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CCCCRRRRRRRRSSSSSSHHHSHSHSHSHSHHGGHGGGGGRRR-THWOOOOOP!
…..and other interesting noises heard at Mid Ohio
7-19-02 Mid Ohio AHRMA Round Race Report
By Wes Orloff
The Trip
aaaahhhhh……that calm, re-assuring
feeling of coming home rushed over me as I crossed the Indiana
border into Ohio. It seemed like a very long time. I was pushing
the envelope of both personal endurance and what could be
considered legal highway velocity on the nearly deserted Ohio
backroad. It was nearly mid night and since Stacey had elected
to stay home, I had a long time to reflect on the memories
of my young adult life in my birth state. I slipped a beat
up old Michael Stanley Band tape into the tape deck…..”thank
God for the man who put the white lines on the Highway…..”.
Thoughts of people and places long ago condemned to the remotest
parts of memory suddenly bubbled to the surface, triggered
by almost subconscious recollection of a simple street name
or small forgotten towns of my youth. There’s the street
that leads to my old girlfriends house…..I wonder what
ever became of her? There’s the store Tom Kipp and I
stole the card board cut out of Bobby Rahal from the beer
section! There’s the damn freeway speed trap that accounted
for 16 of my 24 accumulated traffic violation points (I knew
there was a reason I left……).
Although I had taken a quick (?) trip down memory lane, the
real reason I was here was for redemption. We had some ground
to cover at Mid-O. Although our last AHRMA race was extremely
successful as far as the continuing development of the Dale’s
CR450, I was a bit disappointed with my own performance. I
had made a couple of mistakes in the first premiere 500 race
costing me 3rd place and never really got going on the Buell
due partly to a lack of braking power (glazed brakes), no
rebound damping in the forks making for an exciting tank slapping
ride, and finally a shifter that bottomed out and broke through
a corner 2 laps from the end of the race.
I had addressed all the issues with the Buell, and even slapped
in some bigger cams in order to give us a little breathing
room from those pesky SV-650’s. I had worked on my own
mental being as well: I was determined the lack of aggression
and focus I experienced at Grattan wasn’t going to re-surface
at Mid Ohio. I was a Bad Man with a Bad Ass Buell ready to
shoot first and ask questions later…..as soon as I quit
crying over my junior high girlfriend’s favorite song…..
The Team
One of the big advantages I had going for me was Dale Coffman.
Dale had prepared a beautiful CR450 for me to race in premiere
500 class. Dale also had his much better half Priscilla at
Mid Ohio as well. Last year was a rough one for us, as we
were breaking stuff left and right and couldn’t keep
the bike running long enough to get comfortable on it. I think
Dale was ready to throw in the towel by the end of last summer,
but he kept at it and the bike was transformed at Grattan.
Despite my mental lapses, we were able to ride the bike and
go faster every time out resulting in an exciting 5th and
4th place in the two races. Our Goal at Mid Ohio was to get
in the top 5 (a tall order considering the talent level and
the fact we were down 5-10hp on everybody). That would change
soon enough however…..
My other big advantage was that we had been taken under the
wing of Team Hansen run by Terry and Allison Naughtin and
the legendary Bob Hansen. Terry has put together a first class
team and does a beautiful job preparing the bikes. About as
close to a factory team as you can get in Vintage racing.
Bob Hansen is a living legend……He was the man in
the 60’s for Honda in America and had an enormous impact
on the motorcycle industry as it exists today. He’s the
guy responsible for the CB750. His riders reads like a who’s
who of racing: Mann, DuHamel, Nixon, Savage, Odham…..practically
the entire cast of ‘On Any Sunday’. After winning
National titles and Daytona with Honda 4 strokes, he went
back and did it again with Kawasaki 2 strokes to prove it
wasn’t a fluke…an incredible career. On personal
note, he’s also a fascinating individual……it
would be easy to dismiss him as just an old guy, but talking
with him you realize there’s something much deeper and
intense, a desire to win that exists just as strong as ever.
He embraces and encourages technical innovation and has a
youthful excitement that’s contagious. He and Dale were
giggling like schoolgirls over a new Niksil aluminum sleeving
process they discovered over the weekend…..To say I’m
honored to be involved with the team and be on a first name
basis with Bob is an understatement.
