Fall finally arrives and brings the last track day of the year.

With the end of the race season behind me I'm still mad as hell at myself for not scoring enough points to go expert next year. No use in crying about it anymore so I decided to end my season on a fun note and do a NESBA trackday at Barber on November 10th.

End of the season events are always fun because we get so many riders down from the north and midwest who are already well into cold weather and looking to get in one more track experience before the long winter sets in. This year was no exception as I saw tons of riders from New York, New Jersey, Maryland and even a Vermont or two. The midwest was well represented too with tons of Wisconsin and Minnesota plates.

I guess our most famous "Yankee" is Lenny, a retired New York City policeman. Lenny is a great guy but you can just look at him and tell that he's tough as nails. It gives me chills just to think about what he must have seen and done the past 20 or so years. Another New Yorker that I've missed this year is Walter. We met Walter at a track day about two years ago. He had driven down by himself in an old F150 pickup all the way from Manhattan to Barber. He was pitted next to us with only a chair and a cooler in his pits. We offered for him to come over and sit with us and he turned out to be a very interesting fellow. Apparently he's some sort of metal artists or something.

Back to the track day. It was great weather and there were tons of control riders there keeping traffic flowing smoothly. I had a couple of really good morning sessions but then my bike started acting up.

Part of the control rider paddock.

More control riders



I've had this problem off and on for about a year with my old 1997 YZF600 Yamaha. The thing is having an electrical or fuel problem or something and it always happens mid-corner or accelerating out of corners which is really scary. The few times it happened in the past it was like the bike just lost power for a second then started running fine again. This time I was coming up out of 5 on the gas and it felt just like I had reached up and turned the switch off then on then off then on again. My rear was moving around all over the place and it really was kind of scary feeling.


Video of my little "malfunction"

I talked to a motor tuner guy who was there riding and he said he thought it was carburetor related so I'm going to tear those down and clean them good over the winter.

After lunch I rode a good bit with the problem coming back once more late in the day so I parked it and just enjoyed watching the advanced guys ride and enjoyed the rest of the day. All in all a fine way to end the season even with the mechanical issues.

Track day powered by Michelle sandwiches...yummy.

Oh yes, I forgot one more detail for this final trackday...tire warmer meltdown!!!!
We accidentally forgot to unplug the warmers once and when I got back to the pits they were smoking and melted. Oh well, now I have the opportunity to upgrade to a better set so no harm, no foul.




Now it's on to winter maintenance and painting for next season.

I should have gone to Nashville

My last race of 2007 was this past weekend at Barber. Going in I was 4th in the points in Senior Superbike MW for the mid-central region. All I needed to earn my expert plates was to finish in the top five for the region. I thought I had it made because I was expecting a light turnout.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG

Eight novices showed up on the grid so worst cast senario was finishing last and scoring eight points, enough to keep me in the top five I was thinking.

My grid spot was inside second row behind "sandbagging" Suzy Moody. I got a good start and was about 4th going into one. I guess I braked earlier than I had to cause just as I entered one two bikes went by leaving me in sixth or seventh (not sure now).

Anyway, going into five the new guy in the shirt outbraked me. I was hanging on to his tail pretty easily so I just figured I'd wait for a good time and pass him so I knew I wouldn't finish last. I got really close coming through two and just as we crested the hill at turn four I moved to his outside and easily was leading going into the turn five hairpin. So far so good.

The next lap he braked really late going down into five and ran wide. I took the tight line and was leading as we exited five. Unfortunately, he was able to outrun me up the hill to the coaster so I was back in follow the leader mode.

All of a sudden it started to rain. Light rain, at first, but after another lap it was getting hard enough that a rider went down ahead of us. When I saw that first yellow flag I knew I had to slow and give up on passing the new guy again.

So I finished the race in eighth with a really good feeling about the race. I got a good start, ran well and made some passes. It was time to wait for the points to be updated and see where I stood.

Sixth place.......38 points total, one point behind a tie for fifth and an expert letter.

If only I had gone to Nashville the week before. Another hard lesson learned about racing.

