last few corners and there was a waving yellow going into 13 under the Toyota bridge. I hear another bike behind me and know that it'll be close since I can't pass the GP bike yet. We come under the bridge and the ambulance is off the right side of the track attending to whoever got caught out this time. We get to 14 and make the run up the hill and he gets by. I pulled in to draft and started to go, but ran out of time as we crossed the line, me in 10th. My last race was supposed to be the 15th on Sunday, but it was cancelled since we ran out of time again. Since I was one of two guys NOT from Wisconsin or Illinois, I didn't feel too bad about my first time at the place. I'll be better next time I'm there, and at least I got some rain tire experience.

tigerblade · 01-02-2007, 05:05 PM

May 16 2004, Gateway (St. Louis) (CCS)

Don't have time yet for a full report. Got 4th in both LW Supersport and LW Superbike. My buddy that hasn't raced all year got 3rd in both. My skirt itches (no offense to the many women who are faster than me!).

June 19-20 2004, Heartland Park Topeka (CCS)

Saturday was a Lockhart Phillips Sportrider trackday, so we had practice sessions in the morning. We also were making up the races that were postponed from Road America. Those were run in the afternoon along with the rest of the trackday. I did the first two practice sessions and realized that a month (since the Gateway round) without riding is too long. My left wrist was hurting for some reason and it was a problem to pull the clutch in for downshifts. I worked that out a little and it was better for the Road America make-up race, which was Lightweight Superbike. Didn’t get a good start but settled in and pretty much just stayed where I was. Didn’t get passed, didn’t really get a run at anyone in front of me. Finished 4th.

Sunday the weather was a little spotty. It rained in the morning and I skipped practice, hoping it would dry out by afternoon. Didn’t want to mount the rains just to pull them for DOT’s again. The weather did clear by race 9, which was my first of the day, Lightweight Superbike. My start was a little bit better this time and I had a great battle with the guy in front of me who was on a Buell. I really ran up on him on braking and through the tight sections. Showed him a wheel pretty good going into one of the chicanes but it would have been a sketchy move so backed off to make the corner. Then we ran up on a lapper and he got by, but I got blocked through the last couple corners leading to the straight. Lost enough time that I couldn’t challenge the Buell again. He slowed on the cool down lap and was shaking his head a little. I followed him into the pits and congratulated him for holding me off; it was fun dicing a bit. He smiled and said “Man, everyone here is FAST!” The guy who has been winning got beat, so I wasn’t too upset about another 4th in this race, especially since I very well could have had 3rd with a little better luck.

Lightweight Supersport saw only 4 Amateurs starting. It was the guy who always wins, the Buell, I, and another guy. Got a good start and the three of us stayed as a group, leaving the other guy behind. Not sure how many laps we actually got in, but I was happy to be running right up there with the leader and just behind the Buell again. I think I drug both knees more than I ever have and was running right at the leader’s pace. I figured I’d get the Buell and might even have a chance at the leader this time. Didn’t quite work out as the red flag was shown. The “other” guy had dumped oil through at least 4 corners and through pit out. Apparently he didn’t get off the line very well or very quickly, so they called our race complete. A little disappointing since I essentially finished last of the finishers, but I was actually running the leaders’ pace. I can’t help it if we don’t get a lot of entries… Anyway, got my first 3rd place plaque.

Looking forward to Mid America in a couple weeks. Now that I know I can run up front, there’s no going back…

July 17-18 2004, Blackhawk Farms (CCS)

6th of 18 in LW Supersport; 11th of 20 in LW Superbike. Running against all those locals on a tight, narrow track ain't easy!

If only I had a little less self-preservation instinct...

I heard someone hit a tire wall this weekend and their bike went right on over the top. I got some decent slides coming through 5. Almost thought I'd have to use the rumble strip as a berm a couple times!

August 22 2004, Barber Motorsports Park (CCS)

Full report later. Just got back from traveling for work all last week. Got about 5 laps of practice before the first race at Barber. Finished about mid-pack in GT Lights, 9th out of around 17-20. 7th in LW Supersport and 8th in LW Superbike. Beat the guy I needed to beat by at least 3 positions in each race.

TornadoB8 · 01-03-2007, 10:47 AM

Hmmmm......I'm thinking me, you and maybe another semi-local recruit start an endurance team.

Bikerboy1974 · 01-03-2007, 12:27 PM

So TB, what did you think of Bohlig's style? I raced against him a few too many times in CRA at BIR in Minnesota, he's a hella rider. MAM is such a technical track more than speed, as far as I feel about it. I had a lot of problems in the wind WITH a windscreen, so I can only imagine without. I raced a 5 hour endurance at Brainerd about 4 years back on my buddies 900RR (not Erion but built to Erion specs). He lowsided and sent the bike sliding from turn 6 all the way to 8, just 28 minutes in. We picked up the bike (which was standing tail in the air buried in the dirt) and got back to the garage, and he was ready to go back out! We rode BIR for 3 1/2 hours with no windscreen, I couldn't move my head for 4 days after that one.

