National Motorcycle Racer - OliverJervis.com

 

Please note Images & Video from the weekend can be viewed here.

 


OMRRA Round 6

 

Series: OMRRA
Date: September 24 - 25

F4 Plate MS Plate

Classes raced and results

MW Superbike
-
1st
Formula 4-
1st

Wow, where did that season/year go?  What a year folks.  Traveling, racing, playing, LIFE!

Zlock Racing engineering, amazing machinery, and incredible race craft combined with Pirelli tires netted eleven wins from twelve starts.  A massive accomplishment considering all the variables that go into a race season.  I was, honestly, just ballast on the bike.  :) - Something the team reminds me of constantly.  :)

Onto the weekend!
GREAT weekend for me on many levels!  To note, James Cyr, one of my best friends and dad to my god daughter Zoey, came down to help out and attend.  For those that don't know, James used to crew for me back in my Canadian Superbike days. Waaaay back.  So everyone seemed to enjoy having someone in the pits that throws as much s*** at me as possible.  Good times.  :)

The races.
Despite the results we did struggle this weekend as Pirelli's shipment of tires for us didn't arrive.  This left us with less than an optimal setup for the weekend and we struggled in the first race with grip big time.  Funny how even though everyone thought we were on "form" we still had our fair share of struggles.

I actually savored my last laps of the year.  As I came out of turn nine on the penultimate lap I thought, well, lets make this one a decent one.  I put in a flyer hitting all my marks while running the bike hard through the gears.  It felt like a great way to cap off the season!

I'll save you a lap by lap report in favor of a note of gratitude to everyone involved in this race program...

Racing is so much more to me than just hitting laps and burning up Pirelli tires.  It's about the community that is my family, my connection with them, and the purpose the pursuit of this endeavor gives me.  It permeates into everything I do!  I'm a lucky man!  
Thanks Dan, Dale Zlock for the opportunity. - You guys are, literally, the best!
Thanks Jeff, Oscar, Darrin & the crew at Pirelli for their continued support and belief in me.  Pirelli tires are a critical part of our program.  We are lucky to use them!
Thanks to all the other sponsors that support me and keep me safe.
Thanks to my family, my racing family, and all the people involved in my life. - You know who you are!!

I'm grateful!

Up next I'm going flyfishing on one of my favorite rivers with James next week.  Then, in Nov I'll be in Valencia, Spain with my daughter, Kodi, to take in the MotoGP finale!!.... returning to the arena where I raced just twelve years ago... just..   :)

Stay tuned!

Oliver

What a lap looks like - Part four - Turn Nine to the straight.
With the exit from turn eight paying dividends, I'll be at the far left of the track with a short shot of throttle.  I then set up for, arguably, the most critical exit on the track.  (I know I say that a lot..  lol) I say this because as you exit turn nine you're off down Portland's very long straight. Again, every ounce of energy I can extract from the apex will carry itself all the way to turn one.  CRITICAL!  On the Zlock Superbike I ride a line that carries considerable corner speed while still enabling me to pick the bike up on the tire and shoot out, hard.  Something I'm able to do because of the specific Pirelli tires we use. At my brake marker I focus on standing the bike up while loading the front tire considerably. Once the tire is sufficiently loaded I scrub speed as I tip the bike in using trail braking to great effect.  My focus now shifts to getting the bike pointed in the direction I need to get on the gas.  If I time things correctly my right knee will be over the curbing and the rear tire just on the pavement.  From here it's all about feeding as much power as the rear tire can handle as I finish the turn. Then, it just becomes a game of rpm management and aerodynamic efficiencies.  I use the tire to keep the rpm's right where they need to be and focus on exact shifts with my chin on the tank while being as "still" on the bike as possible.  On the way to turn one to do it again..... only faster... 

Anyway, that concludes what a lap looks like around Portland.  I hope you enjoyed following this season!