Actually, I would have asked to remain novice anyway. The only reason I came close to qualifying to expert was that WERA split the HW and MW races this year and awarded points separately. Guess I'm gonna have to turn it up a notch next year if I want to advance. Here are the race results.

Class: Senior Superbike MW Novice

1 360 Bob Young 6 10:37.522 1:41.491 2 70.942 -
2 761 Suzy Moody 6 10:48.413 10.891 1:42.365 4 70.337 -
3 324 Francis Duarte 6 10:56.838 19.316 1:44.862 3 68.662 -
4 907 Robert McKay 6 11:02.328 24.806 1:44.927 3 68.619 -
5 62 Bob Brooks 6 11:04.642 27.120 1:43.317 3 69.688 -
6 588 Jeffrey S. Gilbert 6 11:04.783 27.261 1:45.957 4 67.952 -
7 613 Adam Schmitt 5 10:04.732 1 Lap 1:54.801 5 62.717 -
8 154 Jimmy Ray McDowell 5 10:11.441 6.709 1:55.981 4 62.079 -


Here are my mid-central, end of the year points totals:

Points in Senior Superbike MW Novice Round
PPIC Talladega 2/11 Talladega 4/8 Nashville 4/29 Talladega 6/17 Cycle Jam 2007 - Nashville 9/16 Barber Motorsports Park 9/23 Total
1 Brian Sizemore 20 0 0 20 17 0 0 57
2 Suzy Moody 0 0 0 17 0 20 17 54
3 Carlston C. McKoy 0 20 20 0 11 0 0 51
4 Bob Young 0 0 0 0 20 0 20 40
5 Bob Brooks 0 0 13 15 0 0 11 39
6 Jimmy Ray McDowell 15 15 0 0 0 0 8 38

Wisconsin road trip -- part 2

Our 4th of July road trip to Wisconsin was the first for my new F-150 pickup and I must say it handled the job superbly. Here we are making our first stop....at the ATM of course.



The weather for the trip up was beautiful and we made excellent time. To avoid driving through Chicago, something I did not want to do, we turned left at Indianapolis and made our way north through rural Illinois. This must be the buckle of the corn belt because that's all we saw for hours, corn fields and windmills.



Day two found us making our way out of Illinois and heading through rural Wisconsin toward Milwaukee. There was lots of construction on the roadways through Milwaukee and it was a tense couple of hours getting through there but finally we were heading north to Elkhart Lake.



Elkhart Lake is just the most beautiful little village you could ever want to see. It's a mix of old world charm and modern development, a quiet place to relax and renew.

Road America is a truly awesome place

For the second time in my life I have visited Wisconsin. It will not be my last visit. When I made the decision to travel to Road America I was expecting to find an awesome race track. What I found was great weather and a beautiful state filled with warm, friendly people. Rural Wisconsin has a charm about it. I found myself wonderfully relaxed and energized. Vacations have a way of doing that, don't they?




So what is the track like? Well, it's long......really long. It's sort of like a combination of Road Atlanta's long straights and VIR's twisties. It isn't as wide and pristine like Barber but it is a fun, proper race track with some really high speed corners that test your nerve for sure.

I really enjoyed the tight turn 5 and the faster than I wanted to go carousel. But my favorite part of the track is the section past the carousel to the final corner leading onto the front stretch. You are in the woods for this entire section, nothing but the track, the fencing and trees for scenery. It is serene and ultra fast all the way to Canada corner. Exiting Canada corner you're hard on the gas through an uphill right then a fast left where you just pop out into the open from the woods. I actually giggled in my helmet every time through that section.

That is the beauty of track riding. When you're out there it's just you, your machine and the racetrack. You can feel the years peel away like the layers of an onion with every lap. It's a pure joy that isn't easily described. Let's just say it's a hell of a lot of fun.

Time to escape the Alabama heat - road trip!!!!!!

Since I started track riding 4 years ago I have had the goal to visit at least one new track per year that is outside my regular nearby tracks like Barber and Talladega. So far I've added Road Atlanta, VIR (North and Full) and Putnam Park in Indiana.

