Willow Springs / WSMC
10/15 - 10/17/99

Event Final Tech Info

Race Times / Results:

Notes:

October is usually one of the nicest months out at Willow Springs. A Santa Ana condition made this month unusually dry and windy. We arrived Thursday afternoon to set up and get ready for Fastrack practice on Friday. It was great to be back 'home' at Willow.

Steve and I spent the first couple of sessions getting back into the swing of things. We spent the rest of Friday making some changes to the bikes and helping Curt Jordan sort out Jerry Evan's R6. We've been providing some support for Jerry's race program this year and he's been coming along very well after an eighteen month hiatus from racing.

Saturday's practice was going along pretty well until Steve lowsided in T5, barrel-rolling his bike, but coming out of it without a bump or bruise. Morris from GMD Computrack LA had just delivered the F4 that I crashed at Colorado last month, so we spent the rest of the afternoon getting it ready to race.

The 650 Superbike race went very well, although it was shortened by a red flag on lap five when Jerry highsided off in T3.  Jerry also survived his crash without injury, though the R6 needed some TLC from Curt and his assistant Peter Howell to get it ready for the next race. I made some changes to my bike and we got ready for the Formula II race.

The start of the Formula II race went well, though it had its moments. A last minute pass on the front straight had me going into T1 really hot. The front brakes grabbed hard as I attempted to slow for the turn, the rear wheel came off the ground high enough for Dave to see it from the hot pit wall, and the rear end started swinging left and right about the steering stem. I got it back under control and made the turn, but not without losing a couple of places. Coming into T5 on the same lap my left foot slipped off the peg and I almost ended up in the dirt. I looked down at the peg, suspecting oil but not finding any, then headed up to T6. I caught and passed the two racers who got by in T1 and held that place to the checkers. Steve pulled a draft pass on the last lap and finished right behind me. Jerry had a really good day, running in the three 600-class races along with the Formula II race, finishing 6th or 7th in each one.

As the checkers flew for that Formula II race, it also marked the end of our 1999 racing season. 1999 was an exciting and busy season for Aramel Racing. We traveled something like 10,000 miles attending the AMA rounds at Willow Springs, Sears Point, Laguna Seca (twice), Road Atlanta, Road America, Loudon and Pike's Peak. We started and ended the season at our home track of Willow Springs running with the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club. We qualified for almost every one of the AMA 600 and 750 Supersport races, I finished with a best of 24th at Laguna Seca, Steve did us proud with a 19th at Pike's Peak.

We would like to thank our sponsors for all of their support this year: Data Management Systems, TFBnet, Viewpoint Photography, Escondido Cycle Center, Jordan Engineering, Asphalt & Gas, Sharkskinz, CryoLabs, Dunlop, DynoJet Research, EBC Brakes, Eibach Springs, Elf Lubricants, Full Spectrum Design (Pit Bull), GMD Computrack LA, Goodridge, Held, Helimot European Accessories, Holliday Canopies, Lockhart Phillips, Maier Manufacturing, Meguiar's, Modern World Ventures (Fog City), Motion Pro, Penske Racing Shocks, Protect All, Race Tech, Sport Tire Services, Sprocket Specialists, Tyr Sox, White Brothers, Yoshimura R&D of America and Z Custom Leathers. And our friends at Aberle Custom Aircraft, Knudsen Artwork and Louis Novoa Engineering.

A special thanks to our families, friends, fellow racers, track workers and the fans.

And saving the best for last, thanks to our crew chief Dave Kester for all the hard work. We couldn't have done it without him.

What's on tap for next year? Right now we're not sure. We'll be spending the winter getting the bikes rebuilt and probably hit a few open track days to keep from getting too stale. Hauling the trailer behind the motorhome was a real pain in the ass, so we're looking into converting the trailer to a fifth-wheel setup and we'll tow it behind a truck.

The AMA has recently released its 2000 schedule, consisting of ten events. There are a lot of rumors coming out of the PACE Motorsports camp which have really caught our attention, including a six-to-ten race series and television coverage on one of the three big networks. We'll wait to commit to a 2000 race schedule until we have more concrete information from PACE.

Next round, stay tuned ...........

Bob.

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