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It has begun. I have all the parts I need to add another Suzuki SV650 to my garage.  I have one already that I race and this will make the second. The first is completely stock with the exception of the standard suspension upgrades and the second was to be the SBK bike. The idea being that I could race one in the Stock classes and the SBK SV in the formula classes. Funny thing is that CVMA eliminated its stock class for lightweight, not enough bikes on the grid and lumped everyone into the formula classes. So I guess my stock bike will now be my backup bike.

The engine was built by Zoran Twin Works Factory TWF and should make about 80 HP. Its not a super duper engine but it will have more umph than the stock which mine is running at 68HP. I have the GSXR front resprung and valved for the much lighter SV and my weight. I also have the GSXR Rear tire mode from TWF which will let me run the 180 rear which is much larger than the stock 160 tire. I also have a brand new Penske rear shock from Spears racing set up for the SV and as soon as I get to the track I’m going to have Randy from In-House Suspension get it dialed in for me.

First thing was to add the rear sprocket guard. Its from Woodcraft, one of my sponsors and it was no problem at all installing it. Of course I had the luxury of having an empty swing arm and frame that I could flip over. That made the installation super easy. Follow the directions and presto  a guard installed.

Next I installed the Woodcraft clutch cover gasket. Another easy installation. These covers come with a replaceable plate that is designed to take the damage instead off the cover its self. Take the old cover off, reuse the gasket and re-install the new one.

Next come the set up to install the engine. I made the mistake of trying to install by my self which ended up with me dropping the engine off its stand and breaking a tab off of the rear valve cover. DAMIT!!!!!! Luck for me I have a spare engine that I could cannibalize from.

So taking my time the second attempt I made very slow and deliberate placement of the engine on stands and since the frame was empty with the front end in an engine chock I just lifted the frame up and over the engine. After some very careful moving of the frame for final placement I was able to get the rear cylinder bolts in and the rest was cake. Put the front and rear on the stands and swung the motor into position for the other bolts.

Success.

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9-11 Mar 12

Chuckwalla Valley Raceway CW
Center Valley Ca. Partly Cloudy /51/70deg
04 SV650
Sponsors:  Woodcraft, ArmourBodies, LiveWire Energy, Bazzaz, ACT Racing, Bell and Wreckage Clothing
Results:
Formula Twins – 20th
Lightweight Shootout- 12th

Best Lap: 2:05
Ave Lap: 2:07

CVMA round 1 went very well. I qualified very near my best lap times from the 2011 season despite my patchwork wrist which I had rebuilt after my highside in turn 11 last year.  I was originally schedule to participate in the Femmewalla Open, Formula Twins and the Lightweight Shootout, but I canceled the second Formula Twins round because my front wheel was sliding on turns 3, 5 and 10 and the rear in the bowl.

My most exciting moments this weekend were in the Formula Twins and Lightweight Shootout races.  I am competitive at the back of the second of three ‘clusters’ of riders in that class and my starts are improving to the point where I only lost a few positions before turn 2 which I can usually reclaim within the first lap.

     I refer to the second cluster because CVMA has some spectacular competition posting times in the sub-2:00s which I hope to be able to learn from in the coming months!  The Formula class was a blast because it was late in the evening and the sun had already set behind the mountains which made for a pretty environment but also added the challenges of crosswinds and shadows.  It was difficult to find reference markers in the changing landscape but I managed it well enough to get a mid-pack finish!  The shootout was Sunday morning and was exhausting.  There was a reprieve when someone crashed under the crossed flags and resulted in a 4 lap restart.  I have mixed feelings about the restart… I think I would have placed better if the race had gone straight through but I am grateful for the race start ‘practice.’  I am getting better with the race starts, but I am hoping to get some non-race-weekend practice.While my improvements on the track definitely are not reflected in my standings and I did not podium in my first race weekend as an expert, I did beat my personal record (PR) by a nearly 2 seconds, a 2:05, which gets me very close to my growth objective of a 2:04 by the summer break. I was able to consistently post faster than last year’s times, when not held up with traffic.  This, above all, is my goal for this year; I want to be able to report a New PR every round this year.