This year I decided to go all out. So the week of the 4th of July the Jim and Michelle circus travels to historic Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for two days of riding with NESBA.

I have wanted to ride at Road America as long as I can remember. It is one of the premier tracks in the country and, at over 4 miles, certainly one of the longest. It combines long, high-speed straights with wonderful flowing curved sections like the famous carousel and Canada corner.

When we travel we like to get as much of the "local experience" as we possibly can so we are staying at the Seibkins Resort in Elkhart Lake. The Seibkins dates back to the early 1900's and has played host to many of the worlds greatest motorsports figures.

Road America has one more appealing feature for me, it is only about 60 miles from Green Bay. That means a trip to the holiest of holies for professional football fans, Lambeau Field. Even though the "frozen tundra" won't be frozen this time of year it will be a thrill to walk the same ground as the likes of Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi. Hell, I might even decide to become a "cheese head".

Jim

Barber AMA 2007 - Racing Notes

With deference to Click and Clack, "Well, it's happened again, I've squandered another perfectly good weekend watching AMA racing."

The weather gods certainly smiled on central Alabama this year as we enjoyed 3 days of nearly perfect racing conditions. It was just a touch cool in the morning with a gentle breeze in the warming afternoons. Crowds were unusually heavy and the excitement was building.



There certainly seems to be a lot of drama in the AMA paddock this season. Top stories are the rivalry between teammates Spies and Mladin, the return of Yamaha to superbike racing and the switching of teams by Tommy Hayden and Jamie Hacking. In superstock, the mood has certainly shifted with the arrival of Aaron Yates to Jordan Suzuki. I see this as a really promising year for Jordan and if they really have the resources they should be contenders in superstock for sure.





This year brought some extra excitement as at least two WERA racers (Thomas Moore and Chad Dupree) were attempting to qualify and race in supersport. I first met Thomas about 3 years ago at Talladega. He and his girlfriend are such nice, friendly people. Unfortunately, the next time I would see Thomas he had crashed hard at the end of the back stretch at Barber during a practice, totaling his bike. There's really no worse feeling for a racer than to recognize a crashed bike. All you have time to think is, "I hope the rider is not injured".

Chad did qualify and race in supersport but Thomas fell victim to the number of entrants rule. He made the field on time but only the top 44 are allowed to race. He missed it by two bikes, I believe. Hang in there Thomas, you'll make it for sure.

With all that said, here then are some highlights of the racing for me:

1. Josh Herrin in Supersport. Wow that kid is crazy good. He came from nowhere to finish second. It seems clear that Josh, Garrett Carter and Tyler McDonald are the future for Yamaha.



2. 2007 Honda CBR600RR. Holy crap, this bike's for real. It dominated supersport and formula extreme and is clearly the class of the current 600 crop.

3. Josh Hayes just keeps getting better and better.



4. Surprise of the weekend....Rockwall Honda. I loved the battle in formula extreme between the Ducati's of Larry Pegram and Marty Cragill and the Rockwall Hondas of Ryan Andrews and Ryan Elleby. I met Ryan's dad last year at the AMA's when Ryan was riding a Honda with Larry Pegram's team. Nice people, I hope he makes it big.

5. Jordan Suzuki...first and second place and the pole in Superstock. Outstanding performances.





6. Superbike...Mladin and Spies are clearly the class of the field. I've never seen a more determined rider than Matt this year but Ben is so very, very good. It will be a season long battle. Tommy Hayden did a great job in superbike as well. Honda and Yamaha aren't as far back from Yoshimura Suzuki as I expected. They will surely pick up a win somethere. Miguel continues to be ageless.

7. James Elison...came over from MotoGP and made an impressive showing. It can't be easy to adjust to these machines and this type of track, even for someone with his experience. His battle with Roger Lee Hayden in Superbike race 1 was great fun to watch.

8. Ben Bostrom...teammates with his brother Eric at factory Yamaha. Ben seems to be genuinely enjoying racing again and I hope he will be able to get a win this year.