Have you ever thought of running BIR? It's an amazing track, CRA runs there once a month. They won't be at MAM at all this year. I'm thinking of doing a few CCS events at MAM this year, just to make building the bike worth my while.

tigerblade · 01-04-2007, 12:49 PM

September 2004, Blackhawk Farms (CCS)

The second Blackhawk weekend was the final race weekend of the season (excluding ROC at Daytona, which absolutely does not interest me). I had run all of the Great Plains Region rounds so I’d collected enough points to be in contention for both LW Supersport and LW Superbike. Though I hadn’t won a race or finished above 3rd, I still felt good in that I steadily improved. I might be better designed for endurance racing because it seems I go faster the more I’m out there but have a problem getting up to speed immediately like some others seem to do.

I was really having fun. The sessions with “Super Dave” Rosno earlier in the summer gave me a much better feel for the bike, especially when driving out of corners. I could get the power on and even slide a bit and stay comfortable. Maybe I was getting too comfortable…

I ran GT Lights just to get a feel for the track again. The first Blackhawk weekend wasn’t too great, but at least this time I knew where the track went and I could worry about my lines. I pulled in from the race early, because I’d done what I wanted to do and decided to save energy and tires for LW Supersport and Superbike, the classes I really cared about. I did throw on a new rear tire, because I was sliding a little too much in places.

LW Supersport was first. I was feeling pretty good and enjoying the race. I was passing people on the brakes, I was passing people powering out of corners. I had a great battle with another guy for most of the race. We switched places pretty much every lap On the last lap, I finally got around a pulled a little gap that I knew would stick. Just then, I caught a glimpse of another rider and thought “I’m gonna get that sumb#$@& too!” (You could also say “the red mist descended”.) The last few turns at Blackhawk are as such: There is a very fast right hander that crosses the access road where you start at the left edge, are flying at the apex on the right, then hope you have enough room at the exit. There is a short straight, then a set of essess before the last slow righthander that leads to the main straight. Some riders will actually take the essess, dipping right then left, then going right again for the last turn. The faster way is to shoot straight through the essess (don’t take them as turns) and brake on the other side. This is what I’d been doing, but as soon as I flew around the fast righthander, I saw I was closing on another rider at a tremendous pace and he had just started to dip right to take the essess as turns. In the split second that I had to make a decision, I was off the left side of the track and into the grass. I really should have thought out what would happen if I ran into this situation, but I just knew I didn’t want to put on the brakes and be on the ground immediately. So I tried to just ride it out. It got bumpier and bumpier until I flipped up and was on the ground.

The area I went off was covered in tall grass. I felt rather lucky to leave the track there than in other areas. Much of Blackhawk is bordered by tire walls just a few feet from the track. The wind was completely knocked out of me and I was lying on my back. Since the bike and I were lower than the grass and I was between corner stations, no one saw me for a while. I began by wiggling my fingers and toes to make sure everything was still connected. I started to move more (still struggling to get air into my lungs) and finally stood up. Instantly, my back muscles tightened up. I walked to the edge of the track and stood with my hands on my knees, trying to suck in some air. The cornerworkers finally saw me and came running over. I told them that I was all right; I just needed to get some air and relax. I thought I’d be fine if I could just relax and my muscles would ease up. I did accept a ride to the infield in the ambulance to check things out. I wiggled my arms out of my leathers and sat in the ambulance for probably 10 minutes before we decided I should probably get checked out at the hospital. My mother was there, as was my then-girlfriend (now wife) Sunny and her two-year-old (now my son). Sunny and I had been dating for only a couple of months and this was her first race weekend. Quite an introduction to the sport!

They finally strapped me to the board and took me to the hospital in Rockford. I was still thinking that if I could just relax my back muscles, I’d be okay. The first ER doctor who saw me said that is was probably a compression fracture, and that I’d likely be given a brace and sent home that evening. Luckily, he wanted to get the opinion of a spine expert (probably not the right term). The expert discovered that I had broken my T7-T10 vertebrae. There was really no choice but to have surgery to fuse my spine. Two 14” titanium rods and 16 screws later:

tigerblade · 01-04-2007, 12:52 PM

For the year, I ended up with one crash, lots of new personal hardware, a renewed appreciation for all the friends I've made in motorcycling, the CCS Great Plains Novice LW Supersport Championship and second place in CCS Great Plains Novice LW Superbike Championship.

tigerblade · 01-04-2007, 02:35 PM

Mid America Motorplex 2003

tigerblade · 01-04-2007, 02:44 PM

Heartland Park Topeka 2004

tigerblade · 01-04-2007, 02:45 PM

Road America 2004

ND4SPD · 01-04-2007, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigerblade

For the year, I ended up with one crash, lots of new personal hardware, a renewed appreciation for all the friends I've made in motorcycling, the CCS Great Plains Novice LW Supersport Championship and second place in CCS Great Plains Novice LW Superbike Championship.

And a wife.

