| Author | Message | ||
     Slaughter |
Thought I'd start a monthly racing team report out of Willow Springs and just see where this goes: Introduction (or re-introduction) – history of the Glendale Buell racing efforts. Once upon a time, we all just rode together. The more we rode, the more we recognized how much fun could be had by pushing our Buell motorcycles just a bit harder than was appropriate on the streets. So… we started doing track days. Glendale had always been supportive of the Customer – and that included setting up a few different track days in addition to the weekend rides that first brought us together. It’s been a while since we’ve done a Racing Report from Glendale Buell but there have been some exciting things happening! In addition to the individually funded and sponsored racers, Glendale has decided to campaign the XBRR in Willow Springs Formula Twins competition and if successful, who knows where it may lead!? Glendale’s XBRR racing effort is also sponsored by Mad-Dog Racing – setup, tuning and trackside support directly provided by Mad-Dog’s Don Thutt. In addition, Glendale is continuing their sponsorship of Jim Chaconas and Patrick McGinley – sponsored together with Sanitec, Pride Printing, Milwaukee Tools and Tomahawk Tire Warmers. Other privateers that are coming out every month are Vince Samorra, Dave Ortiz, Tim Hurley, and if he EVER un-crashes his XB1169, Steve Slaughter. The Race Classes Willow Springs Motorcycle Club (WSMC) operates the monthly races at Willow Springs International Raceway. Club racing is much more friendly than much of the National level of racing where there is often serious money and public visibility at stake. In Club racing, a winning racer can barely pay for expenses with his or her “winnings” and so we see hundreds of racers who are out at the track for the race weekend just to race “for the love of the sport.” (to quote Mike Hailwood) In a day’s racing, there are many different classes divided so as to make the racing both interesting and the bikes more evenly matched. Each particular class can have a wide range of bikes entered though usually one or two types will tend to dominate. The particular order of the races changes each month with no one class being run first, last or during lunch time – with the exception of the Novice classes which are often run at the end of the day. Generally the Twins classes are the preferred classes for the Buells. Race 4 – Battle of the Twins Heavyweight (BOTT Heavyweight) In this race, all twin-cylinder, originally street-legal motorcycles are eligible to race. Historically, this race is the place where you’ll see a mix of the Buells, Ducati, Aprilia, Suzuki – and for good measure occasionally a Sportster!! Glendale Buell/Harley-Davidson sponsors this class of racing now for the second season – that means not only are the Buells drawn to the class but there’s a chance to take home some of Glendale’s contingency money. Fread Finnerty is racing Jim Chaconas’ XB12, Patrick McGinley is riding his nearly stock XB9. Chaconas is watching from the sidelines – overcome by a mysterious fit of generosity in letting Finnerty ride his XB! When the green flag falls, Finnerty is in 4th place and McGinley is in 7th place as they head around Turn 1 and into Turn 2. In a half lap, Finnerty drops to 5th place and the field spreads out rapidly with widely varying average lap speeds. The smaller field this month is making for a safe race but as it ended up, there were no challenges by any one racer of another’s position and at the checker, Finnerty finishes in 5th, McGinley in 7th place. His 5th place finish means Finnerty will pick up a check from Glendale! Race 6 – Formula Twins Heavyweight – REALLY BIG Buell Racing contingency money at stake! Formula Twins heavyweight is an “anything goes” class in which ANY motorcycle with a twin cylinder engine is eligible to race. Mostly, this class is made up of the same bikes seen in BOTT Heavyweight BUT in this class, the motorcycle does not have to have been street legal – meaning the class COULD see the occasional exotic bike made of a chassis from one machine with an engine from another. In the case of the Buell XBRR, this is THE class for it to compete at Willow Springs. Add the bonus of Buell Motorcycle Company contingency money sweetening the deal and it can get INTERESTING! Jeff Dixon is riding Glendale’s XBRR and he and the RR are still getting to know each other and this is their first “big date.” Prior to this weekend, NO announcement had been made by Glendale