The Track
Although I proudly claim Ohio as my home, I had only ridden
Mid-Ohio one time previously at my very first track school
back in 1995 with Scott and Erin.
The same one Scott crunched his FZR400 and ended up in the
Ladies room. He claims both incidents are related but I’m
not so sure…. In hindsight, taking your first track school
at one of the most technically challenging tracks in the nation
may have been a mistake, but it still felt good to return.
Images of fellow Buckeyes David Sadowski and my good buddy
Tommy Kipp sweeping to victories at the track still burned
brightly for me. Although my prior track time here was limited
to say the least, I had a calm excitement about the place.
After all, this was my home turf…..
There are a lot of reasons not to like Mid Ohio. There are
multiple cement patches with treacherous ¼” high
lips. There are bumps. There are enormous variations in traction.
There are walls a little close for comfort. But despite these
issues, it has to be my all time favorite track. It challenges
you every lap and forces you to think. A small mistake here
is much more punishing than other places. Some corners have
a single line, others have 8 potential lines. I would challenge
anybody to find a corner that’s not decreasing radius
or has a substantial elevation change. This is the Harvard
of racetracks. Make that the Ohio State…..
The Practice
We’ll get to the Buell first since it’s a short
story unfortunately. Our modifications to the chassis and
suspension had worked extremely well, as the bike was braking
and handling better than ever. The engine however was another
story….a missed shift early on in the first practice
session had caused an intimate and damaging contact between
Valve and Piston. I decided to soldier on however on 1 cylinder
to get familiar with the track and enjoy the renewed braking
power (if it we couldn’t have fun going, at least we
could stopping!). My parents showed up for the final practice
session with the Buell, which I decided to run just to get
more track time. The Last (and only) time my mom had watched
me road race, I had crashed and broken a couple of bones.
Now I’m not superstitious (not a good thing to be when
your born on Friday the 13th), but I figured after the dead
cylinder sumped a bunch of oil on my rear tire and caused
me a moment through the gravel trap, that it be best to play
it cool and park it for the rest of the weekend….or at
least until my Mom left!
Practice on the CR450 went extremely well, as the bike was
fast right out of the box. Unfortunately, our competition
appeared to be slightly faster, as I had nothing for the fast
guys on the straights. The speed of the 500 Nortan Manx’s
were incredible, as they went by so fast on the back straight
that I couldn’t even catch a draft. It was obvious the
straights weren’t our strong point, so I decided to concentrate
on corner speed and braking. Every lap we worked on going
faster and building confidence running over all those seams…..it
looked like it was going to be a tough weekend.
Race 1
Without having the Buell to ride in Formula 2 Twins, I was
able to concentrate solely on the CR450. Morning practice
went well as the chassis and brakes were performing extremely
well. I was having a riot braking deep into the esses and
had found a decent line through there. We were excited about
the race in the afternoon.
I was gridded 3rd row inside for the afternoon race in a
field of 24 starters. I had a so-so start and was in 12th
place going through turn 1. I picked off a couple going into
the keyhole and braking into the esses, and found myself in
a lonely 4th place going across the line for the first lap.
By the time I had gotten through, 1st and 2nd had cleared
off and 3rd place John Staska was way off in the distance.
We were in 4th place about 5 laps into the race when we realized
a Norton Manx was gaining on us. He smoked by on the straight
so we tried our best to hang. I managed to catch him on the
brakes and had a fierce battle for the rest of the race! The
Manx pulled like a freight train and had some serious MPH
over us, but I was able to exploit the CR’s brakes and
handling to make the time back. We exchanged places 3 or 4
times as we crossed the line for the white flag lap. This
lap is the most fun I ever had in racing. We exchanged places
5 times making banzai moves on each other at every corner!
He took a tight protective line going into the carousel, while
I took a sweeping fast line to the outside and managed to
come down across his front wheel on the final turn., leading
onto the front straight. I figured I had him beat, but somehow
he pulled it to the inside and we were side by side in a drag
race to the finish. He won by maybe 8 inches…..It was
a little dis-appointing, but it was the most exciting lap
I ever had and we had managed to achieve our goal of finishing
top 5. I was pumped for Sunday….
