Chicken Hawk Racing Race Report –
 The WERA Mid-Atlantic season started off with a fizzle for all competitors who braved an early March race date. After all the pre-season preparation (which I always describe as a military operation on the move) we went down to VIR knowing we were in for a wet one; there were no doubts in the weather report.
I wouldn’t drive 10 hours each way to race in the rain for fun, I went for the championship points and I was prepared. We had loaded a Wet Map into my new ECU, had my rains tires mounted on spare rims, installed my Fog Buster mask into my spare helmet, had all my old gear for the rain and had my wet suspension set up notes. Still I would have preferred to race in the sunshine.
After practicing Saturday in the dry, Sunday I woke up to a warm, calm and wet morning. I actually smiled thinking my chances for winning just got better. As I mounted my rain wheels at 7:30am for practice, an Emergency Riders Meeting was called. Due to some high winds and hail on the radar (which never materialized) the entire day was canceled. After spending about $1,000 in costs other than race entries, a day of practice and about 625 miles to get home, I would have done a few laps in a snow storm not to go home empty handed. However that was the sorry hand we were dealt.
ROUND 2 - On to Summit Point for the April round and we did a bit of working off the rust from the off season and felt pretty good. The bike was working well and we didn’t get involved with anything other than riding it. I was surprised we didn’t need to make any suspension set up changes since we changed tire brands and are now racing on Dunlop tires this season. The new N-Tec tires are really awesome. The drive grip is really good, the best I’ve ever had. The tires, when pushed over the edge, give small predictable “warning slides” instead of the Big Moments I was used to and it makes getting to the limit easier since the big high-side is something we all want to avoid. As for wear, holy smokes, it is amazing. We are able to use a rear tire for 3 days! Fresh tire for race day, use it the next event on Friday practice day and then it even lasted through the Saturday Heavyweight Solo race. They may be bit more money, but you get performance and value from them.
The temperature was cool, actually cold in the night time and early morning; the lap times showed it and everyone seemed about 2 seconds off warm weather times. I used the Saturday Heavyweight Solo race as practice, used up my old tires and felt ready for Sundays Twins races.
The beginning of the season is when there are lots of newbies who just got their licenses on the grid. These newly licensed guys have a Provisional License for a few races and wear an orange or green t-shirt over their leathers to alert other racers so that they can:
A. Be nice to them, so they have a good experience
B. Watch out for them since they don’t know what their doing
C. Know that when Newbies are spooked they will not hold their line
D. Use them as a moving obstacle to scrub off a pursuing challenger
E. All of the above
Heavyweight Twins Expert is combined with some Novice 600 classes and being a popular class we had an exercise is slicing thru traffic. We caught the back of the Novices on the first lap as we entered Turn #3. I got only a mediocre start and ended up in a lonely 3rd place after a few laps of trying to safely pass guys at Track Day pace. At the end of the main straight I came up to Novice Newbie who I was lapping and thinking that I was secure in 3rd I gave the fellow a break and figured I would pass him on the exit turn #1 instead of going underneath him on the entry……mistake. Last year’s class champion Aaron Borello came underneath me as I slowed more than normal. Aaron took the exit wide to make quick work of the lapper, but perhaps it was bit dirty out there and Aaron seemed to lose the rear and went down. I continued on to the 3rd place finish.
 The other Twins race was also full of Novices and on the opening laps it was nuts. Imagine you and I are to have a running race, but through a crowded train station. It is not really who is faster but who can get away with taking more risks as we slice thru the traffic. I had one “moment” when I decided to get under a lapper entering the final turn #10 and suddenly realized I might not make it (imagine eyes open WIDE). I managed to take home 3rd place again and was pretty content since the 2 guys in front haven’t been series regulars.
Round 2 Results – 3rd place Twins Superbike
3rd place Twins Superstock
ROUND 3 - Nelson Ledges Raceway in eastern Ohio was another weekend where the weather and racing the competitors of my class through a field of slower Novices dominated the weekend. Nelson is kinda a cult place since it is a fun and simple lay out, has a super fast average speed and is surely in the worst condition of any of the 25 or so tracks I’ve raced at.
