Willow Springs, Ca
04/18/97 - 04/20/97

Event Baseline Tech Info

Event Action Plan / Goals:

Saturday 04/19/97 (WSMC Practice) - Lap Times:

Sunday 04/20/97 (WSMC Race Day) - Lap Times:

Friday 04/18/97 (Fastrack Riders Practice) - Notes:

We left late on Friday for Willow - work had been a real grinder this week and I decided to catch some extra ZZZs before heading up for the weekend. We spent the afternoon changing out the tires on the bike & hung around with Tony and Danna for the rest of the afternoon.

The wind was blowing 20 - 25mph all day and the temps were in the high 80's.

There must have been something in the air Friday because everyone was crashing. A triple clamp bolt fell out of Tony's bike and the clamp started spreading, almost throwing him on his head. He had a spare front end at home, but had to wait for someone to bring it up on Saturday afternoon.

Danna lowsided in T2. She was OK, but the bike was pretty beat up. She started a scavenger hunt for parts - I gave up a brake lever & foot peg, someone else who crashed out earlier in the day gave up his radiator. Her fairing bracket was mashed & one side of her fairing was gone. Tony took care of those with brute strength and a liberal supply of duct tape & zip ties.

Another buddy of Tony's fell victim to two rookies who clamped on their binders under a red flag coming down the front straight - his front end was toast. The fork tubes were bent back and one of his front rotors was ripped right off the wheel.

Friday was a precursor for Sunday ..............

Saturday 04/19/97 (WSMC Practice) - Notes:

It was overcast & chilly all day. The wind was still blowing strong, which made the front end bounce around like crazy on the drive thru T8/T9. I hoped that some suspension changes would help this, but Morris from Computrack said no dice - that's just the way it is. Fellow racers Tony Silvera and Michael Martinez both backed this up. I pushed as hard as I dared through T8/T9, but the wind was really holding me back. I knew I had to get some more weight up front, but leaning over the tank wasn't cutting it. I tried a new way (for me) of hanging off to the right that made a world of difference.

I have fairly long legs and have always pushed my butt back against the passenger pillion when hanging off. In the attempt to get more weight up front, I tried pushing forward and around the gas tank. The ground came up a lot quicker and I was able to get through T8/T9 quicker. It was a lot easier to control the bike & didn't take as much effort to steer. I tried the same trick around T2 and T4 and found the same results. I talked this over with Tony & Michael later in the day and they both said 'yep - that's how you're supposed to do it'. Duh!

By the second practice session I was fine-tuning the technique and immediately saw my times drop. I set a new fast time of 1.36.30 and ran mostly 36's to 38's the rest of the day.

I started pushing farther down the hill to T5 on the gas, setting deeper and deeper points on the track before rolling off the throttle. The downward pitch of the hill, combined with harder braking, showed me a new set of muscles (triceps) that'll need some work. I also experimented with short-shifting before hitting the rise of T6 vs. staying in 3rd until I crested T6 to see what would give me a better drive down the back straight (and keep the bike stable). I still need to work on my line going over T6 (getting sideways a lot), but the short-shift method worked best.

Practice starts at the end of the day went OK. I got out-powered by the bigger bikes coming into T1, but got off the line ahead of the pack every time. On the second start, I pulled a nice, long, low wheelie off the line. I didn't realize that the front end was up until I shifted into second and narded myself on the gas tank -- ouch!

Sunday 04/20/97 (WSMC Race Day) - Notes:

It was definitely a weird day!

The wind varied from a slight breeze to canopy-bending blasts of 40mph. It came from the west, from the east, from the north, and from the south - sometimes all at once across different sections of the track. Temps ranged from the 60s to the high 80s off and on throughout the day.

Accidents were the theme of the day. A Buell mounted buddy of Steve's went down right in front of me coming into T3 during practice. He cranked it over too far, dug the foot peg into track and lofted the rear tire. As he went sliding off the track a little voice went off inside my head - 'don't look at the bike, aim for where it crashed & you'll miss it'. I did and got by without incident.

There was a particularly nasty one on T1 just after my last practice session. Two guys had gone off the track, the crash trucks and ambulances rolled in to block them from oncoming traffic. As the rescue crews were doing their thing, another hapless rider rolled his bike side-over-side through and around the other two. A whole pack of riders coming around T1 decided to rubber-neck and stopped right at the exit of the turn - one guy even pulled off into the mess - to do what, I can't imagine. Corner workers were going nuts and Danny Farnsworth (WSMC Race Director) blew a gasket.

