Race Report MRA Round 3 - HPR

Wow. What a weekend.

I feel like if you squeezed me, I would leak water. It literally started raining when I drove out to the track on Friday and did not stop until 3PM on Sunday.

The weekend was crazy from the get go. My buddy I always pit with got a DUI on Wednesday and was in jail until Friday. So I had no way to contact him or find out what happened. I just knew I needed his generator so I called his roomate and went and picked it up.

So I load the trailer at 303 Cycle cause my bike was there and they were helping me out with some last minute prep. As I am driving out to Byers, Colorado where the track is located, I hear the emergency broadcast system come on the radio. "The national weather service has issues a tornado warning for the following areas, Byers, Strasburg, and surrounding areas. I look up at the clouds and I am freaking out. They look mean as hell and it wouldn't have surprised me to see a funnel cloud. I get out to the track and set up my $30 walmart tent and put every single heavy object I have on the edges hoping that a tornado doesn't roll through and pick my ass up. I have to sleep with earplugs on because the flapping tent was so loud.



Wake up Saturday to pouring rain and the frantic sound of tire changers installing rain tires. Luckily I already had mine mounted on my spare rims but I was being hopeful leaving the DOT's on the bike. So I start changing the wheels in the bitter cold and rain. My tools are soaked, my hands are cold and water got on everything. Including the axels which then had to be regreased because they would not turn. So I get the front wheel on and notice that it is pretty hard to turn and the front brake lever is not returning. Long story short, I spent all Saturday morning diagnosing what turned out to be a seized caliper. Lucky for me, the bike came with spares including extra calipers. So after swapping that out I only have 20 minutes of wet practice left before the races start. I didn't have time to swap brake pads so the front end was pulsating hard under braking cause one side had ferodo's and one side was stock. I hop on and take 5 laps getting used to the wet when I realized I left my transponder in my truck charging. I rush back to the pits to put it on and only get 3 laps in the wet that actually were timed. However those 3 laps put me 12th fastest of the practice sessions MUCH to my surprise.

Come race time I am getting pretty excited but the clouds continue to darken. In a rash quick decision I decide I want to change to my clear visor, not my tinted one. In my haste, I snap off my side cover on my Arai RX7. The shield now only holds in place if it is left down. I am gridded on the 4th row for the Novice GTU (600cc and under) race. The warm up lap puts a ton of mud on my face shield and I can already tell I am fogging it up with my stinky breath. Whatever. Lights go out, I get another one of my monster starts and get hole shot from the 4th row. I am feeling good and put the hammer down on the first lap. I set a blistering 2:18 standing lap and get a great lead on the rest of the field. Lap 2 goes well but I am noticing that I am fogging up wayyyy too much for my liking, but I can still see the turns okay. Lap 3 rolls around and my times are dropping, FAST. I literally cannot even see the apex of the turns so I am flying blind at this point. I try to open my visor and because the side pod isn't on, the visor comes halfway off completely. I am pissed at this point and of course the 2nd place guy comes flying passed me. I bust my ass and suck it up with a half cracked visor, enough to finish 2nd.

Next race was much of the same, except for the fact that the track started drying up and my tires were slippery on the dry pavement. I tried to use soap on the visor thinking it would cut down on the fog. I also put rainX on the front. AND I put duct tape in the helmet and my face to block my breath from going up. Well the duct tape got unstuck from the helmet mid turn and flew in my eye so I had to pull off the line and rip that out. Lost valuable time there. Then my visor fogged up even worse than the first race cause it was raining so hard. I ended up getting 6th in Novice GTO (unlimited displacement). Needless to say, I needed a beer Saturday night.

Monsoon is the word for Sunday. Not only did it rain all night, but it rained ALL day. I rode in practice and I felt very confident and the tires were doing great. Practices ended at 10:00 and my race wasn't til 2:00 PM. It was still monsooning out after lunch so I went in my truck, cranked the heater and took a much needed nap. I wake up around 1:40 to sun shining and track drying. I have spare rims with DOT race tires but it is far too late to swap. I run the rain tires much to my own dismay. I was almost tempted to not run the race. My start was awful from the 6th row. I slipped the clutch too much and I hit neutral. Double whammy. So I go into turn one probably around 15th place. Fight my way back up on the most slippery tires ever. There were still wet patches on the track but it was mostly dry. No puddles to cool the rain tires off. I get to around 10th place I believe when the track marshal throws the white flag out for one lap left! I know there are some good riders behind me so I keep telling myself to run fast, but conservative to fend them off for one more lap. Turn 1, great, Turn 2, through water track, good, Turn 3, not a ton of lean, need good drive onto the straight......lost the front. I stood up right away but I was still pretty pissed. Such a bummer.

Crash footage


I get mud all over everything. Took me 2 hours to finally get the bike cleaned and in my pit. Not to mention my leathers and boots are still covered. Damage to the bike is bodywork, fairing stay, clipons, and vortex peg. Very good considering the speed.

All in all, horrible weather, but a good weekend. I want to punch mother nature directly in her ovaries for such a miserable 2 days of weather. I cannot complain with a 2nd place and minus a broken helmet and a lot of frustration from visor fogging, I am doing pretty good.

Thanks again HUGE to 303 Cycle for taking great care of me and letting me use the Michelin Canopy and getting my bike ready in time. If you need any parts from them, give them a call for unbelievable service. Vanmar Racing, Michelin, GoPro (mine broke ) , Vortex Racing, Braking, Amsoil, Race Tech, and my beautiful wife.

Originally Posted by CephasGT

Awesome report, man! Sucks you crashed, but helluva good showing in some very difficult conditions.

Get ahold of Arai Americas, they'll hook you up with new side pod assemblies for free.

Really?! I am gonna call them today.

Here is a picture showing me not being able to see.