Bryan Nelson, WERA Vintage 7 Middleweight National Champion. 

Ed Bargy Track Day, Talladega Grand Prix Raceway

Saturday, November 5th I attended a track day at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway in Munford, Alabama. Wow what fun it was. Tally had not been one of my favorite tracks, mostly cause I crashed there this past February and I got hit hard in April during a novice race. This time I decided to conquer my fears of Tally and get my head on straight again. Mission accomplished.

We ran clockwise, my favorite, and the groups were relatively small. I think there were about 10-15 in the blue race group that I was in. My goals for the day were to return to consistency and work on braking and corner entry speed, two big weaknesses for me so far.

Early in the day I was still feeling a little spooked by the fast guys going by but I finally put that out of my head and started concentrating and began to click off really consistent laps. I moved my brake marker way up toward the entrance to 1 and trimmed some time there. Also made improvements in the 90's but there's more work to be done there. I'm pitifully slow in the sweeper too, a high speed right hander.

Anyway, next track day is November 19 at Road Atlanta with NESBA. Can't wait. My goal is to get sub 1:50. I know I can do it.

Barber practice 

Barber practice 

Gill having fun at Barber. 

More Floribama at Barber 

Some of my Alabama Sportbike friends. 

Stick misses his brake marker. 

Stickboy and Lori having fun at Barber. 

Scott Padgitt is back. First time on track since crashing in Practice at Talladega in April. 

Gill's Trailer 

Gill's GSXR750 

Gill has a new track weapon.

My friend Gill Cutchen, WERA 105, just completed the track preparations on his new Suzuki GSXR750 race bike. Can't wait to see this thing at the track. I'm soooooo jealous.

DAMN IT IS HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I attended the NESBA track days this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park or I should say that I "survived" the track days. The heat was unbelievable. Saturday all I could do was run about 10-15 minutes a session then come in. Sunday was a little better. I made 2 really good sessions in the morning but by the afternoon I was having to skip sessions. I also got to ride in the rain some Sunday afternoon. Riding a wet track is all about throttle control. You have to know exactly where the water is in every corner, especially on a drying track, before you can go quick.
This weekend I also picked up a new nickname, "birdman". My friends Gill, Tammie and Michelle were watching from the control tower. I got passed a little close in 5 by someone so I flipped him the bird. After that session Gill wanted me to teach him how to ride through 5 one handed while flipping someone off.

This was a fun weekend. I'm off next weekend to the friendly confines of Virginia International Raceway for more track days. I'm planning to race at VIR next year so I need some seat time there this year.

My lean angle is improving. 

Missed Road Atlanta - dropped to 18th in Points

I couldn't attend the WERA Sportsman Southeast regional race at Road Atlanta earlier this month and as a result I've dropped to 18th in points. Hopefully I can run at least 2 more rounds this year of Senior Superbike. Good news is my buddy Gill is up to 9th in points and got his first podium finish.

Senior Superbike Novice

1 J.B. Layman 131
2 Scott Layman 73
3 Jim Fuller 63
4 Mike Smith 60
5 Frank Tarullo 53
6 Larry Ray Dulaney 49
7 Mark R. Sheldon 43
8 Lee A. Schmitt 43
9 Gill Cutchen 41
10 Borge Larsen 40
11 Mark E. Steedley 35
12 Paul Layman 31
13 David Sadusky 30
14 John F. Hart, Jr. 26
15 Stan Zangel 25
16 Mark Mullis 23
17 George Hovanec 21
18 Jimmy R McDowell 21

I've had lots to think about lately.

After my disappoiting weekend at Talladega I've had lots to think about. For the first time since starting to track ride/race I had a weekend where I didn't feel that I improved any at all. Michelle gave me some good advice last night. She said that I was over thinking and over analyzing everything and that I should just get out there and ride. That's what I'm going to try to do Saturday.

My track group, NESBA, is having a track day this Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. The elevation changes there and the wide track make for fun, fast but safe riding. There plenty of room if you make a mistake. I feel so much more relaxed and confident there than I ever have at Talladega where there is almost no room for error.

Last time at Barber I worked on my lines and being smooth and from the feedback I received I was able to do both of those. This time out I'm gonna turn it up a little and try to get more throttle everywhere I can. I'm getting closer to running a lap under 1min 50. I can run mid 50's now without scaring the shit out of myself every time so getting in the 40's is a reasonable goal.

One thing for sure, I'm in terrible shape and it shows in the heat of summer. If I'm gonna ride/race seriously next year I've got to shed some serious weight and get some endurance built up. I'm feeling very positive about the weekend.