Sunbert · 01-04-2007, 02:48 PM

<------- He's a lucky man to end up with this.

tigerblade · 01-04-2007, 02:50 PM

Blackhawk Farms 2004

tigerblade · 01-04-2007, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bikerboy1974

So TB, what did you think of Bohlig's style? I raced against him a few too many times in CRA at BIR in Minnesota, he's a hella rider. MAM is such a technical track more than speed, as far as I feel about it. I had a lot of problems in the wind WITH a windscreen, so I can only imagine without. I raced a 5 hour endurance at Brainerd about 4 years back on my buddies 900RR (not Erion but built to Erion specs). He lowsided and sent the bike sliding from turn 6 all the way to 8, just 28 minutes in. We picked up the bike (which was standing tail in the air buried in the dirt) and got back to the garage, and he was ready to go back out! We rode BIR for 3 1/2 hours with no windscreen, I couldn't move my head for 4 days after that one.

Have you ever thought of running BIR? It's an amazing track, CRA runs there once a month. They won't be at MAM at all this year. I'm thinking of doing a few CCS events at MAM this year, just to make building the bike worth my while.

I really enjoyed working with Pete Bohlig. I was almost one-on-one with him, so race school was just fun. Didn't he buy an ex-Zemke bike?

I haven't been to Brainerd but know many people love it.

Lack of windscreen was definitely a problem at MAM, especially through T4 (the fast left hander after the long decreasing radius). I could usually get a great drive through 4 but without the screen it seemed harder to get the bike pointed where I wanted. Amazing what a difference that little screen makes!

Bikerboy1974 · 01-04-2007, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigerblade

I really enjoyed working with Pete Bohlig. I was almost one-on-one with him, so race school was just fun. Didn't he buy an ex-Zemke bike?

I haven't been to Brainerd but know many people love it.

Lack of windscreen was definitely a problem at MAM, especially through T4 (the fast left hander after the long decreasing radius). I could usually get a great drive through 4 but without the screen it seemed harder to get the bike pointed where I wanted. Amazing what a difference that little screen makes!

Yes he did. That thing was just plain rocket fast. He's a great racer, and a great teacher as well.

Will you be going back out again?

01-02-2007, 04:57 PM	#2
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 May 25-26 2003: Mid-America Motorplex (CCS) I decided not to run in the Heavyweight Supersport race this time since the track was very sketchy at the time. It had rained off and on all morning and several riders had crashed during the day. When I get another set of wheels it will be easier to switch to rain tires, but I had just mounted a fresh set of Michelin DOT’s for Saturday on my only wheels. My hope was that the track would dry sufficiently for the Supertwins race that was later in the day. It did. I got a much better start this time and ran a decent race. I got hung up behind an Expert rider for a few laps and spent too much time running at that pace instead of getting by quickly and going for the next position. I finally made a pass and it stuck but my friend also got around on this SV650. He finished in 4th place while I took 5th. We were close enough to 3rd place that one of us probably would have had a shot at it if I hadn’t slowed us down in the middle of the race. Lesson learned: get by quickly! The race was still a success as I took home my first “wood”, a 5th place plaque. June 14-15 2003: Gateway International Raceway, St. Louis (CCS) I took advantage of a trackday on Friday the 13th to learn the track since I’d never ridden at Gateway before. Again, there were problems with rain but we did get a few dry sessions so I at least knew the track layout. I wasn’t very excited about the concrete walls that loom large in your vision when making the transitions from the infield onto the banking, but it wasn’t as hairy as I’d imagined. Supertwins was my first race. My start was mediocre but I was in a decent position going into turn one. Another rider lost a chain, which went flailing across the middle of the track, but there were no incidents due to that. My RC51 didn’t seem to be the ideal machine for the tight Gateway track and I later discovered that my rear suspension needed some tweaking, but the race went well. I battled with a couple of other bikes during the race and finished with another 5th place plaque. The Heavyweight Supersport race was bittersweet. A couple of laps into the race I was running two seconds a lap faster than I had been in the Supertwins race. I felt really good and was hoping to move up a few positions until the bike lost revs and died while braking for turn 2. I coasted to the side of the track out of the racing line but couldn’t restart the bike. Very frustrated, I pushed the bike back to the pits where it started on the first try. Since then we’ve taken the tank apart and put it back together, checking all connections and vents. Hopefully something was either pinched or loose and the problem won’t repeat itself. I guess that’s racing! My next track time will be June 21-22 at Mid-America Motorplex for STAR school. I’m looking forward to getting more instruction from the STAR people. This time I hope to focus on more specific areas and maybe I’ll start getting some top 3 finishes…