Sundays morning practice went very well, as my goal was to
beat the Manx. I spent the session experimenting in some places
I thought I could go faster and ended up figuring some things
out. I had a good feeling about the race…..
Sundays Race started out well. I got a decent start as was
able to ride aggressively right away. By the end of the first
lap, I was surprised to find myself on the rear wheel of 3rd
place Staska, who had won at Grattan and disappeared from
me during Saturday’s race. The stuff we had figured out
in morning practice was paying off. Again it was a bit frustrating
as he had some steam on us on the straights, but we were getting
through the corners better and was able to do some deep braking.
Dave Roper soon joined us on a Manx and we were having a good
3 way battle for 3rd, with 1st and 2nd place not too far off…..I
was ecstatic to finally be running in the middle of the front
guys! The bike was working well and confidence was high when
fate struck an ugly blow…..
I was chasing Staska on his Drixton frame Honda 500 into
the esses, deep braking as late as I dared. I got a good drive
through the right hand ‘s’ and was taking a fast
wide line through the following up hill left hander. I was
carrying more speed than usual this time however and couldn’t
get the bike turned in order to cross the cement/pavement
seem at an acute angle…..no problem I thought to myself,
I haven’t had a moment here all day! I ended up trying
to cross it just as the hill dropped away at an angle nearly
parallel to the seam. As the tire crossed the seam, the front
end tucked and pushed, and in slow motion slowly dropped away
from me. I was already on my knee and just sort of slid off
the bike onto my butt. The next few moments are a little foggy…..I
remember my ass getting really warm, watching the bike spin
on its side into the grass , and me heading directly to wards
a white wall at a high rate of speed…backwards. I glanced
off the curbing catching air momentarily…..and suddenly
fell into a trampoline????!!?!?! In actuality, I had backed
into the air fence at high rate of speed. The air fence worked
beautifully, cushioning my impact completely…..it was
almost fun! (Almost till I got a close look at the bike….).
Realizing I was in an impact zone, I scrambled to my feet
, climbed up the fence and jumped through a slot in the fence
a 90lbs gymnast would have a tough time getting through (its
amazing what a little adrenaline will do for you), landing
flat on my back…..all to the applause of a large group
of bikers partaking in what must have been numerous beverages
spectating from the hill behind me.
I got to me feet, threw my helmet and gloves off in disgust,
only to get another round of applause…..hmm this is pretty
weird. I went over to the fence to examine my fallen steed….and
proceeded to arouse the interest of a hornets nest nestled
in the corner of the fence. Luckily the little bastards can’t
sting through leather! This where it gets weird: I retreated
back to the spectator fence and leaned against it, back to
the crowd. It was at this point that one of the largest of
the biker guys (possibly also the most intoxicated) comes
over and gives me a beer!!!! I thank him, give it sip, then
try to give it back….he refuses and wants me to chug
it! I oblige, and get another round of cheers from the assembled
crowd. This crashing stuff isn’t so bad after all….To
make things even more surreal, Mike Fetter suddenly appears
as well as Bob Hursts brother. We do a little friendly catching
up asking about the respective families while waiting for
the race to end and the crash truck to get there. Oh Yeah,
I crashed……and I’m going to have to unceremoniously
haul Dale’s pride and joy back to him in more pieces
than it started out…with beer on my breath.
Crashing sucks.
The Aftermath
Long story short, Dale didn’t kill me (this time). Damage
to the bike was limited to the left side and mostly cosmetic.
Should be no problem to get it ready for Putnam which I’m
looking forward to immensely. We’ll be working on the
Buell as well and should be ready to go there……maybe
even finish a race. Again, I’d like to thank all the
support of family and friends, Mom and Pop for making the
hike from Cleveland, My brother Warren and his Wife Marlene
for the digs at night, Team Hansen and our new sponsors Cometic
Gasket and Advanced Sleeve. The progress on the CR450 has
been tremendous and I don’t think it will be too long
before we get it on the box. Next Stop Putnam!
WFO
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