Once the races got underway it seemed we had a red flag incident in every other race. Tony, fast guy who's always managed to stay upright through some really hairy situations, was taken out by someone who chunked a tire and went down right in front of him. The whole front-end of his bike was bent to hell. With the help of four frantic friends, Tony was able to piece together a 'new' front end from the parts left over from yesterday's incident and made it out on the track for his next race.

Clinton Whitehouse (yep, that's his real name) pulled off one the weirdest incidents during the warm-up lap for the Formula 1 race. He got off his bike coming around T9, but the bike kept rolling down the front straight and into the hot pit lane. You could hear the awe and amazement in the announcer's voice as he told everyone to get the hell out of the way. Luckily, the bike smashed into the wall about 20 feet from Danny Farnsworth's truck and no-one was injured.

All the mishaps pushed the Novice races late - again. All of our races were cut to four laps, as were a couple of the Expert races - but at least we had warning ahead of time this month!

On to the action .............

The weather for morning practice was perfect - no wind, temp in the 60s. I knew I could cut a second or two off my times and was anxious to get out there. The first session was a mob scene and I was smack in the middle of about 60 riders. Getting a clear run on the track was impossible, so I practiced passing (and getting passed) the whole session.

I hung back for the second session and was last one out on the track. Traffic was still tough (lots of slower guys right in front of me), but I managed to get one clean lap & put down a 1.35.22 - one second off my fast time from Saturday!

Then came the long, slow wait for the Novice races ............

I was pressuring the hell out of myself all day long. I was gridded on the pole, running pretty decent, consistent times, but I knew that one goof would keep me out of the top three finishers. I spent a lot of the day visualizing the lines, speeds, and strategies for the race.

After last month's last lap pass in T3, I spent a lot of time coming up with a 'race strategy' that would prevent it from happening again. I decided that it wasn't enough to run fast laps, I'd also have to run lines that would protect my position on the track AND minimize the chance of taking someone else or myself out. T2 & T3 were big concerns. I'm faster on the inside of T2, but that leaves a lot of room to get around me on the outside. I break early and hard for T3, which leaves room for someone to get past me enough that I usually yield my line. My plan for the race was to run fast, tight lines for the first few laps and if I pulled enough of a lead, switch to wider, faster lines.

I was first out in the hot pit lane for our warm-up lap, got out on the track and ran like hell to warm up the tires. I ran my planned first lap lines to 'burn them into my brain' and pulled over the #1 spot on the starting grid.

I lost the holeshot last month by banging the rev limiter in 1st and 2nd - Steve Bowline had suggested that I shift into 2nd as soon as the clutch was fully engaged - that was the plan. Revs to 10k, preload the clutch, tuck in and watch for the first twitch of the green flag.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, sweep down into T1 and I was gone! I pushed that first lap harder than I've ever run. The bike was twitching and squirming around underneath me and I worried a bit that I'd throw it away. The lack of wind was a blessing on T8/T9. I hauled ass through there. Deep entrance into T9, exit at 10k, head down, butt up & hauled some more ass for T1. One down, three to go!

I kept the tight line through T2, putting my knee down through most of it. I charged hard out of T2 and braked late into T3, keeping the inside line. Running on the inside of T3 slingshots the bike up to the inside of T4, which is where I wanted to be. Crank it over at the top of T4, drive to the inside of the exit and gas it down to T5.

Cresting T6 under power still freaks me, so I stuck to short shifting into 4th before cresting the rise. I kept the bike leaned over heading down the back side, slowing bringing it upright as I poured on the gas. Head tucked, butt up, I pulled through T8 in 6th, keeping the throttle pinned all the way to the straight before T9. Deep into T9, exit at 10k in 4th and back down the front straight. The third lap was the same.

I started hearing the sound of someone else's exhaust out on T2 on the last lap. I pushed it harder through there and took off for T3. I saw a wheel on my left as I keeled it over for the turn - more gas and up the hill. I could here the bike coming around me on the outside of T4 so I pushed it even harder.