The good old days, when all I had to worry about was getting rid of the shirt. 

Senior Superbike Race Report

WERA Sportsman Series, Talladega Grand Prix Raceway, Sunday, June 19. Race direction: counter-clockwise.

"Third and final call". When I heard those words I was sitting on pit road waiting to go out for my race. I eased up next to Ronnie Erwin, an expert racer, and asked him if he still gets nervous cause I was plenty nervous. Ronnie said, "just go out there and relax and have some fun." That sounded like a good plan to me.

I was gridded in novice wave 2 one row back of my buddy Gill Cutchen. Gill can run 1:07's at Tally so I knew my only hope of keeping up with him for even 1/2 lap was to get a good start. The Expert wave was away and the revs came up and off we go. I cought a little wheelie at the start but got a good jump, not far behind Gill. Some guy on a big ass thumper came by me into one so I settled in behind him and a shirt for lap one.

Headed into the bowl the shirt went down and came up holding his leg. I learned later it was broken. Red flag and a restart was in order. My second start wasn't as good as the first. The thumper and another guy got by so I settled in and ran as hard as I could.

I was pleased that I kept up with 2 guys till we got to the 90's so I'm improving a little but I was still way off this weekend. Maybe my head was screwed up from Saturday's near miss. In any case it was a lonely race for me. The only excitement I had was when the experts came by to lap me. They go by so freaking fast that it can startle you. Their corner speed must be so much higher than mine to give them that kind of a run down the straight.

I was hoping not to get lapped by the Novice leaders this time but damn if that $&#*@(# JB Layman didn't go flying by. You can't miss him with that yellow helmet. We love to hate JB even though we don't even know him. He's just so damn fast. It will be fun to see how he does in expert next year.

After the race I learned that Gill had finished 3rd in Novice, his first podium. Congratulations to him and to all who ran at Talladega this weekend.

Missing brake lever from Tally turn 1 incident. Thank you idiot novice for trying to kill me. 

Really close call at Talladega today

Damn, I'm lucky to be able to write this tonight because I had an unbelievably close call at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway today.

It was lap 4 of the Heavyweight Solo 20 race. The novices and experts had been combined into one race, I don't like that WERA please don't do it again, and I was running fine.

At the end of the front stretch I was passed by a group of fast novices/experts. Everyone got by fine except the last rider in the line who t-boned me on the right side. We hit so hard that it broke off my front brake lever, something I would discover later that lap at the end of the fastest straight!!!!!!!!

I still don't really know how we both made it through turn 2. The impact threw my weight to one side and the bike tried to stand up. I pushed hard as I could on the handlebars just to keep the bike turning and somehow made it through the turn.

Back in the pits we surveyed the damage and found a big crack in the upper fairing as well as the broken brake lever. I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow. Sure hope I have better luck in the Senior Superbike race.

Barber Turn 12 I think, just before the tunnell. 

June Barber NESBA Turn 2 

June Barber NESBA Turn 5 

New Bike/Barber NESBA update

June 4/5 weekend I was riding with NESBA at Barber on the new bike. Barber is a track I am extremely familiar with and I'm happy to say the new bike felt great. My lap times weren't much better but it was easier to ride at that speed than before.

Cornering seems to be something I'm getting pretty good at. I was pitted next to a new control rider and he told me that my corner speed was extremely good and that I should get evaluated for the bump to Intermediate.

Unfortunately, I got way too hot on Saturday and spent most of the day in a near heat stroke condition. I was in no shape go go out and try to get bumped so I decided to stay in front of the fans as much as I could and grid up at the last minute and try to cool off.

By Sunday I was feeling much better and riding better. My goal for the weekend was to be smooth, smooth, smooth and I believe I was successful.

I've ordered some pics and will post when they come.

This weekend I'm preparing the bike and my gear for the WERA races at Tally next weekend. More later..........

I'm really, really proud of Michelle.

My girlfriend Michelle has been learning to ride a motorcycle. She has a Yamaha Virago 250. This is a perfect bike for a beginner, low and light in weight. This past weekend she rode it over 50 miles round trip.

Michelle is learning to ride. That's her Virago 250 with my parts bike in the background. 

Here's the new parts bike and spare wheels. 

Hard to see, I know, but that's a 1:58.77 

My new Penske rear shock. Now I need to send it to Traxxion for a refresh. 

