Willow Springs, Ca
12/19/97 - 12/21/97

Event Baseline Tech Info

Event Action Plan / Goals:

Sunday 12/21/97 Race Times / Results:

Friday 12/19/97 (Fastrack Practice) - Notes:

Another late start on the day - another day of no practice.            

Saturday 12/20/97 (WSMC Practice) - Notes:

First order of the day was to replace our worn-out front D207GP. It had gone the distance for last month's races, but was looking pretty shabby after Steve's F1 race. The rear was in good shape and we ran it all day in practice.

We had little practice time last month to dial in our new suspension, so that was what we concentrated on today. The rear end was a little harsh going over the bumps coming down into T5, so I backed off the fast compression by one click (8 clicks from max) and it felt fine. Practice was pretty uneventful.

It was pretty cold all day, so we were damn glad to have our new Tyr Sox tire warmers on hand. There's nothing like the confidence that pre-warmed tires will give you going into T1 at full speed that first lap! They're super-simple to use - a velcro strap holds one end in place as you roll the warmer around the tire. Snug down the draw-cord on either side to pull the warmer firmly against the tire, wrap the entire wheel with the 'cozy' to keep the wind out and crank up the generator.

The tach started going nuts towards the end of the day - the needle was swinging all over the place. I pulled in and found that one of the wires had broken and was only making intermittant contact. A quick glob of solder took care of that. We changed out both the front and back D207GPs for new ones before putting the bike to bed for the night.

Sunday 12/21/97 (WSMC Race Day) - Notes:

It was raining at the motel when we woke up Sunday morning. The cloud cover looked pretty thick in all directions, so we started planning for a wet race day. It was clear and cold when we got to the track, though, and stayed that way all day. The wind, however, started kicking up early and was blowing 20 - 25mph all day.

Steve was up first in the the Pepsi 600 Modified Production race. He was gridded 11th of 21 racers and finished 11th. It was his best Expert finish of the year.

The Graves Motor Sports 650 Superbike race was my first outing of the day. I was really looking forward to that race, as I usually did well against the Superbike-spec bikes. The wind was really starting to kick up and I had to stay tucked tight to the gas tank. As I rounded T9 on the third lap, I caught a BIG gust of wind that started pushing me off the track. I cranked the bars over and put my knee down on the pavement, but the wind kept pushing until I was out in the dirt. Luckily, I kept it on two wheels, crossed over entrance to the pits and got back on the track. That incident psyched me out for the rest of the day. I hauled butt everywhere else on the track, but slowed down a lot coming into T9, blowing my drive down the front straight.

The Coors Light / Tom Sera Racing Formula Two GP and the Viewpoint Photography / Honda Challenge 600 Super Stock races were pretty much the same, though I managed a 10th place in the Super Stock race (and one entry for the Honda CBR600F3 drawing at the banquet in January).

Steve provided the only entertainment of the day with his start in the The Toyota Gold Cup Unlimited F-1 Road Race. He dropped the clutch as the green flag flew but went nowhere fast. He was still in neutral. Grind, grind, clunck as he dropped it into first gear and took off after the pack heading into T1. Neutral came back to haunt him again as he passed Steve Allen heading into T3, only to lose his drive up to T4 when he hit a false neutral. Steve Allen slipped by, but only held the lead for another lap.

December marks the end of the 1997 racing season with the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club. It's been a helluva year on 'the fastest track in the west'. The year started off well with an 8th, 7th, and 1st place finishes in my first three Novice races. I moved up to Probational Expert in May and although I got my butt soundly whipped for the next few months, I reached one of my goals for '97 by finishing in the top ten for the Coors Light / Tom Sera Racing Formula Two GP in August. I earned enough points during September to move up to Expert (another '97 goal) and finished up the year placing mostly in the top fifteen. The third '97 goal was to get under 1.30, which happened in November (1.29.13). The one goal I didn't make was finishing in the top 100 overall, but came close - my new number for 1998 is 107.

Steve had a fantastic first year with WSMC. He ran his first Novice race in June and finished 6th. He followed that up with a pair of 1st place finishes in July and August. He got his first Probational Expert race under his belt in September and earned a number of top fifteen finishes through December. His best Expert finish of the year came in December's Pepsi 600 Modified Production race (11th), but more impressive were his better-than-last-place finishes in the three Toyota Gold Cup Unlimited F-1 Road Races (14th, 18th, 14th). His best lap time to date is 1.31.39. Keep in mind that this is from someone who never rode a sportbike before May! Steve's WSMC number for 1998 is 207.

Of course, we never could have done any of this without the help of our support crew: Mom & Dad (Bob & Jeanne), James & Crystal (our brother and his wife), Ellen Noonkester, Bruce Comey, Chad Dawson, Shad Mifflin, and Valarie Wixen.

Thanks to our sponsors - Data Management Systems, TFBnet and Viewpoint Photography for the day-in-day-out financial support. The contingency and series sponsorships of  The Knee-Dragon, Tom Sera Racing, Graves Motorsports, Pepsi, XYZ Clothing, Coors Light, American Honda Motor Co., Silkolene Lubricants, EBC Brakes, Dunlop, and Willow Springs Motorcycle Club provided quite a few goodies, some $$$, and free practice sessions.

Thanks to our go-fast and look-good crew - Curt Jordan of Jordan Engineering for his engine building and tuning magic, Michael and Morris of GMD Computrack LA for their suspension and setup wizardry, and Tom Aberle of Aberle Custom Aircraft for his work-of-art welding.

And a special thanks to our fellow racers, especially Tony & Char Silvera (#97), Robert Berlind (#514), Michael Martinez (#999), Danna Mashhadian (#697), and Steve Bowline (#314).

What's up for next year? Curt Jordan is currently building a SuperBike motor and a Super Stock-spec motor and is freshening up the motor in my (now Steve's) bike. We'll be fielding a pair of 1994 Honda CBR600F2 rides for 1998. We will expand our racing beyond our home track of Willow Springs and are looking at all of the western events of the WSMC, AMA, CCS, AFM, F-USA, and NASB. We should have a firm schedule by the end of January.

In preparation for next year, we took delivery of a custom-built 24' enclosed trailer from Sport Trailers in San Bernardino. Steve & I spent a couple of months researching all the trailer options and decided that Sport Trailers offered the best bang for the buck. The stock configuration includes fiberglass siding, aluminum walk-on roof, 48" side door, pull-out step, 15" radial tires w/chome rims, electric brakes (both axles), undercoating, front & rear skid bars, porch light, rear loading lights, roof vents, vinyl flooring, work bench, double spring-assist ramp door, interior paneling, and a carpeted ramp door. We added windows, 110 outlets and lighting, overhead cabinets, a 36" deep bench across the front, tie-down points along the walls and floor, pre-wired for an air conditioner, framed for water and gas tanks, outside quartz light, ladder and a weight distributing hitch / anti sway system. It's big enough to hold all our gear, provide a work-place for the bikes, and some space left over for a couple of cots.

Steve and I have been working hard at lining up new sponsors for 1998 and I'm very pleased to say we've been quite successful. There are still a couple of deals to work out, so I have to stay mum for now, but watch for an announcement before our first race of the season in February with the WSMC.

Bob.

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