Willow Springs, Ca
11/14/97 - 11/16/97

Event Baseline Tech Info

Event Action Plan / Goals:

Sunday 11/16/97 Race Times / Results:

Friday 11/14/97 (Fastrack Practice) - Notes:

We headed out late on Friday and had to pick up the race bike from GMD Computrack LA on the way up. By the time we made it to the track it was already getting dark so we parked the trailer and headed for the motel.

Saturday 11/15/97 (WSMC Practice) - Notes:

It took about three hours to safety wire, check torques, and install the steering damper and body work. Steve got in one practice session before lunch. This was the first run on the new Penske 8987 shock and I could tell we were going to need some time to dial it in. The rear end wallowed through T1 on every lap - enough that I could see it from the pits. Morris from GMD Computrack LA suggested going up 3 clicks on fast compression and 1 click on slow.

It started raining just in time for the New Riders School to hit the track. It was cold and wet, but we waited around for a couple of hours hoping to get in some more sessions - but the rain kept falling (as did a number of riders!). We knew the forecast for the weekend was pretty grim going in and had made plans to run in the rain. We didn't plan on the cold, though. The thought of getting soaked, then standing around freezing our butts off didn't do it for us. I was already fighting a bad case of bronchitis and didn't want to chance it turning into something worse. We packed up the gear and headed for the motel.

Sunday 11/16/97 (WSMC Race Day) - Notes:

Sunrise Sunday was clear w/only some high clouds in the sky. It was cold, but at least it was dry!

Steve took the first practice session and the adjustments to the rear shock Saturday cleared up the wallowing problem. I took one practice session to get warmed up and the bike felt great.

Tyr Sox came on board as a 1998 season sponsor a couple of weeks before, so we picked up a pair of their tire warmers and a generator to supply the juice. I'd never used tire warmers before, so we took a few minutes to figure them out. Piece of cake. The Tyr Sox warmers have a low profile, so they slipped on easily. Tire blankets are included that fully enclose the wheel, keeping out wind and cold. Easy-to-follow instructions, a hanger, and a RubberMaid-type storage container were also part of the package.

The warmers heated up the tires to the point that they were tacky to the touch. This greatly improved our confidence in the tires for that fast, first lap. Good stuff - highly recommended!

The Viewpoint Photography / Honda Challenge 600 Super Stock race was the best of the day. As usual, my start was crap, but I was able to work my way past four or five riders to take 11th. I had a couple of hairy moments out on T8 - I came through in 6th gear with the throttle pinned and the front end got light enough to bound the tire up and down off the track. I talked to Jerry Evans (#99) and Curt Jordan after the race and they suggested that the rear end might be packing down a bit, so I backed off the rebound by one click and added one click to slow compression. Other than that problem, the new suspension set up worked great - better than I knew.

As I rolled into the pits, Steve gave me the usual "You made it back in one piece - good, get off, it's my turn". As we were prepping the bike for his race he casually mentioned that my times were pretty good. How good? "Thirty-somethings, lemme see". Then he showed me the times - Hot Damn! I dropped from a best of 1.31.20 last month down to a 1.29.13. Average speed of 100.98mph. Hoo Hoo!

The Graves Motor Sports 650 Superbike race went pretty well. I got a decent start and managed to stick with the front pack for the first couple of laps. I ran mostly 1.30.xx's, so the lap times weren't a fluke. Someone showed me a wheel on the last lap then I goofed my drive coming out of T9. I downshifted coming onto the front straight and redlined the motor so it started cutting out. Back up a gear, tuck, go, go, go, damn, forgot to shift and redlined it again. Whoever was behind me on that last lap must've backed off - it was a perfect pass opportunity, but it never came.

The Coors Light / Tom Sera Racing Formula Two GP, as usual, was a lot of fun. I got off the line OK but once things settled down the only target in sight was Jacob West (#945). He was about ten bike lengths ahead of me on the third lap, but I was slowly gaining on him. Each time we'd head down the straight between T1 and T2 he'd sneak a peek back to see where I was. I pulled alongside him on the last lap as we entered T2, but he got the better line and held me off. I pushed hard through T9 and was on his back tire as we exited for the front straight. I concentrated on getting a good drive, pulled alongside out of the draft and took him by a front wheel at the checkers.

Steve's Pepsi 600 Modified Production race was a blast to watch! He got a decent start and started dispatching riders right away. Double bike passes on the outside of T2. Inside passes on the chute between T4 and T5. Passing on the outside of T8. Coming around T4 on the fourth lap, though, he got into a two-wheel slide / lowside that he saved by pushing the bike back up with his knee. It was almost as much fun watching as running in the race.

The Toyota Gold Cup Unlimited F-1 Road Race went well for Steve too. He finished two spots ahead of last place (up from one spot out last month). The highlight of the race for him came on the 11th lap when Curtis Adams (#45, race leader) came past on the outside coming into T6 and wheelied all the way down the back side of the hill. "Who was that crazy guy?" Steve set a new lap time of 1.31.39 on the fifth lap and ran most of the race in the 1.32 / 1.31 range.

The racing was great, times were excellent, and the finishes were pretty good. Being able to adjust fast and slow compression separately on the new shock helped a lot with the bumps coming down from T4 into T5. I used to get bounced up out of the seat if I kept the gas on coming through there. The ability to tune the shock for the fast suspension action without compromising the slow action settings let me dial in the shock to deal with that problem. I know the shock had a lot to do with cutting two seconds of my lap times.

The only problem that I had was getting the bike to hold its line going through T2. It would move (not push) out to the middle of the track and it was tough trying to keep it on the inside line. I was trying to come into T2 with more entrance speed this weekend - maybe I was hitting the apex early. Something to play with next month.

Here are the final suspension settings that we used for most of the races:

Bob.

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