I actually like racing there but it is comical. Sections of the track rival the Brooklyn/Queens Expressway for patches, bumps, potholes and sealer. I’ve almost fallen off the inside of the bike while hanging off at about 80mph through the sweeping turns and hitting the unavoidable the bumps.
The fun doesn’t stop there at Camp Nelson; the facilities have their own Shamble Shack charm to them. The buildings look like they are part of old poultry farm or rural warehouse and the bathrooms are the highlight. I was in the moldy shower stall, while tepid water was dribbling out and felt something fall on me. A piece of straw was on my shoulder so I looked up. A bird’s nest with birds doing their thing was above me in the rafters of the men’s bathroom. The Hill-Billy quality of the place has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.
The turn-out for the race was light which has been the case with a lot of races around the country. The guys I figured had a shot of winning are the most serious of the group and they were all there on Friday practice like me. This spring has been wet in our region and this weekend was no different. Wet on Friday and then dry on Saturday which was good to get the practice in. I was getting down to decent lap times, about 1 second off my times from two years ago. A couple of guys did have that second which I had to find somewhere. I felt that with a bit more aggression I could find it.
Sunday morning came in wet and I knew that I was racing regardless of the weather. My typical race strategy is not to ride in the wet unless the race will be in the wet and we checked the radar which showed lots of green patches coming in. With it looking like we would be racing in the wet, I mounted the rain wheels and went out to see how the patch work of bumps they called a track worked in the wet.
There are several types of asphalt that comprise the complex mosaic of the racing surface and some had decent grip, but others were slick. The sealer - which was applied in wide patches with a broom in some places and just skinny crack sealing lines in others – was treacherous. No one could possibly keep all of it in their mind while racing. Of course you don’t have to fall down if you go slow enough and I actually kind of chuckled at the insanity of it all.
In the first race we were again gridded BEHIND the 600 Novice Superbike racers. The 600 Novices were the first wave let go and then after a pause our HWT Twins group goes, which I think is crazy. On Saturday there was only one Novice running an Expert pace in the dry and in the wet it is really crazy. When it rains some experienced racers actually enjoy it and most Experts put on rain tires. The newly licensed Novice most likely is white knuckled and sliding on his DOTs race tires which are really meant for dry weather.
Off the start I was about 3rd into turn one and by the time we got only to turn 4 (on the 1st lap), we had caught the Novice group ahead as these Newbie back-markers gingerly pretended to get some lean angle in the rainy conditions. Now everyone has been a Newbie, we all have to get started sometime, so it is not their fault they are scared, inexperienced in the wet, on the wrong tires and slow.
It is also not my fault that I am at this Dingle Berry of a race track intent on winning my race in the wet; I am only there to do my best in the race. It was nuts. Three of us comprised the front running pack and we had each passed the entire Novice field and actually lapped 7 of them in the first 4 laps. Just so you understand the speed difference here I had the fastest lap of the race at 1:21 and some Novices were more then 2:00, one guy at a 2:13. We lapped him every 2 laps.
I sat behind Aaron Borello and got going pretty well as I stayed 30 feet back following him around as we worked our way around the Novices.
The front Dunlop rain tire was doing the job until I came into turn #1 and it went away fast and tucked as I crossed some sealer but caught as the bars snapped back straight. I did that same thing again the next lap and I couldn’t see well enough through Aaron’s mist know what to avoid the next time by. I was pretty comfortable anyhow and figured I would trail Aaron and find a place to pass on the last lap but I didn’t get the chance.