of plans to race the XBRR simply because if something weren’t 100% “right,” Dixon may have decided to pull off the track if he felt that something wasn’t setup properly or the engine wasn’t running correctly – and there was no reason to want to build up fans’ hopes… but… all was ready for the race! Dixon, racing Glendale’s XBRR in its first-ever race was cautiously optimistic but cautious nonetheless. The bike was setup for Streets of Willow on the last track day (“The Streets” is a shorter, twistier course with lower gearing than the “Classic” course – site of today’s races). Saturday’s practice saw the Glendale team making adjustments to the suspension and gearing and after a HOT day of practice, the traction was off on the tires and a decision was made to change to a harder tire compound, and a different manufacturer – all of which did affect handling. Adjustments were made to the suspension and gearing and all is ready. Excitement mounts as we ALL head for the stands and Dixon heads for the start! At the start through Turn 1, Dixon is in second place behind Claudio Szyskowski on his 999R Ducati (#22) but is not more than a half a length behind for the entire first lap and on lap 2, Dixon PASSES Claudio to take the lead! For the next 4 laps, Dixon is leading but Claudio isn’t letting Dixon get away from him and on lap 6, they are overlapping each other as they’re battling for the lead and on lap 7, Claudio gets by Dixon and we’re SCREAMING in the stands as Dixon is trying everything in his power to get back the lead but by the checkered flag, Claudio has won with Dixon in second. It is as if they’ve left the field behind – the 3rd place rider is almost 10 seconds behind Dixon. Claudio stopped by the pits to congratulate Dixon on the race because for the first time since last season, he’s been challenged for the entire distance and he is looking forward to Dixon’s continuing to challenge his lead – which is no longer a foregone conclusion! With just this ONE race for Dixon on the XBRR and Claudio having TWO full seasons on his Ducati, we’re pretty excited about Dixon’s chances for the future when the XBRR is sorted out!  Photo: Dixon takes the lead in lap one (Scott Coleman, Duke22photography.com) Race 12 – The Glendale-sponsored Battle of the Twins Middleweight Glendale sponsorship of this series means that this is THE race for the Buells. This class is made of air-cooled twins up to 1200cc, liquid cooled twins up to 750cc. We see a variety of bikes from our Buell XB’s, the occasional lone Sportster and the field is filled out by the SV650 Suzukis, Ducati 748 and 749, Kawasaki 650 twin Ninja. Because the XBRR is not eligible to enter this class, Dixon is spectating this time and for SOME reason, Jim Chaconas again lets Fread Finnerty race his XB12R in this race! Patrick is there at the starting lineup on his Glendale XB9R. At the start, the class thins out and going into turn one, Finnerty is in 5th, McGinley is 9th as the class heads up into turn 2 and we’re watching another bike puffing out smoke and suddenly a HUGE cloud of oil vapor!! Racers live in fear of following a bike in the process of exploding and oiling the track!!! The black flag shown to the racer with the blown engine isn’t necessary to tell him he’s in trouble as he’s already trying to slow his bike and get clear of the track to pull off safely. The race is SAFELY stopped on lap 2 by a red flag to allow the track safety crew to inspect the track surface for oil and to clean it up if required. As the riders return to their pits, the announcer is reminding them all to get caught up on hydration – the heat and stress of racing can really dry you out! The cleanup crew finds NO oil on the track and we are ALL grateful that ALL race bikes are required to have oil/fluid containing belly pans! The race will be re-started for 6 laps this time after the track is cleared. On the re-start, Finnerty KICKED the XB’s butt and going around turn 2, he’s in second! McGinley goes through turn 1 in 8th place. On the extremely fast back section – turns 6, 7, 8 and 9, Finnerty is passed by two racers, falling back to 4th place. McGinley is solidly in 8th place and they hold these positions until lap 3 when the rider in 3rd place pulls off the track with mechanical trouble, bumping Finnerty and McGinley up one position. For the entire remainder of the race, Finnerty is doing battle with Chris Speights on his Suzuki but Speights is unable to get around Finnerty and by the last lap, Speights realizes he’s not going to overtake Finnerty