But we had a bigger problem to deal with: Rain. Weather forecasts weren't looking good for Friday practice or the race on Saturday. Luckily the rains on Friday stayed away until late evening, but nonetheless it revealed the one hole in our plans. Originally, we would use one new front tire and two rears for the entire race. We had never factored in rain. With the threat of a wet race one set of rain tires were purchased along with a set of Dunlop D211 NTECs. The weather prediction was so uncertain for Saturday's race we left the wheels off the motorcycle Friday night, choosing to make a last minute tire decision Saturday morning.
Just four laps later and a...
Just four laps later and a trip into the dirt and this is the result. Surprisingly, the only damage is a broken rearset and road rash. Thankfully, one of the items in the spare parts bin is a stock footpeg, kept for this very reason.
Friday night a panic set in when we realized we didn't have a pit crew. Quickly, Mark went to work, enlisting his sons Malcolm and Drew to work the rear stand and gas can, respectively. Both had limited experience from endurance races their father had done in the past. Dave Lewis took command of rear tire duties and if needed, Mark would change the front wheel. A factory ride this most definitely was not...
Come Saturday and the skies were significantly less threatening, but there was a distinct chill in the air. Mounting the dry tires was a no-brainer but now it looked like we'd need a second DOT rear in order to last the entire race. Hesitant, Mark forked over the plastic. Already he was dreading getting his statement in the mail. This last minute tire change forced us to miss practice, but Mark and I ventured to the pits to see just who we were up against: the factory-supported Graves Yamaha outfit, out in full force, the A team thinly disguised as Team Zyvax on YZF-R1s with riders Ben Bostrom, Chris Clark and, making his return to roadracing after a two-year break, Ben's brother Eric. Under Grave's Team Zyvax R6 umbrella were the Project 1 Atlanta crew of Dane Westby, Clinton Seller and special guest rider, Scott Russell.
Atkinson sourced the spare...
Atkinson sourced the spare rearset off his very own R6 and wasted no time installing it on the bike.
Meanwhile, back in the Bigelow pits, the team decided Lewis would start the race, banking on the fact that he would pull us up as far as he could. I would ride second, followed by Bigelow and Hopperstad. Mark and I had planned on doing second stints to finish the race; with Atkinson waiting in the wings should someone not be able to continue. The team strategy was to ride until the gas light came on, at which point we'd tap our helmets as we passed the front straight. Team members would be waiting on the wall for our signal and tell the pit crew to ready stations. With our "strategy" set we made our way to the rider's meeting, where I bumped into Jared Green and Paul Parrott-two guys I had met while attending Doug Polen's riding school at Buttonwillow ("Riding With Doug", Jun. '09). A light-hearted quip asking if they wanted to be a part of our pit crew and next thing you know Parrott is relieving Drew of gas can duties while Green offers to help out where needed.
The Lowest Of Lows...
All there was left to do now was race. Gridded three rows from the back, Lewis got a mediocre start due to a clutch that engaged near the end of the stroke, an issue we hadn't noticed before. By his third lap he had already vaulted us into fifth place, directly behind the Team Zyvax and Hooters entries. Running consistent times hovering around the two minute mark (with a best time of two minutes, flat) after approximately 50 minutes of riding he tapped his helmet. It was my turn at bat.