The long carousel turn is exactly that – long (they call it Turns 6,7,8 & 9). As Aaron passed a lapped rider going into it I figured that if I stayed behind this guy for the whole turn I might lose touch. The lapper stayed mid-track and this is not an uncommon line so I figured I could squeak in underneath him. I was approaching with much more speed (4th gear and maybe 100mph?) I took the low line and when about 10’ feet behind he started to drop down and tighten his line up, I actually gave it more gas figuring if I could get side by side he’d be aware of me and stand it up but that is not how it worked out. My front wheel lost the argument with his rear and I was down and siding down track.
Kurt Nickerson who was in 3rd got a good view of it all and barely broke his target fixation of looking at me sliding to a stop on the racing surface to just have his boot clip my helmet. I was pissed and a bit delusional - running to the bike as if I could re-enter the race or something. It was red flagged on lap 6 since another rider has fallen somewhere else; I now only had about 2 hours to see what was wrong and if we could get her cleaned up for the next race.
 The Ducati had only slid and not flipped thankfully. Something has to be said for using quality parts because almost nothing was damaged. The Catalyst bodywork didn’t need replacing, The Speedy Moto rear sets were alright and the frame sliders had helped to protect most else. The Double Dog exhaust was fine except packed with enough grass and dirt to start your own mini golf course! My Heroic Leathers and gloves stood up to the incident as well and were ready to race once cleaned up a bit.
Lance of Maverick Moto Media was traveling with me and helping in the pits so thankfully I was not alone in the process of washing the dirt off, bending the fairing mount back. While Lance attended to the body I did the most mechanical thing which was to clean and re-pack the dry clutch which was full of dirt.
As we worked on the bike, things dried out. It stopped raining and although overcast it was windy and a dry line formed on the track. We all switched to dry tires. Lining up for the warm up lap a few sprinkles formed on my visor - Great. It was still sprinkling as the green flag waved and we raced into turn one.
I had 3rd as we flew through the turns on the damp track trying to remind myself that I was on dry tires and not the wets that I had been trusting. I didn’t want to lose touch with Aaron and Kurt ahead of me, but after ending up on the ground in the first race, taking crazy risks in the damp wasn’t that appealing. As we came onto the front straight, Aaron’s bike went sideways and he was tossed off the high-side as the rear caught traction again. I passed him and flew down the straight after Kurt. The Red Flag came out ending the action.
As I went down pit lane we were not held for a quick re-start but sent back into the pits. I hurried to our trailer and rode the bike right in like it was the Bat Cave. “Let’s swap wheels fast!” The Ducati 1198S has the trademark single sided swing-arm so the rear wheel only needs a single nut to swap it and Lance was on it. I began to pull off brake calipers. I figured no one else would have the guts to try swapping wheels in the few minutes we’d have or be able to get it done so quickly.
As 3rd call was made I was just pumping up the brake lever and we rolled out. I was wrong. The other guys in the field also had rains mounted. Kurt on his Buell had swapped wheels and John Greer has two bikes and just threw his leg over the other one.
The track was wet but the rain had stopped. Kurt got the jump and I stayed right on him. Nelson is his home track and he was going well so I just tailed him. I saw where he was faster and where I was making up time. I sort of lined him up for a pass out of the carousel a couple of times just to see how it might go. Kurt was really fast into the kink having more bravery in there than me.
Now wanting to win instead of being second is what racers are supposed to do. I had just hours ago seen that being second would have given me points lead but that didn’t happen with the crash. I couldn’t resist however – last laps I gave it all I dared in the damp conditions and hoped the traction control might help and out-drove Kurt onto the back straight getting him before the kink. I tried to hold the gas on a bit longer than usual and rode it to the checked flag in first!!
It was a relief to get a victory and take the points lead in the Big Twins Superbike class, especially after throwing the other race away like a dope.
Go Chicken Hawks!!
A big Thanks to our Sponsors who make it all happen: Chicken Hawk Racing, Dunlop Tires, Double Dog Moto, MarkBilt, Catalyst Bodies, Heroic Leathers, Speedy Moto, Yoyodyne, Spiegler, Shoei, Sidi Boots, DucShop, Ohlins
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