Topic: Barber 2017

[Rocketman]

Just got back from the AHRMA races at Barber Motorsports.  The SOHC group was well represented.  Saw Matt "Slickwilli420" and Brent "B Waller" & Tyler Waller.  Probably others there that I missed. The weather cooperated all through practice and the Saturday races until race 11 when it started to rain.  Fortunately the rain stopped almost as soon as it started and the rest of the races were dry.  Sunday's races were cancelled due to Hurricane Nate which was forecast to bring 3 to 5 inches of rain and 50 mph winds!  Can only imagine what kind of havoc that would cause in the pits, swap meet, and tent camping.     

 My CB550 ran well 99% of the week.  Still not satisfied with the front drum brake.    If it did not look so good I'd swap it for a disc brake. Lowered my best lap time by 3 seconds in practice and another second in the Formula 500 race.  We were the 3rd wave in race 9.  I got the hole shot and lead the field into turn 1.  By turn 3 Tyler came by and quickly disappeared.  Not to steal his thunder, but he won the race, caught all of wave 2, and nearly caught all of wave 1!  The kid can ride!  I slowly drifted back in the field and end up in 5th place.  My next race was 11 which included Formula 750.  The rain spooked me and then on lap 3 the motor died.  I'm pretty sure the battery in my total loss system is the culprit. 

Updated  Here is a link to Saturday's results.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/ahrma-race-results-from-the-barber-vintage-festival-at-barber-motorsports-park/

If anyone else has a report or photos from Barber you are welcome to add them to this post.

Here are a couple pictures from the weekend.



My faithful CB550 in the pits.



Picture from the new bridge looking back to Charlotte's Web.



John Surtees' MV Agusta.



Surtees' MV coming off the track.



Tribute to John Surtees' 500 GP, Formula One, and Can Am Championships.



Grand Marshall Wes Cooley.

[dragracer]

Thanks for the report. I'm going to get there one day to watch you guys race and check out the other sights.

[Haybus]

Too bad about the motor dying. Hopefully it is just the battery. Good read, good photos. I too will be at Barber one of these years.

Alan

[Stev-o]

Thx for sharing.   That's too bad Nate caused the cancellation, it's been a bad Hurricane season. 

[bwaller]

It was great meeting up with people from here. Was pitted across from Chris. Realistically it's a small world this vintage roadrace family. My daughter in law thought I might have known half the folks in the pits!  Fun meeting old friends from years past.

Martin, Tyler will no doubt have some video at some point....including that visit to the gravel trap! Thanks for the offer of help. I expect a bill from Mr Barber for the truckload of gravel that we removed. TY came in after F500 and said "I hope Marty never knows how close I came to touching his rear wheel."

Disappointing about Sunday but Momma Nature rules. All in all successful Saturday, 1st in F500, 3rd in F750, and was second in F Vintage at the red flag. Caught out in the re-start and was running 5th and turning 1:42's when he lost the rear in 17. Rider ok and bike was an easy fix, that's a good day in my books.

So everyone knows Martin is off to P-Island in January. Good luck my friend, wish I was going with you!

[Rocketman]

We have all had those close calls.  No harm, no foul!     Will start a post on Phillip Island.  Super excited to be going.  Can only take one bike.  So chose the RG and hope to qualify for the International Challenge race.  Will see if my brother has more pictures from Barber I can post.

[turboguzzi]

sounds good brent & tyler too! good work! what was the opposition like in f500 and f750? and what bikes run in formula vintage? sorry, have no idea...
Misano was a disaster weekend for many many SOHCs but i will let riccardo tell the story in his own words.....

[simon#42]

We have all had those close calls.  No harm, no foul!     Will start a post on Phillip Island.  Super excited to be going.  Can only take one bike.  So chose the RG and hope to qualify for the International Challenge race.  Will see if my brother has more pictures from Barber I can post.

good choice , i have ridden an rg there and if its a good one it will be perfect for the track

[Rocketman]

Posted by: turboguzzi
« on: Today at 08:04:49 AM »
what was the opposition like in f500 and f750? and what bikes run in formula vintage? sorry, have no idea...

Formula 500 is primarily made up of RD350 and RD400's.  Some are as fast as a period TZ!  You will also see CB450, H1 & H1R, TR2 & TR3, and of course CB550's.  I'm surprised I have never seen a Suzuki 500 2 stroke twin.  Formula 750 is the same plus CB750, and Brit/Euro bikes (Guzzi, BSA/Triumph triple, Laverda, Ducati, BMW, etc.)  Formula Vintage is all of the above and also includes 2 strokes, TZ350/500/750, RZ350 and the occasional RG500.