So the season is off to a proper start with Daytona and Barber now behind and Fontana looming for this weekend. When they get to Infineon and Road America we'll see who really has the legs this year. Can't wait.

Barber AMA 2007, Spectator Notes

April in Alabama carries two important dates in my world, my birthday on the 25th and AMA race weekend at Barber. This year while roaming the paddock I was able to meet some very nice privateer racers and even have a word with new AMA racer, James Ellison (fugitive from the MotoGP wars).



James came over from Europe to ride with Corona Extra Honda. I was able to talk with him long enough to welcome him to the states and let him know how much I enjoyed his epic battle with Roger Lee Hayden in Superbike race 1.

One of the privateer racers I met was Michael Morgan of Goshen, Indiana. Michael was running in Formula Extreme and was a very friendly guy. Best of luck, Michael.



The racer pictured below is Brian Hall of Spring Grove , Illinois.



This is Ryan Clay from Lula, Georgia. (Thanks to WERA BBS member SmokeSignalRT for identifying this racer for me.)



This is Randall Kienast a CMRA racer from Texas. (Thanks to WERA BBS member "ishc" for identifying this racer for me.)



This next racer is expert 292, Keith Marshall of Canton, Georgia. Keith had an ugly crash on Friday in practice where his engine blew and he lost it on his own oil. The bike tumbled over the airfence and the tire barrier. Keith was fortunately unhurt.

Congratulations Gill Cutchen - WERA Expert 105

Congratulations go out to my good friend Gill Cutchen, WERA expert racer 105. Gill picked up a nice third place finish in the Lightweight Solo race on Saturday at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway.

This was Gill's first race weekend on his newly built Suzuki SV650. Gill's best time was a 1:08.157 on the SV.

Above is a picture of Gill on his Suzuki 750 after the Senior Superbike race on Sunday.

Congratulations Bob Eady - Expert 146

I'm excited to report that my friend Bob Eady, WERA expert 146, picked up a well deserved third place in the Senior Superbike Heavyweight race this past Sunday at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway.

Bob's best time was a 1:05.773 and I believe this was his first ever expert podium.

Barber Video

Here are some video clips from the Sunday beginner group sessions. There is no audio on these clips.

Track days have begun - Barber with NESBA

"Following a rider through the Museum corner, what a view."

Finally, finally, finally....track days have begun for 07 and first up was March 3/4 at the tremendous Barber Motorsports Park. Saturday started out a little chilly and overcast but it was good riding weather till after lunch when the winds started to pick up and made things a little unpleasant.

This was my first chance to try out my new boots, which are a little tight but a million times easier to put on than those damn Gaerne boots I was trying to wear. I have over 30 track days under my belt now but I'm still in the Beginner group. Sometimes that fact gets to me but I try to put it into the back of my mind. Typically, I'm just a very conservative rider. At my age the physical and psychological limits come up pretty quickly and, so far, I've been unable to overcome them enough to increase my pace significantly. I do feel extremely comfortable on track now so hopefully this can be the year that I put it "all together" and finally start picking up the pace.

The only serious riding I did this weekend was a late Sunday session riding with my friend Gill, a NESBA control rider. Gill got in front of me and we did 4-5 fairly quick laps. Unfortunately, I wasn't running my lap timer or video camera so I don't know how fast we were going but it felt much faster than the rest of the weekend.

I also picked up two new sets of Dunlop 209 tires so I'm good to go for the rest of the season.

I did run the video camera a little Saturday and Sunday so hopefully I can post some of that video later on.

A new race season and a little new bling

Finally, a new track season has begun. This seemed like such a long offseason but the weather is improving and I'm really excited about the start of a new, and hopefully better, track riding season.

I decided to add some much needed "bling" to my riding gear so I picked up a new red/black KBC helmet and a pair of black/white Sidi Vertigo race boots. Now if I can just lose enough weight there might even be a new leather racing suit in my future. I've got my eyes on a red/white/black suit from RS Taichi.