for the podium spot and Finnerty starts pulling out ahead, nailing down his 3rd place position at the finish line. At his finish, McGinley is in 7th place. On his return to the pits, Finnerty is congratulated by our small mob of fans for putting the borrowed bike on the podium for Glendale (and Chaconas)! After the race, Speights comes over, a “peace offering” to him is made of one of our cheeseburgers and a soda and he has a couple great moments reliving some of the final turns of the race with Finnerty. Race 14 - 500 singles – FUN racing (funny, too!) In the 500 Singles class, production-based street legal bikes with 500cc single cylinder engines are raced. Since this race day, there are ONLY two bikes entered: Tim Hurley’s nearly stock Blast and Jim Chaconas’ XB Blast hybrid - making this a Buell “grudge match” between the two of them. Although the XB/Blast technically is not legal in this class (the engine/chassis was never sold in that combination as a street bike), Chaconas raced it – knowing that he would not be protested by his friend, pit-mate and fellow racer, Tim Hurley. You have to like Club racing, you can just DO things like this because they’re just FUN. At the start, it became obvious that NEITHER of them had a real advantage over the other as they headed neck-and-neck through turn one with Chaconas leading slightly but Hurley giving NOTHING away as they battled each other for position – seldom separated by more than a bike length or two over each 2.5 mile lap. Hurley managed a pass and at lap 2, led Chaconas across the start/finish line but Chaconas passed him again to lead in lap 3 and continued the lead until lap 5 when Hurley passed him and held him off until the checkered flag on lap 6. When they returned to the pits, BOTH of them were laughing and Hurley said he didn’t think he’d recalled pushing that poor Blast that hard EVER! A great, fun race and a great show for the spectators! Sometimes the best racing to be seen is NOT for first place in the “big” races! Thanks As always, thanks go out to Glendale Buell/Harley-Davidson for not only supporting the racers by sponsoring the Battle-of-the-Twins Middleweight class but a special thanks go to Ernie Snair – Glendale’s awesome sales dude, racer, and enthusiast who’s out supporting EVERY Buell racer on his own time EVERY month. It’s always great to see the guy you actually bought your Buell from out there right with you at the racetrack!! Thanks especially to Glendale’s Mario Vindeni – fellow racer and Operations Manager and of course Glendale’s Oliver Shoukouh – the “prime mover” in all this. Thanks go to Mad Dog Racing’s Don Thutt who is always trackside – working on the Glendale machines and helping all of us with his expertise, his wrenching and his “subtle” advice and opinions (subtle as a brick in the face). Next race – August 19th! Come out and socialize. Have a great ride out to the track up and over the mountains or via the freeway. Burgers, chips and soda or waters are always on hand FREE for ALL of you who might come up to visit – paid for by our recycling of all our soda, water and other bottles each month. We even have veggie burgers too so we hope ALL of you feel welcome to stop up and visit with all of us and see what Club racing is all about. It’s a great place to hang out, ask questions and have a fun time watching the racing. Take it to the track! Though most of us enjoy a spirited ride, the better way to ride at speed is at the track. Take advantage of upcoming track days with the group or on your own. Discover the fun that is designed into these Buell machines! Ask Ernie at the shop or if you’re at the track, ask any of the racers about upcoming track days. Track days are NOT about speed and getting faster, they’re about LEARNING all you can learn about the Buell you ride. If you’re inspired, call Ernie at Glendale – many of us have bought more than one Buell from him! There are not many places you can buy a motorcycle and then go out and race with or against the guys who just sold it to you! Have fun! Ride well! We’ll see you next time at the races or on a ride. ... that's all for now. Next weekend is another racing weekend. Stay tuned! | ||
| Smoke |
excellent report Steve. hope to hear you are back out there soon. keep up the reporting. tim | ||
| Blublak |
Fantastic report! Keep up the good work.. and thanks for a look at the 'club' scene on the 'left coast'. From here on the 'right' coast.. Thanks again!  | ||
| Jimidan |
I wish we had club racing around here in KY. | ||
| M1combat |
Sweet  |
