I have been remiss in not posting an update to the season ending Barber races. After tearing down the transmission it appeared the only damage was a dog missing from 3rd gear. Wanted to be sure there was not any unseen damage so I sent the transmission to R&D Motorsports. Magnafluxing revealed no other damage and since it was there went ahead and had a race cut done on the gears. Got the gear box back, buttoned up the motor, put it back in the frame and headed for Barber. The forecast was not good as hurricane Delta was on its way.
Thursday was dry and sunny and I worked on getting up to speed. My brother had brought his Kawasaki F7 which was now on its 3rd top end. We both had a good day as I was close to my best lap times and he finally got the Kaw jetting figured out and ran all day without seizing. He took a few laps on the Honda Hawk which he was planning to race in Vintage Superbike Lightweight. That night the rains started and did not stop until Sunday evening after the last races.
Friday's practice saw steady to heavy rain. Mark ran laps on the Hawk and F7 for his baptism to racing in the rain. I took some laps on the Hawk as it had been over 30 years since I last raced in the rain. In hind sight I should have taken the CB550 out as I would have discovered how challenging its abrupt power band is on a wet track.
Saturday and Sunday were race only. Mark in races 3 and 4, myself in races 5 and 8. With the rain continuing nonstop Mark finished 3rd in VSL and 5th in F125. On my warm up lap I realized how careful I would need to be to not spin up the rear tire as it hit the power band. As the green flag dropped I got a good start and found myself leading into turn one. Convinced the pack was on my heals all thought of taking it easy left my brain. Determined to keep my lead I drove through the first sweeping right and up the hill. As the track crests the hill it also turns to the right. It was at this spot the back end stepped out and down I went. As crashes go it was an easy one. The bike slid down the track on one side with me just ahead of it, head first watching the bike. I stopped just off the track and watched the pack crest the hill. My lead was much larger than I imagined. The rider in second had a camera and if you look carefully can see the bike and me on the left side of the track as he crests the hill.
I tried to restart the bike, but could not get the corner workers to push the bike any faster than a walk. Race control ordered me onto the crash truck and that was it. Although the damage was minor, I decided to call it a day, repair the minor damage, and get the bike re-teched for Sunday's races.
Sunday started out just like Saturday, moderate to heavy rain. Mark took another 3rd in VSL. I could not watch him in F125 as my race followed his. Using a lot of discretion I finished 3rd in F500 and road back to the pits were I was met by the race directors. My first thought was I had really screwed up. Unfortunately they were there to tell me Mark had crashed in F125 and was now on his way to the hospital. They said he was conscious and probably had a broken collar bone. I scratched from the F750 race and drove to the hospital with his wife. Fortunately a broken collar bone and 3 broken ribs were his only injuries. He had crashed in turn one on the last lap fighting over 4th place when he overcooked the turn and ran off into the gravel trap.
I'm well into prepping the CB550 for this season. The bike is torn down, no major motor work is needed and freshening up the frame with a new paint job. The crash has not scared my brother off and his bike is repaired and getting a new coat of paint. Looking forward to 2021 and hoping it is a more normal race season.