Road Atlanta was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This past Saturday I went over to Road Atlanta to pick up a parts bike I had purchased and to ride there for a NESBA track day. The parts bike was great, much better than I had expected. It has a Penske rear and worked forks and felt much stiffer and more stable than my previous suspension. It came with tons of spares and I'm well pleased with my purchase. Thanks Brian from NESBA.

The weather was less than perfect. A cold front had come through Friday night and Saturday dawned dreary and cool. There was a mist in the air that bordered on rain and I feared the morning sessions would be delayed but they weren't.

Friday night Michelle and I had frantically worked to ready the parts bike for the next day. It needed new tires and was in need of a general cleaning/going over that took quite a while before I was satisfied that it would be ok for the track day. Road Atlanta is a fast, dangerous place and I didn't want to go out unless I was confident in the bike.

The first morning session was fairly slow and it gave me a chance to get used to the new bike's suspension and low clip on handlebars. Soon I was running at last year's pace and everything settled in. I quickly realized that I was passing a lot more riders this year. I'm happy my pace has improved. I felt quicker, smoother and more relaxed everywhere. Things are coming together nicely for me track wise and I'm happy.

Saturday's second session brought a strange occurance. The mist had gotten heavier and I found that on the high-speed back stretch there was enough water condensing on my helmet to run down my shield and nearly blind me coming down the fast back section. It is hard enough to see there under perfect conditions. The combination of buffeting from the high speeds and vibration from the engine being at full RPM make your head move about quite a bit.

The day progressed and by the afternoon sessions I was turning times several seconds under last year's best pace, not quick by Advanced group standards but an improvement. That made me feel good, too good maybe as I would get a scare in the last session of the day.

Buellboy, a NESBA control rider, had been following me and decided to go by to show me a quicker line through 6. I followed him as best I could but he was quicker than I'd been most of the day. We flew down the back stretch and I was right on his tail under the Suzuki bridge. I decided to shift twice going down the hill where I had only been shifting once there. I guess this gave me extra corner speed cause I hit my turn in mark perfectly for 12 at the bottom of the hill but felt the bike running wider on exit, so wide in fact that I got up on the rumble strips. When I got on the gas the rear seemed to step out a little then catch. It threw me up a little bit off the seat and my left foot came off the peg. That was a hell of a scare.

If you are familiar with Road Atlanta there is almost no runoff at 12 and a big concrete wall just a few yards outside that turn. That is no place to be fooling around with your exit. I knew better than to ride over my head just to keep up with someone. I won't make that mistake again.

Thanks NESBA and all the wonderful people I met at RA that day. Hope we meet up again on track.

Road Atlanta 

Headed back to Road Atlanta

Well, I'm headed back to Road Atlanta this weekend for a NESBA track day and to pick up a used backup track bike I'm buying. This will be good practice for the WERA regionals coming up there in a few weeks. I've only ridden once here but I like it alot. It is an open, flowing layout that isn't particularly difficult but fun. I'll post pics and a summary next week.

Here's a picture of Jake with the last garden he was able to plant. 

Sad news to report

It is with great sadness that I note the passing of a dear friend. Jake Jones, the father of my long-time girlfriend Michelle, passed away recently after a long, brave fight against cancer.

Jake we love you and we miss you. Clanton, Alabama will never be the same without you. Thank you for all the kindness you showed me over the years. Rest in peace till we meet again.

I'm 17th in points in South East Senior Superbike

WERA Motorcycle Roadracing

Sportsman Series Points Standings

South East
Current as of: 4/27/2005
Senior Superbike Novice
1 Scott Layman 62
2 J.B. Layman 60
3 Frank Tarullo 38
4 Lee A. Schmitt 37
5 Larry Ray Dulaney 34
6 Paul Layman 28
7 Gill Cutchen 26
8 James "Bo" Lemastus 20
9 David LaRiviere, Sr. 19
10 Thomas J. Lewis 19
11 Russell B. Borden 17
12 Stan Zangel 15
13 David Johnson 15
14 Mark E. Steedley 14
15 Borge Larsen 13
16 Andy Coldwell 13
17 Jimmy M McDowell 12
18 Jim Fuller 11
19 Mark Mullis 8
20 George Hovanec 8
21 Jeff K. Flatt 7
22 Charlie Hassell 7
23 Rick Patton 6
24 Robert Mosco 6
25 Russell Bonder 5
26 Robert McKay 5
27 Glenn A. Goodman 3
28 Allan F. McCullough 2
29 Danny Patterson 1

Talladega traffic. 

Do these leathers make my butt look big?