01-02-2007, 04:58 PM	#3
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 June 21 2003: STAR School, Mid-America Motorplex What’s that saying about “the best-laid plans”? I was very excited about the prospect of taking STAR school for two days at MAM. There were several RC51 guys and gals there including my VIR co-conspirators Rick and Dave (affectionately known as Sprinkles), as well as Steve and Lorraine all the way from the Left Coast. Even the infamous LDH (Mike) was there. We were all looking forward to learning and having fun with Jason Pridmore and the STAR gang. The first few sessions are usually taken pretty slowly, getting acquainted with the track and working on technique. The first session was spent taking turns riding behind an instructor at a very sedate pace. We were all very surprised when Mike lowsided. He’s a very experienced rider and no one could really come up with an explanation why he went down. Luckily he wasn’t injured (though I think his ankle swelled later) and the rest of us went into the next classroom session. The second session was a little freer, but we were still keeping speeds down. Jason challenged us to stay below 80 mph on the straights, which I did. On probably the second or third lap, I went into turn 7 at a decent pace, leaned down into the turn. All of the sudden, the front tire tucked under and I was instantly on the ground. The bike just slid across the track and into the grass; I had a more spectacular journey across the pavement. Basically, I was barrel rolling. I finally came to a stop when I got to the grass. I spit out a clump of dirt and started to take an assessment. I could feel a cut just below my left eye and I couldn’t lift my right arm. The eye was not a huge concern; the arm was. It’s pretty scary when you try to move something and it doesn’t cooperate. Two of the STAR instructors stopped to help. One rode my bike back to the pits while I got a ride on the back of another’s bike. I was dropped off at the ambulance for them to check me out. My first thought was that I’d broken my collarbone, which is a very common motorcycle injury. The EMT’s couldn’t find anything wrong with the collarbone and gave me an ice pack for my eye, which was now starting to swell and turn purple (I had a nice shiner for about a week and a half). I wasn’t really in much pain if my arm was at my side, but trying to lift it was impossible. I went back to the trailer to see if it would improve if I just gave it a minute. I could move the arm without pain if I lifted it with my left hand, but just couldn’t make it go on its own. I put in the call to my parents who picked me up and took me to the emergency room. Thanks to Dave and Rick for loading up everything at the end of the day. I imagine that I didn’t look like most motorcycle accident patients in the emergency room. With a black eye and a hurt shoulder, I probably looked more like I was in a fistfight. The doctor thought that I’d most likely done some ligament or tendon damage, possibly rotator cuff. We were very concerned if it turned out to be rotator cuff since that seems like a difficult injury to heal. They took some x-rays just for fun and that’s when we found out what really happened: broken scapula (shoulder blade). The technician asked me “How did you do this again?” Apparently, that was only the second broken shoulder blade they had seen at that hospital. The other case was a man who fell off a 40-foot ladder… I had a follow up appointment in Columbia with an orthopedic doctor who just confirmed what the other hospital found. They told me I could ditch the sling and start to regain motion in the shoulder. It was very sore for a few weeks, but got better and is now 100% normal again. I really felt embarrassed for crashing at school since STAR runs a very safety-conscious program. Of course, they can’t control riders’ mistakes. The problem is that I, like Mike who crashed before me, don’t know exactly WHY I crashed. The interesting thing is that we both had a blue powdery residue on our tires. Hmm…