Cresting T6 on that last lap was my only tense moment of the race - I knew I'd have to make a hard charge for T8 and either gassed it too much or came over the top a little sideways (or both). The rear end came up off the track, moved to the left a bit, touched down and started to slide. I did the wrong, though natural, thing and rolled off the throttle just a bit. I was lucky - the bike wiggled & slid its way down the back straight and I made my dash for T8. My only thoughts as this was unfolding were 'you idiot, you could have high-sided into the dirt' and 'I hope that scared the guy behind me and he backs off'!

Coming into the entrance to T9 I saw not only the front wheel, but the rest of bike #580 pulling up along side me on the inside of the turn. I cranked it over a little more, gave it some more gas, and pulled back ahead.. I came out of T9 like a rabbit being chased by a pack of coyotes and gave it all I had. I pulled the exit to the far outside of the front straight and ran a smooth line back to the inside of the track to the starting line. I don't believe in zig-zag draft-breaking maneuvers, so this was safe for both him and I. It was a damn good move, though, as #580 crossed the line at the same time as my rear tire!

Oh baby - this is what it's all about. I started hooting & hollering as I crossed the finish line & didn't stop until I pulled back in after the cool-off lap!

This month marked the end of my first twelve months at Willow and I guess it was about as perfect as it could get. My track performance over the last three months has been good - finishing 8th, 7th, and today's 1st place. I've accumulated 26 points with the win today and although I'm allowed up to 30 points before being 'kicked' up to Probational Expert, I've decided to make the jump now.

I probably won't see any top three finishes this year, let alone top ten with the kind of winning times being set at Willow. My goal for the rest of the '97 season is to rack up as many points as I can and try for a sub-100 number plate for next year. Rookie of the year might be in my grasp, but there's already some contenders with a three-month head start - we'll see.

Next month will see the Steve's first time on the track for '97. We're signed up for Keith Code's Superbike school the day after the races. Steve will be signed up for his new rider's school as number #504 in June and will have his first race representing the Aramel Racing team that weekend. We'll only have the one bike between us ....... but I'm working on that. I'd like to stick with another '94 F2 to keep the cost of supplies and spares down. I'll probably press my street bike into service unless I come across a great deal on a salvaged one.

Although it's traditional to leave this kind of stuff for the end of the season, this month marks a milestone for me and I want to thank all the folks that have made the last twelve months possible:

A HUGE thanks to my brother Steve, who's been there month in and month out taking care of the pits and being my road companion. There's no way I could do this without his help. Thanks to Ellen Noonkester for being there when Steve couldn't make it and picking up the slack on the weekends when all three of us made it out (and nursing me back to health in November).

Thanks to my brother James for making the drive up every Sunday and shooting the video of every race. Also thanks for taking care of the businesses when I'm out playing racer-boy. Thanks to Chad Dawson and Shad 'Bruce' Mifflin at TFBnet for making those trips up with James and for their support.

Thanks to my folks, Bob and Jeanne Laszko, for not vocalizing their worries (to much) and being trackside to cheer me on. Thanks to Clyde 'The Jazzman' Jasmin for never telling me it couldn't be done nor that I was an idiot for trying and for sitting through all the race replays when he comes out to California. And to the friends and family who've come up over the last twelve months to enjoy the furnace we call Willow - Crystal Laszko, Bruce Comey, and Suzy Langley.

To my fellow racers, many thanks for the guidance and encouragement every month. In particular I want to thank Tony Silvera (#97) for showing me his lines & towing my butt around the track, thanks to Danna Mashhadian (#697), Michael Martinez (#999), and Robert Berlind (#514) for their friendship and support.

Since Novice racers don't get a podium finish, I also want to thank my sponsors - Data Management Systems for the cash infusions, TFBnet for the web space and guilders, and the team of my father (the Old Man) and Valerie Wixen of Viewpoint Photography (the Official Photographers for the Stars at Willow Springs) for their support. There aren't many contingency sponsors for the Novice classes at Willow, so I'm grateful to Silkolene Lubricants and The Knee-Dragon for their consideration.

A special thanks goes to Michael and Morris of GMD Computrack LA and Curt Jordan at Jordan Engineering for their excellent services. Computrack fixed my bent frame and set up the suspension goodies while Curt breathed 20 horses into my bone stock F2 and gave it the grunt it needed to be competitive.

Look for me next month at Willow - I'll be the one with the WHITE number plates and the shit-eating grin!

Bob.

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