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Series: WMRRA
Date: Aug 30th - 31st
Classes raced and results
600 Supersport - 3rd
LW Superbike - 1st
600 Superbike - 3rd
MW GP Twins - 2nd
I apologize in advance for this
report being delayed. I'm writing it on the ferry to Victoria
but won't be able to post it until early in the week. I literally
have to get home, unpack, repack, shower and catch a flight
to Toronto for some testing at Shannonville!
I have to thank Dan Zlock for all his efforts
over the weeks leading up to this race. He worked tirelessly
to get the SV back to full song and, as you might imagine,
the bike was an absolute rocket.
Also, I have to thank Brad & Cindy Gua
for being the awesome people they always are. And Tom and
Brenda Wertman, who, as you'll read below, asked me to ride
for them in a six hour endurance race this past weekend.
And last, but not least, I want to thank my
competitors, mainly Mike Sullivan & Eli Edwards, with
whom I'm in a title points chase, for being such awesome competitors
on, and off, the track. Mike and I were actually talking,
and laughing, about this. Here we were just an hour before
our race talking about life, family and the like, when in
just about sixty minutes we would be on the track battling,
and willing to do just about anything to get past each other.
Kind of funny when you look at it that way. Thanks to Mike
and Eli - it's an honor racing with you.
Race 1
600 SuperSport
Weather conditions - cool & dry
Tires front / rear - soft front - soft rear
Total laps - 8
Result - 3rd
Despite the podium I have to say this probably my worst performance
this year. I just wasn't jelling with the bike and was fighting
it everywhere, almost crashing several times. My lap times
weren't even consistent and I was genuinely uncomfortable.
After the race Dan, Dale and I talked about it, and after
their pep talk I was looking forward to the next race
Race 2
600 SuperBike
Weather conditions - cool & dry
Tires front / rear - soft front - soft rear
Total laps - 8
Result 3rd
After the previous race performance I was determined to do
the job I knew I could do. I got an excellent start and started
scrapping with Eli Edwards for the lead. In the end Eli had
our number as he managed to dip into some lap times we couldn't
achieve. It's funny, because he'll drop into some times, we'll
respond, and then he'll up the ante just that much more again.
He's a great rival on the track for us. Thanks Eli, I look
forward to the next one.
Race 3
650 GP Twins
Weather conditions - cool & dry
Tires front / rear - soft front - soft rear
Total laps - 8
Result - 1st
I got a horrible start in this one but still managed to lead
the field into turn two. From here it became a slightly tedious
race as there was light rain falling on certain parts of the
track. With this I played it as safe as I could, just barely
holding off Kevin Pinkstaff for the win.
Race 4
Middle Weight Superbike
Weather conditions - warm & dry
Tires front / rear - soft front - soft rear
Total laps - 8
Result - 2nd
Man, did I ever ride the SV hard in this race. We've been
challenged in recent races by Kevin Schaefer riding exceptionally
well on a TZ250. Although our bikes are radically different
in their relative strengths, the lap times seem to be the
same and make for some exciting racing. I really launched
the bike well and led for the first four laps. On the fifth
lap Kevin pushed his way past and took the lead in turn nine.
I re-past him and we exchanged the lead several times over
the course of the next few turns. Then, in my efforts to get
by him going into turn three, I made a huge mistake that almost
saw me on the ground. Luckily I didn't crash or lose too much
time. Still, we turned our fastest laps ever on the SV.
Six hour endurance race
Weather conditions - cool & dry - then wet - then dry
- then wet, etc etc
Tires front / rear - lots
Total laps - too many to count
Result - unbelievably 3rd
To set the stage let's rewind a few weeks to the last WMRRA
round where a good friend of mine, Tom Wertman, was unfortunately
injured in a practice crash. After a few days I shot him a
call to see how he was doing. Well in less then thirty seconds
on the phone Tom had asked (read pleaded) with me to ride
with his lovely wife, Brenda, in the upcoming six hour endurance
race. How could I say no? So I showed up on Sunday morning
to meet with the team and cover our race strategy. Essentially,
I would start the race and do as many forty five minute stints
as possible. Here's where things got interesting. As I went
out for the sighting lap it began to rain heavily (note I
was on FULL SLICKS). Clearly unenthused about riding on a
flooded track with the wrong tires I set about crawling around
fighting to keep the bike upright. After about fifteen laps
the bike began to misfire as it lost a cylinder when one of
the coils expired. I brought the bike in and the team went
to work replacing the coil. Honestly, at this point I was
glad the bike wasn't running (with me on it) as the conditions
didn't suit our tire choice. Thankfully, the track was now
mostly dry as my other teammate, Andrew Cox, went out for
his session. Andrew did an exceptional job handing the bike
to Brenda with us being only a few laps down. Sure enough,
just as Brenda's stint came to a close and it was my turn,
the heavens opened and completely soaked the track. I went
out and splashed around, again on the wrong tires, for a few
laps until the team flagged me in. Thankfully Tom had now
decided, with Brenda's persistence I might add, to take the
time to change the tires appropriately. Our crew, which included
a good friend of mine Steve "logger boy" Stallman,
got to work and changed the tires in record time costing us
only a few laps. With the correct tires now mounted I was
able to do a little damage to the leaders pulling back some
of the laps we had lost. In the end the team did an exceptional
job, despite the adversity, and we even managed to bring it
home on the podium! Thanks to Tom & Brenda for being such
awesome folks. And thanks to Steve Stallman for the entertainment.
OK - I have to catch my plane.
Our next race is a few weeks away in Portland.
Stay tuned.
Oliver
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