01-02-2007, 04:58 PM	#4
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 August 9 2003: Heartland Park, Topeka KS (CCS) A new upper fairing and windscreen had the bike ready to go again. The Arai I’d been wearing earlier in the year was damaged in the crash, so it was replaced with a new Jimmy Moore replica Shoei. My new leathers held up great during the crash, so we just cleaned them up a bit. They were sure thrown into the fray quickly: I got them one day before the crash! Both of my races were on Saturday, so my father and I drove to Lawrence KS on Friday night and the rest of the way Saturday morning. It was HOT at the track and I was very glad to have the new perforated leathers. Unfortunately the same problem that plagued me at Gateway surfaced again during morning practice; the bike died in turn one after the long straight. Since the bike ran fine at MAM during STAR school, I had hoped that the problem was solved. Guess not. I spoke with the Dynojet technician, with Jeff Wood’s mechanic Leif, and even called Dan Kyle at the shop out in California. All that anyone could guess was venting of the tank or the tipover sensor. I had just met a claims adjuster, Jack, who works for the same company as I do. We had e-mailed several times when we discovered that we both had the motorcycle bug. Handily for me and unfortunately for him, Jack and his father had come to the track to watch the racing. He was roped into racebike diagnostics. Since I had always intended to change the bike back to street form, I had built a new tray for the battery, electronics, etc. in the tail of the bike. The tipover sensor is mounted solidly to the front of this tray rather than cut up the stock plastic one. Jack had the idea that maybe it was mounted too solidly and that the harsh bumps at Heartland Park were enough to jar it into killing the bike. We rigged up a piece of rubber to mount between the sensor and the tray in hopes that it would isolate it enough. The first race was Heavyweight Supersport. Luckily since I had registered at the track, I was gridded on the last row. I had planned to start from the back anyway in case I had problems. The last thing I want to do is cause a potential problem for other racers (I’ve seen it recently referred to as becoming a “rolling chicane”). Apparently I hadn’t paid enough attention when writing down my grid position. While I was indeed on the last row, I’d failed to remember that I was in a row of my own. At the grid, I actually lined up in the last row of bikes. I had only passed one racer when I saw my number and the meatball flag. The first thing that went through my mind was that something was wrong with my bike, but then I was relieved to realize what I’d done. I served my stop-and-go and got back to racing. The rust from not being on the track for a month and a half showed, as did my lack of laps at Heartland Park. I finished the race 10th Amateur (out of 10). One thing good to come from the HWSS race was that the bike seemed to be fixed. Or so I thought… My first race was race number 6 on the day. Supertwins was race number 15, the last race of the day. I spent the meantime trying to move as little as possible and avoid heatstroke. I was optimistic for the race since the bike seemed to be running well again. I gridded in the correct spot this time (last row) and we were away. At the beginning of the race, I kept a few other bikes in sight and planned to go after them once I felt comfortable. I didn’t really get the chance, as the bike died again in turn one after a couple of laps. I got it off the track, restarted the bike, and then pulled back into the pits. If it’s not fixed, I’d best not be racing. I now believe that the tipover switch being at a different angle from stock has caused the problems. It’s kind of moot now since it looks like I’m going to be done for this season. I don’t want to make a modification that will prevent the bike from going back to street form and I was thinking about getting a smaller bike that I can run in more classes anyway. One that doesn’t like to eat tires so frequently (“Michelins: Mmmm Mmmm Good!”). I definitely learned a lot this year and hope to start next season with a little more confidence and experience. I’m planning to take at least one school, probably “Super Dave” Rosno’s Visionsports school. Dave is at most of the regional races and I don’t think he has such a thing as a “former” student since he makes himself available for continuous learning. I hope at this time next year I’ll be contemplating a case for all of those future trophies. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people. Racers are definitely a different breed and I can now proudly count myself among them. Special thanks to my parents (I wouldn't have been able to do this without them) and to my grandfather for all the decal work. Also to my “Crew Chief” Eric who has spent a lot of time helping me prep the bike and track down gremlins. Thanks to all the Columbia racers (even Cabbage) and our hangers-on who helped tremendously in the pits at Gateway. Aaron and PJ at Lockhart have been great when I need anything from them. I would also like to thank the members of Fireblades.org, ROGUE, and the CCS forums where I have asked a lot of questions and received a lot of good help. To anyone else who has helped along the way, you are appreciated!

01-02-2007, 04:59 PM	#5
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 Younger Oil Racing 2004 Season Motorcycle: Suzuki SV650S March 28 2004, Heartland Park Topeka (CCS) It rained off and on all day Saturday in Topeka. I pulled the forks first thing in the morning and had new springs and cartridge emulators installed, then pretty much sat around all day. Still had the Dunlop street tires on the bike and thought about going out for a practice session or two just to see the changes to the track (slightly different than last year). Instead of using the drag strip for the main straight, now we use what was hot pit lane last year. The interesting part is that at the end of the straight, it funnels down a little with a concrete wall on the left and a tire wall on the right, goes up a hill with a blind right-hand kink over the crest. I don't know whose idea it was, but I don't think they were thinking about the bikes when they built it... Anyway, didn't want to buy rains AND race tires yet, so just put on a set of Michelin S2's (S2 rear is newly available in a 160 this year). Went out for the one and only practice session Sunday morning. The track still had water standing in a few places, but most of it wasn't on the racing line except for T1. I can't really complain about the track since it sounds like Larry Denning set a track record this weekend. First race was LW Superbike. I think the bike had a total of 50 miles on the odometer at this point. Got a decent start but slowly lost touch with the pack and ended up 8th. I think I only beat a couple guys. The suspension and tires worked great but I was not liking the stock rearsets and lack of steering damper. The SV is definitely a lot different than the RC51 but I think I'll like it a lot when I get it (and myself) sorted. Second race was LW Supersport. I got another decent start but the top guys got away from me eventually. I settled in a little and started to click with the bike toward the later laps. Didn't see where our lap times were posted, but I'm sure my last laps were a lot quicker than what I had been running. I ended up 4th, so at least I took home some wood the first weekend on the new bike. I'm looking forward to the tracks I'm more comfortable with; maybe I can get up front.

