PNWRiders Racing #282 Race Report OMRRA Round 1
Race Report – OMRRA Round 1
Crib Notes
750SS(Senior) 1st, 18th overall
750SBK(Senior) DNF; highside in T4 lap 8
Middleweight SS, 11th
650 Twins, 11th
Lap time goals: 1:16 on 750 and 1:22 on SV
Best lap time actual: 1:12:2 on 750 and 1:19 on SV.
I arrived at the newly surfaced Portland International Raceway (PIR) at 7AM excited to try out the new track with CTT on Friday, and to experience my first OMRRA event that weekend.
First time out on the track was with the SV and by the time I came out of T2 I had two thoughts. Track surface = WOW!, and SV is running better than WMRRA round 1. I had set goals for myself to get to 1:22 times on the SV and 1:16 times on the 750. Based on my first impressions of the track, the grip, and the lean angles I figured my goals were easily obtainable. Friday ended up being a good day for learning the track but did have some challenges with oil spills etc. Kudos to Tyson and staff for meeting those challenges and getting us back on the track in the afternoon. All in all, a good day. I was still a bit slower than goal, but optimistic.
Saturday practice went pretty smooth. Kevin, Chris, and I kept getting faster, the track was so grippy, and all bikes were running well. What more can a guy ask for? Other than a mild low side by Chris that ended our day chasing parts and wrenching, Sat was a good day of practice giving way to lots of optimism for Sunday’s races. Chris F walked away with best lap time of 1:14:04. A full .5 second faster than the prior fastest lap.
Sunday morning came a bit cooler than Sat, but dry and clear. First practice went off without a hitch and I took second practice off as the 750SS race was right after.
750SS(Senior). I gridded on row I-4 which was fine by me given my best time of the weekend was only a 1:14:58 so I knew there were a lot of guys on the grid much faster. The flag dropped and we were away. I had a decent start that had me with the H group by T1. Wow, lots of traffic. I held my place and let the field spread out before getting back to my lines and seeing how I might try and get a few positions. I was able to get a few passes and hung on the tail of #62. I couldn’t quite get a pace to pass him, but was able to hang at his pace. I ended up taking 1st for the senior class and I believe 18th for the overall 750SS class. A solid result with a best lap time of 1:12:991.
Middleweight SS. I gridded G-1 for this race and was excited to see how the SV would do after previous carb issues. I got off to my usual bad start and patiently waited for the field to shake out before pushing up corner speed to try and get positions. I had a good time with #43 Mark Bothe through out the race. He had a distinct advantage on the straights, we were even in 7-9, and I had an edge in 1-4. Made for great racing and allowed me to focus in on improving corner speed using Mark as my benchmark. I finished 11th in this race although I had to get the verification signatures as I left my AMB transponder on the 750. Thanks to OMRRA scoring for helping me to recover from this rookie mistake.
650 Twins. I gridded H-3 for this race and determined to get a better start. The flagged dropped and we were away. My start was better than the previous race and I even had the front wheel off the ground a bit. Not enough to handicap my start, but it felt good as I didn’t know the old girl had it in her. I again realized the SV just isn’t keeping pace with her peers on the straights. I’ll need to find some extra HP for that, or take something from own mid section if I want to be truly competitive. I was able to hang onto another 11th place finish with a best lap of 1:19:9 by carrying better corner speed then previous practice sessions.
750SBK(Senior). A huge thanks to my teammates Chris Fratini and Kevin Klemmer along with our buddy Monta (anyexcuse2ride) for all the help in having my 750 ready for this race as it was back to back with 650 Twins. I reached the hot pits in plenty of time to collect my thoughts and get ready for the race ahead. I gridded H-4 for this race and was determined to keep improving my times. I was able to get a decent start passing a row and a half at the drop of the flag. As the field sorted itself out I was able to pick a few spots as the laps ticked by. As we reached mid-point I found myself on the tail of #147 Bryan Rothenburger and #122 Matt Presting. Matt was able to get by Bryan so I knew if I wanted a chance at Matt, I’d need to get by Bryan in short order. We came out of T3 and made the decision to take him on the inside of T4. Unfortunately, I was too greedy with the throttle and the resultant highside cost me another senior class win and top 20 overall finish. Kudos to Bryan for a fantastic save, a huge thanks to the OMRRA corner workers in T4 for helping me out, and thanks to Blinky for the ride back to the pits.
Overall, a great weekend. A huge thanks to the OMRRA club, members, and staff. PIR rocks!
Thanks to our 2008 sponsors and supporters.
PNWRiders Racing Team
Power Stands Racing
Adrenaline Freaks Track Days
Vortex Racing
Motorex USA
MorePower Racing
Race Tech Suspension
Junior Monkey Design