Anyway, first up this year was WERA regional racing at the newly re-designed Talladega Grand Prix Raceway near Munford, Alabama. My first impression of the new track design is awesome, awesome, awesome. Talladega has always been a place that I really didn't like very much and it scared the hell out of me sometimes. The new layout seems to flow so much better and there is plenty of room for passing.



Saturday practice went well and by the afternoon I was ready for my first race, Mediumweight Solo20 Novice. I was gridded outside of the fourth row and got a good start. The mediumweight novices were on their best behavior and I cruised to a really fun and thankfully uneventful race. It felt so good to see that checkered flag again. There's just nothing like it.

Sunday afternoon I was entered in the Senior Superbike race for the old guys over 40. Actually it's really misleading to think of this as a senior race because some of the experts we race with in this division have many, many years of experience and are superfast.

This year WERA split the Senior Superbike race into mediumweight and heavyweight for both expert and novice. This meant a two wave start, expert then novice, and a row break between heavyweight and middleweight. Since I'm novice and middleweight it put me at the very back of the field but starting with the riders that I'm competing with in middleweight. I really like this new senior superbike race lineup and I hope it doesn't change.

I got my usual crappy start (I just am timid going into one for the first time) and the riders in front of me got off to a few second lead on me so by the time I was up to my speed they were long gone. This was really fine with me because I had approached the weekend's racing as just a warmup and practice so I wasn't pushing too hard and I felt really great. My concentration and focus are much better this year so I have something to build on.

Well things were fine till about lap 4 when the experts starting lapping me. One of them on a Kawasaki got a little close going into the 90's and he bumped me going by. Bastard never even so much as gave me a wave (the usual way of saying "sorry, my bad"). Then, coming to the white flag, two riders dove under me in the last corner. One was way too hot going in and his bike did a wicked slide all the way to the corner exit. He was lucky he didn't run off as there is little room for error in this particular corner.

All in all a fun race and, thanks to the new grid procedure, a third place finish for me. I'll post more pictures and links to video when they are available.

Next up, NESBA track days at Barber the first weekend in March.

2006 Year in Review

It's January now and I've had some time to reflect on the 2006 riding season. This was my third year of track riding and my second year to enter races. I did 11 trackdays, all with NESBA, and three WERA race weekends.

Trackdays are so much fun. My friend Gill Cutchen was promoted to Control Rider with NESBA so I had the opportunity to ride with him really for the first time (I don't count when you lapped me at Cycle Jam). Anyway, the summer here was brutally hot so I did some weekends with only riding on Saturday and I skipped the August days completely. That, combined with not riding out of state this year, limited me to only eleven days. Not enough if you ask me.

The three race weekends I managed to run were WERA Sportsman rounds at Barber, Talladega and Road Atlanta (Cycle Jam). I ran only Senior Superbike and a couple of solos so the racing was limited for sure in 06 but still fun. I had planned to run another round at Talladega in February but it was just too damn cold. I also skipped out on racing at Nashville Speedway. Racing wise I don't feel like I improved much or accomplished much this past year. I'm hoping to do better in 07 with WERA. At least I'm hoping to score some points. Something I didn't manage to do in 06.

Here are some of the few highlights I had on track in 06:

1. I had a super fun battle with Morris Foor in the Senior Superbike novice race at Barber. Morris had not raced for years and was out of practice. I managed to stay with him and do a last lap pass. Great fun.

2. My brother Tom came to watch me race at Barber. I hope he'll be able to make more events next year. Hopefully my brother Joe will be able to come too.

3. I got a new video camera and bullet cam to record my races.

4. I got to race at Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta. I went out for 600cc novice practice with 86 other bikes. It was the most intense 15 minutes of my life. Road Atlanta is a fast, scary place and being out there with that much traffic really gets your heart pumping. Makes you feel alive for sure.

5. At Barber I got to ride with Gill as my control rider. He got me going through the end of the backstretch section faster than I'd ever gone before.

6. Santa brought me a really professional motorcycle lift so now maintanance will be much easier.

2006 was a safe and fun year on track. Thanks to everyone at WERA and NESBA for a good year and thanks to Michelle for again putting up with all my crap on track weekends.

Jim