01-02-2007, 05:00 PM	#6
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 April 23-25 2004, Road America (CCS) Well it was an interesting weekend. We drove all day Thursday to get to Elkhart Lake (about 10 hours driving time from my parents' in NW MO.). I stood in line for about an hour and a half at Siebkin's to get registered that evening. Friday morning I arrive at the track and find there are no more electric hookups available. There was a NESBA trackday Thursday, plus a Learning Curves licensing clinic, plus it was a Formula USA weekend...in other words I should have known better. So we unhook the trailer and drove a few miles to nearby Plymouth and buy a generator. I'd planned to get one sometime this year anyway, just didn't think I needed it this early. Didn't think cold Michelins on a brisk April morning in Wisconsin was a recipe for anything I wanted to sample (high on Saturday was around 47 and low 50's Sunday). Anyway, I got back in time for the second practice session and got out to at least see where the track goes (first time up there). Probably got in 3 laps, maybe 4. People were going off left and right in just about every session of the weekend. Four people dumped their bikes at pit out, just getting onto the track if that tells you anything... Got another practice Saturday morning, again maybe 3 or 4 laps, then it was time to race. The grids were decent sized; I believe I counted 18 entrants in all my races (not counting combined classes running at the same time). LW Superbike was first; I ran around and finished 15th. My second race of the day was postponed to Sunday because we had a curfew of 6 PM, and with all the crashes we were behind schedule (as is always the case). That put us at 19 races to get in on Sunday since all the Formula USA races were that day. Sunday morning rolls around to find everything damp from rain during the night. I get to the track at 7 and nothing's happening. Well, if anything WAS happening you wouldn't know because of the fog... We kept waiting for the fog to burn off which didn't happen sufficiently until around 11. All CCS races were then changed to 3 laps (instead of 5). In the meantime I went in search of rain tires. Michelin was sold out of rears, so I bought some Bridgestones from my buddies at Lithium Motorsports (great bunch of guys; they did my fork work). Went out for practice and promptly had a great time. Even though I'd anti-fogged the crap out of my visor, still had to crack it open a few times on the straights to clear up my vision. The rain tires were awesome. The only "moment" I had was under the Toyota bridge, but then it was a problem for everyone. There was a debris flag there all day because it was just plain slick there. A few people tested the Airfence. The first race of the day was my makeup race from Saturday, LW Supersport. I had a good time and don't think I lost the leaders by much. My braking was really good but I still need to work on corner entry speed. Finished 8th. My second race of the day (LW Supersport again) was now race 3 with the new schedule. Pretty much the same as the first race except on the last lap I was coming up behind an expert GP bike toward the last few corners and there was a waving yellow going into 13 under the Toyota bridge. I hear another bike behind me and know that it'll be close since I can't pass the GP bike yet. We come under the bridge and the ambulance is off the right side of the track attending to whoever got caught out this time. We get to 14 and make the run up the hill and he gets by. I pulled in to draft and started to go, but ran out of time as we crossed the line, me in 10th. My last race was supposed to be the 15th on Sunday, but it was cancelled since we ran out of time again. Since I was one of two guys NOT from Wisconsin or Illinois, I didn't feel too bad about my first time at the place. I'll be better next time I'm there, and at least I got some rain tire experience.

01-02-2007, 04:57 PM	#1
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 Younger Oil Racing 2003 Season Motorcycle: Honda RC51 Competition Numbers: #91 Novice CCS & WERA, #191 Novice CRA Official Sponsors: Younger Oil Racing, Price Sign Company, Lockhart-Phillips Privateer Program Products Used: LP Racelite windscreens, Michelin tires, Chickenhawk tire warmers, Multi-Tech bodywork, Vortex rearsets, Dan Kyle fork work, Penske shock, Spidi leathers and gloves, Bohn back protector, Sidi boots, Shoei helmet. April 12-13 2003: Mid-America Motorplex, Pacific Junction IA (CRA) I decided to take CRA’s new rider school though it wasn’t necessary because I was qualified for a competition license through Jason Pridmore’s STAR school, which I had attended in June of 2002. Still, I thought it would be best to attend the school to make sure I understood all race procedures. I’m still on a steep learning curve, so all the information I can absorb will only help. For the on-track sessions I was paired with instructor Pete Bohlig of Nutsack Racing, who was extremely helpful throughout the weekend. My first race was Heavyweight Supersport. I was not expecting to be very competitive in this class since I would be racing against 750cc inline-four machines, namely the GSXR-750 which is both lighter and more powerful than my bike. Since I registered for the races at the track, I was gridded on the last row. The Expert riders took off in the first wave, followed by the Novices. Needless to say, my start left much to be desired. Luckily, I caught the group in turn one on braking, though just in time to see a couple of bikes either on the ground or in the grass. I made it cleanly through and began to settle into the race. I surprised myself a little as I began to pass a few people and was getting faster each lap. Unfortunately I must have been a little too enthusiastic, as I spun up the rear wheel on the last corner of the track while trying to get a good drive down the main straight to begin lap 6 (8-lap sprint race). I was already leaned far to the right in the corner so there was almost no impact from the crash. The bike slid off the edge of the track and I didn’t even get a bruise out of it! I got back to the pit and assessed the bike and myself. The only real damage was a broken windscreen and a ground-down rear brake pedal. I filed down the brake pedal so it had no sharp edges and re-teched the bike. The second race was Supertwins. This race was much less eventful and I ran a couple of seconds per lap slower than I had in the HWSS race. The wind had picked up and I was fighting the bike when facing it. I determined that a windscreen was a very beneficial thing to have. I ran rather conservatively and finished 6th place Novice. I wasn’t battling for a top spot, but it did feel good to take the checkered flag for my first completed race.