[bwaller]

sounds good brent & tyler too! good work! what was the opposition like in f500 and f750? and what bikes run in formula vintage? sorry, have no idea...
Misano was a disaster weekend for many many SOHCs but i will let riccardo tell the story in his own words.....

Martin can fill us in better about Formula 500, but there was a gaggle of RD's (nice to see so many of them) plus I saw a couple Kawa triples and at least 3 CB550's. I can't even say how many bikes were in that class 15-18 maybe.

Formula 750 was won by Peter Politiek on a beautiful Ducati 750SS, 2nd for Mark Heckles on a CR750. Heckles is Simon's friend and has ridden WSBK, Politiek supposedly raced some in Moto2? British triples, Guzzi's, BMW's. Good class with about the same number of entries but a broad selection of bikes.

Formula Vintage is basically an "open" class. Saw KZ's, DOHC CB750 & 1100's, CBX1100's, Katana's, RZ350's, some TZ's.

EDIT:  What Rocketman said! 

[bwaller]

Here's a look at the back of the grid on the start of the F500, lot's of RD's. Jump to 7:20

[Rocketman]

More photos of Barber taken by my brother.

The Japanese Vintage Motorcycle Cub.



Honda VFR1000



Honda CBX Café Racer



Six Megas!



Honda RC30

In the museum.



Yamaha TA125



Yamaha TD1A



Yamaha TZ700



Yamaha TZ750 raced by Henry Degow.  Henry and I competed in the AMA Formula 1 series back in the day.



Millyard V12



Honda CB750 flat tracker raced by Rick Hocking.  This bike along with Roberts TZ750 and Kanamoto's H2R were banned by the AMA.

Outside the museum.



Suzuki RG500



BMW and Yamaha RZ500



Swapping racing tales with Chuck Honeycut of the Barber Museum and Wes Cooley.

In the pits.



Kawasaki H1R replica



Yamaha RD350 with a TR top end.

[Rocketman]

Here is the front view of the F500 race shot by Dean Middleton who finished 2nd in class.  The race starts at 7:25.  Thinking I owe Tyler an apology for chopping off his nose in turn 2!    

[754]

  Re Hockings Rocky Cycle bike,
I CALL...., POOR REPLICA.. nothing like what the pics from back in the day show.
 Wrong pipe wrong rear fender and more...

[bwaller]

No he admitted sticking his nose where it didn't belong! No way you could see him either. All's well that ends well.

[simon#42]

sounds good brent & tyler too! good work! what was the opposition like in f500 and f750? and what bikes run in formula vintage? sorry, have no idea...
Misano was a disaster weekend for many many SOHCs but i will let riccardo tell the story in his own words.....

Martin can fill us in better about Formula 500, but there was a gaggle of RD's (nice to see so many of them) plus I saw a couple Kawa triples and at least 3 CB550's. I can't even say how many bikes were in that class 15-18 maybe.

Formula 750 was won by Peter Politiek on a beautiful Ducati 750SS, 2nd for Mark Heckles on a CR750. Heckles is Simon's friend and has ridden WSBK, Politiek supposedly raced some in Moto2? British triples, Guzzi's, BMW's. Good class with about the same number of entries but a broad selection of bikes.

Formula Vintage is basically an "open" class. Saw KZ's, DOHC CB750 & 1100's, CBX1100's, Katana's, RZ350's, some TZ's.

EDIT:  What Rocketman said! 

if thats peter politiek he did a couple of 250 gp's as a kid then had a proper accident  , last i heard of him he was racing in idm superbikes [ the german superbike championship ]

[simon#42]

reckless wont be happy coming second , wait till i see him !

[bwaller]

That's the right Peter, he's a young guy. The first lap Tyler followed Mark and noticed his seat was ajar. Damned if he didn't raise his arse and toss the seat at a marshall's station. finished the race on the frame rails. We had a good laugh. Before the restart I asked if he wanted some thicker gitch for more padding!

[livefast_dieold]

Misano was a disaster weekend for many many SOHCs but i will let riccardo tell the story in his own words.....

This season was so #$%*ty I don't even want to talk about it :-(
Is it just me, or do you guys get too stressed when the bike broke down or is not working properly for whatever reason?
I was barely able to focus at work this week... wtf I may need to see a therapist :-)

[bwaller]

No Riccardo, when you race motorcycles.....you are the therapist. 

