Alright, my first official road race report. Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, MI this past weekend for AHRMA Sportsman 750 racing.
The Friday race school started off swimmingly, making a few easy laps to get a feel for the bike and track, as well as my new gear, all of which were new to me, having finished the bike only a few short days before.
I was able to get a full session in on the first one, but upon pulling into the pits, I found a small oil leak on a fitting at the oil cooler. They were compression fittings and line (all Russell) and for whatever reason they leaked. My dad and uncle worked on getting an oil diaper on the fitting to try to quell the leak just to get back on the track, but this was not the last time we say this issue.
Out of a total of 5 sessions (4 practice and 1 mock race) I was able to start 4 of them, having needed to run the mock race and not crash as part of passing the class.
Fortunately, I got my crashing out of my system earlier in the day, when I cut the inside corner off a turn and got a taste of pavement. The bike was not too bad for wear, with only a broken clutch perch and bent bar (had spares for both) as well as a bent shift lever (bent back) and a big scrape from the crank snout cover, which didn't cut through so no leaks there.
Having had enough of the persistent oil leak at the cooler, we pulled the cooler, cut the fittings off both lines and put them together with a piece of copper pipe and a couple of hose clamps (thanks Rosco!!) which kept me in the game for the mock race.
The mock race started out well, and by now I had been on the track a times, having learned a lot so far and feeling more confident, I was ready to go. The mock race is set up just like the real deal, with a warm up lap, number boards and a starting grid. I was able to get a decent start and got moving through lap 1 of 4. I believe I was finishing my third lap when the ignition broke up and a I coasted to a stop on the side of the track (ignition #1).
Upon finishing and passing my race school, I put on the back up Dyna I had handy. I was able to practice Saturday on this ignition but ran into the same problem only a few laps in (ignition #2).
Being close to home, I was able to borrow a good points plate but had no cam, so I made the 2 hour round trip to get the spares I had at home. We were able to dial in the points (thanks Chris!) and get me moving again.
Saturdays race had me starting at the back of our pack, which was behind the Formula 750 group. 500GP and Superbike Lightweight followed us.
I was really feeling good about the laps I was taking and was really getting a good feel for braking points, turn ins, apexes and strong exits, and on the lap after I saw the halfway flags, the race was red flagged due to a pretty serious crash on turn 3.
Sunday brought rain in the morning so most of the first round of practice groups were near empty. A quick rider's meeting ended with everyone wanted to get the second round of practice in before lunch.
I went out in the drizzle and putted a few laps, to make sure oil was under control and that the ignition was still doing its thing, and everything checked out.
Sundays race was a great start for me and though I have not seen actual times, felt like the most consistent and quickest laps I turned all weekend.
Unfortunately, disaster struck one more time, and the ignition (#3) broke up as I was shifting through the gears approaching top speed on the back stretch and I was able to coast into the pits.
While it all sounds like doom and gloom, I had a stellar time, made a ton of new friends, and got to hang out with family all weekend.
I have a Dyna ignition and a TEC points set on the way that will be fitted to the Hondaman resistor pack I had on hand. Hopefully the addition of the resistors is enough to get me through the weekend at Road America with much success.
More to come after Road America.