01-02-2007, 05:05 PM	#7
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 May 16 2004, Gateway (St. Louis) (CCS) Don't have time yet for a full report. Got 4th in both LW Supersport and LW Superbike. My buddy that hasn't raced all year got 3rd in both. My skirt itches (no offense to the many women who are faster than me!). June 19-20 2004, Heartland Park Topeka (CCS) Saturday was a Lockhart Phillips Sportrider trackday, so we had practice sessions in the morning. We also were making up the races that were postponed from Road America. Those were run in the afternoon along with the rest of the trackday. I did the first two practice sessions and realized that a month (since the Gateway round) without riding is too long. My left wrist was hurting for some reason and it was a problem to pull the clutch in for downshifts. I worked that out a little and it was better for the Road America make-up race, which was Lightweight Superbike. Didn’t get a good start but settled in and pretty much just stayed where I was. Didn’t get passed, didn’t really get a run at anyone in front of me. Finished 4th. Sunday the weather was a little spotty. It rained in the morning and I skipped practice, hoping it would dry out by afternoon. Didn’t want to mount the rains just to pull them for DOT’s again. The weather did clear by race 9, which was my first of the day, Lightweight Superbike. My start was a little bit better this time and I had a great battle with the guy in front of me who was on a Buell. I really ran up on him on braking and through the tight sections. Showed him a wheel pretty good going into one of the chicanes but it would have been a sketchy move so backed off to make the corner. Then we ran up on a lapper and he got by, but I got blocked through the last couple corners leading to the straight. Lost enough time that I couldn’t challenge the Buell again. He slowed on the cool down lap and was shaking his head a little. I followed him into the pits and congratulated him for holding me off; it was fun dicing a bit. He smiled and said “Man, everyone here is FAST!” The guy who has been winning got beat, so I wasn’t too upset about another 4th in this race, especially since I very well could have had 3rd with a little better luck. Lightweight Supersport saw only 4 Amateurs starting. It was the guy who always wins, the Buell, I, and another guy. Got a good start and the three of us stayed as a group, leaving the other guy behind. Not sure how many laps we actually got in, but I was happy to be running right up there with the leader and just behind the Buell again. I think I drug both knees more than I ever have and was running right at the leader’s pace. I figured I’d get the Buell and might even have a chance at the leader this time. Didn’t quite work out as the red flag was shown. The “other” guy had dumped oil through at least 4 corners and through pit out. Apparently he didn’t get off the line very well or very quickly, so they called our race complete. A little disappointing since I essentially finished last of the finishers, but I was actually running the leaders’ pace. I can’t help it if we don’t get a lot of entries… Anyway, got my first 3rd place plaque. Looking forward to Mid America in a couple weeks. Now that I know I can run up front, there’s no going back… July 17-18 2004, Blackhawk Farms (CCS) 6th of 18 in LW Supersport; 11th of 20 in LW Superbike. Running against all those locals on a tight, narrow track ain't easy! If only I had a little less self-preservation instinct... I heard someone hit a tire wall this weekend and their bike went right on over the top. I got some decent slides coming through 5. Almost thought I'd have to use the rumble strip as a berm a couple times! August 22 2004, Barber Motorsports Park (CCS) Full report later. Just got back from traveling for work all last week. Got about 5 laps of practice before the first race at Barber. Finished about mid-pack in GT Lights, 9th out of around 17-20. 7th in LW Supersport and 8th in LW Superbike. Beat the guy I needed to beat by at least 3 positions in each race.

01-03-2007, 10:47 AM	#8
TornadoB8 Join Date: 12-18-2006 Location: KC Age: 45 Bike(s): 2005 600RR Posts: 999	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 Hmmmm......I'm thinking me, you and maybe another semi-local recruit start an endurance team. __________________ CCS#27 Dunlop, Vortex, Vesrah, Silkolene

01-03-2007, 12:27 PM	#9
Bikerboy1974 Join Date: 12-18-2006 Location: Med City, MN Age: 34 Bike(s): Both sold, lookin 4 new 1 Posts: 575	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 So TB, what did you think of Bohlig's style? I raced against him a few too many times in CRA at BIR in Minnesota, he's a hella rider. MAM is such a technical track more than speed, as far as I feel about it. I had a lot of problems in the wind WITH a windscreen, so I can only imagine without. I raced a 5 hour endurance at Brainerd about 4 years back on my buddies 900RR (not Erion but built to Erion specs). He lowsided and sent the bike sliding from turn 6 all the way to 8, just 28 minutes in. We picked up the bike (which was standing tail in the air buried in the dirt) and got back to the garage, and he was ready to go back out! We rode BIR for 3 1/2 hours with no windscreen, I couldn't move my head for 4 days after that one. Have you ever thought of running BIR? It's an amazing track, CRA runs there once a month. They won't be at MAM at all this year. I'm thinking of doing a few CCS events at MAM this year, just to make building the bike worth my while. __________________ There is no 12 step program or counseling available for my addiction...thank God!