I completely understand. If we raced every two weeks there would be a need to "move on" and forget the negative. I hope you don't carry this forward into the offseason. Climb back on that horse and tackle your problems right away instead of fretting about your bad luck.

That'll be $50!

[use2b]

Thanks for the photo's Rocketman , i got to see that V12 when it was in storage and wanted to see it in day light .
a few picks i took at Barber

[slikwilli420]

Barber was a great time this year as in the last two years I attended, albeit way too short. We left after my race on Saturday and drove through the night back to Michigan. Left at 7pm AL time and got back around 8am MI time. Brutal drive but considering what weather was coming, it was a wise move.

The weekend went really well for me and I was able to take more time to enjoy the sights rather than toil away on bike work as I had at Gingerman and Road America. I am running about 15 seconds off the race winning pace in the Sportsman 750 class, which is similar to times at the previous two races.

It was great to catch up with a bunch of SOHC brothers down there, including Brent (bwaller), Martin (Rocketman) and Chris (Kickstart). Chris and I are 2 of the 3 guys holding it down with SOHC bikes in the Sportsman 750 class and for bikes with a relative HP/weight ratio disadvantage (at least at the moment) I think we held our own. I was able to pass a couple guys on decently fast XS Yamahas who were lighter than I in both bike and rider.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT SEASON!!

[turboguzzi]

nice vids!
brent, although Tyler was riding a 4-stroke, looks like he was the one smoking the opposition

now guys, and with all due respect to AHRMA, i read in silkwillis own thread that 60 people are started for each race? Even if it's in "weaves" (another new concept to me), it's still sounds waaay much. Is it like that in VRRA too?

On the two large motogp tracks we run during the year, i think limit is 36, surely no more than 40....

[Sam Green Racing]

now guys, and with all due respect to AHRMA, i read in silkwillis own thread that 60 people are started for each race? Even if it's in "weaves" (another new concept to me), it's still sounds waaay much. Is it like that in VRRA too?

On the two large motogp tracks we run during the year, i think limit is 36, surely no more than 40....

Yoss, the term 3 waves is just the same as 3 groups. Each group of riders are started at intervals (separate times) but all on the same lap.
I'm not sure but perhaps the 3 groups are split up depending on engine size. A better explanation please Brent.

Sam.

[turboguzzi]

yes sam, thats what i figured... but still, here in italy we start all in one group, even  if its mixed classes (say 500 + 750), grid position determined by two qualifying sessions.
do you use waves in uk too?

[bwaller]

Sam is right. The VRRA tries to limit to 36-40 bikes on track (depending on the track) but we will start in two waves on occasion when 2 or 3 older period smaller classes race together.

However at Barber AHRMA deals with so many people that some races started three or four classes in individual waves, but in that case there were fewer riders, maybe 15-18 riders per class. The starter waits for the first wave to clear T1 before releasing the second, likewise for the 3rd wave. This spreads the field out some. For example in the F500 race, they also ran 500GP, 500 Sportsman, and the Bears race. I think there were only 2 riders in the GP class though. (probably 50 bikes total)

I believe the CB160 race that our Chris raced in had sixty odd riders in one class and they had a Lemans start to boot.

Traffic becomes a real issue and considering different speeds and all the other factors, it keeps guys on their toes!

[Sam Green Racing]

yes sam, thats what i figured.
do you use waves in uk too?

Simon#42 might be able to answer to answer that one Yoss as I don't get to any big events these days.

Sam.

[simon#42]

no we dont its too dangerous , lapping slow riders that start at the same time as you is bad enough

[Stev-o]

Here's a look at the back of the grid on the start of the F500, lot's of RD's. Jump to 7:20

Great video!  Thanks for sharing...

Need to pull my RD350 out of storage!

[bwaller]

Three more vids from my bike. The first race is Formula Vintage and is basically an unlimited class. It was red flagged on lap 5 (not sure why it wasn't called) He then blew the re-start 8:32 and was fighting to claw back into it but lost the rear at 10:13.

Bike pickup delivered the bike to our pit quickly. The crash damage was minimal and I had him up & running in plenty of time for the Formula 500. He was 3 seconds off his earlier pace but that's what crashing does to your head I guess! I'm not sure why the 500 vid isn't clear.

Last but not least is the Formula 750. Heckles & Politiek are back in this one too. Tyler just backed it off a notch to bring it home on a wet track. An RD had been tailing him and passes at 6:48, then bins it @ 10:24.