01-04-2007, 12:49 PM	#10
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 September 2004, Blackhawk Farms (CCS) The second Blackhawk weekend was the final race weekend of the season (excluding ROC at Daytona, which absolutely does not interest me). I had run all of the Great Plains Region rounds so I’d collected enough points to be in contention for both LW Supersport and LW Superbike. Though I hadn’t won a race or finished above 3rd, I still felt good in that I steadily improved. I might be better designed for endurance racing because it seems I go faster the more I’m out there but have a problem getting up to speed immediately like some others seem to do. I was really having fun. The sessions with “Super Dave” Rosno earlier in the summer gave me a much better feel for the bike, especially when driving out of corners. I could get the power on and even slide a bit and stay comfortable. Maybe I was getting too comfortable… I ran GT Lights just to get a feel for the track again. The first Blackhawk weekend wasn’t too great, but at least this time I knew where the track went and I could worry about my lines. I pulled in from the race early, because I’d done what I wanted to do and decided to save energy and tires for LW Supersport and Superbike, the classes I really cared about. I did throw on a new rear tire, because I was sliding a little too much in places. LW Supersport was first. I was feeling pretty good and enjoying the race. I was passing people on the brakes, I was passing people powering out of corners. I had a great battle with another guy for most of the race. We switched places pretty much every lap On the last lap, I finally got around a pulled a little gap that I knew would stick. Just then, I caught a glimpse of another rider and thought “I’m gonna get that sumb#$@& too!” (You could also say “the red mist descended”.) The last few turns at Blackhawk are as such: There is a very fast right hander that crosses the access road where you start at the left edge, are flying at the apex on the right, then hope you have enough room at the exit. There is a short straight, then a set of essess before the last slow righthander that leads to the main straight. Some riders will actually take the essess, dipping right then left, then going right again for the last turn. The faster way is to shoot straight through the essess (don’t take them as turns) and brake on the other side. This is what I’d been doing, but as soon as I flew around the fast righthander, I saw I was closing on another rider at a tremendous pace and he had just started to dip right to take the essess as turns. In the split second that I had to make a decision, I was off the left side of the track and into the grass. I really should have thought out what would happen if I ran into this situation, but I just knew I didn’t want to put on the brakes and be on the ground immediately. So I tried to just ride it out. It got bumpier and bumpier until I flipped up and was on the ground. The area I went off was covered in tall grass. I felt rather lucky to leave the track there than in other areas. Much of Blackhawk is bordered by tire walls just a few feet from the track. The wind was completely knocked out of me and I was lying on my back. Since the bike and I were lower than the grass and I was between corner stations, no one saw me for a while. I began by wiggling my fingers and toes to make sure everything was still connected. I started to move more (still struggling to get air into my lungs) and finally stood up. Instantly, my back muscles tightened up. I walked to the edge of the track and stood with my hands on my knees, trying to suck in some air. The cornerworkers finally saw me and came running over. I told them that I was all right; I just needed to get some air and relax. I thought I’d be fine if I could just relax and my muscles would ease up. I did accept a ride to the infield in the ambulance to check things out. I wiggled my arms out of my leathers and sat in the ambulance for probably 10 minutes before we decided I should probably get checked out at the hospital. My mother was there, as was my then-girlfriend (now wife) Sunny and her two-year-old (now my son). Sunny and I had been dating for only a couple of months and this was her first race weekend. Quite an introduction to the sport! They finally strapped me to the board and took me to the hospital in Rockford. I was still thinking that if I could just relax my back muscles, I’d be okay. The first ER doctor who saw me said that is was probably a compression fracture, and that I’d likely be given a brace and sent home that evening. Luckily, he wanted to get the opinion of a spine expert (probably not the right term). The expert discovered that I had broken my T7-T10 vertebrae. There was really no choice but to have surgery to fuse my spine. Two 14” titanium rods and 16 screws later: Attached Thumbnails

01-04-2007, 12:52 PM	#11
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 For the year, I ended up with one crash, lots of new personal hardware, a renewed appreciation for all the friends I've made in motorcycling, the CCS Great Plains Novice LW Supersport Championship and second place in CCS Great Plains Novice LW Superbike Championship.

01-04-2007, 02:35 PM	#12
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 Mid America Motorplex 2003 Attached Thumbnails

01-04-2007, 02:44 PM	#13
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 Heartland Park Topeka 2004 Attached Thumbnails

01-04-2007, 02:45 PM	#14
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 Road America 2004 Attached Thumbnails

01-04-2007, 02:48 PM	#16
Sunbert Soooooooooooie! Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: Mid MO Age: 33 Bike(s): SV650 Posts: 359	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 <------- He's a lucky man to end up with this.

01-04-2007, 02:50 PM	#17
tigerblade Just curious Join Date: 12-15-2006 Location: The MIL Age: 35 Bike(s): SV650S Posts: 2,114	Re: tigerblade's Racing Adventures 2003-2004 Blackhawk Farms 2004 Attached Thumbnails