Formula Twins and Lightweight Shootout were both phenomenal experiences that pushed my abilities farther but racing with GirlClutch teammates Christin Voros (161) & Jen Dunstan (70) and the other Girls in the Femmewalla Open was the most rewarding.  Being able to see grid sizes increase more than DOUBLE was a huge inspiration.  While I was out classed, on a 650 twin, against mostly inline Middleweights, I was still able to dice it up with Kimi Donahue (521).

     I raced on Bridgestone for the first time and found them agreeable. Keeping the pressures correct on them is a little challenging which dramatically affected their wear characteristics but I like the feedback I felt. There were no surprises when the ‘traction pie’ runs out.   I kept them warm with my Woodcraft tire warmers and thoroughly am impressed with them except that the element lights were difficult to see with the glare in the desert… which was easily remedied by cupping them in my hand.  Keeping the Bridgestone warm this weekend helped me keep them sticky.

     My Woodcraft KluckyPucks also worked well, one I got them where I needed them. I was concerned because I had them too far back and very quickly ate up the corner of them but once I got them on correctly where wore very well!

I would definitely like to thank BigHeadz Racing and GirlClutch racing for providing wonderful company and encouragement in the Paddock.  Having that support from my teammates is what is enabling me to continue the trend of getting faster, Faster.  The support I also receive from Woodcraft, ArmourBodies, LiveWire Energy, Bazzaz, ACT Racing, Bell and Wreckage Clothing are also Hugely Appreciated; their  products are top notch.

See you in Round 2!

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9-11 Mar 12
John Reynolds
CVMA EX# 619
Chuckwalla Valley Raceway CW
Center Valley Ca. Partly Cloudy /51/80 deg
00 SV650
Sponsors: ACT Leathers, Scorpion Helmets, Lockhart Phillips Racing,  Woodcraft, Armour Bodies, Bigheadz Racing,Warrior Foundation and Freedom Station.

Results:
Formula Twins –11th and 15th
Modern Vintage Lightweight (Formula Rules) 4th and 3rd

Lightweight Shootout- 11th
Best Lap: 2:03.5
Ave Lap: 2:05.4

Wow what an epic weekend. Needless to say I was not physically prepared for it and am still feeling its effects. Shwwooo. I need a nap.

This was the kick off weekend for CVMA and I had a feeling it was going to be big, especially when you considered WSMC and CCS were not running and those racers needed to go somewhere.

- Mon-Wed

Painted Armour Bodies

My week started with painting my Armour Bodies body work. My procrastination and competing events narrowed my time to nothing so I was up late smelling the fumes Mon, Tue and Wed night. My wife with child was very tolerant of the smell of paint upstairs and I don’t think she will let me do that again. Well maybe she won’t J. The final coat of clear went on Wed night I mounted the bodywork and loaded the bike Thur morning. The paint had not cured and you could still smell the fumes Sat after a full day on the track.

- Thursday loading and drive to CVR.

After the plastic I used to make my paint booth was down and I could actually get to my bike parts and race supplies, I start gathering everything together for the weekend. I must have made 100 laps around my garage grabbing things off shelves and placing them in the middle to load on the truck.  Urrghh, I really need to get better organized.

Price (#750) came over about 11 and caught me on the phone in the middle of a work emergency and after a quick “Hey dude I’m here Nod” He went down stairs and started loading the truck. After we loaded up the truck it was a quick detour to Jack in the box for a fajita pita, should have gotten a bacon shake but I forgot they had it, we were on the road.

“Yes Jack in the Box has Bacon shakes but you have to ask for it. They are not on the menu.”

The ride for the most part was uneventful except for what appeared to be a drunk driver in front of us we came down the twisty side of the 74 into Indio.  It was so bad that I started honking my horn trying to get the cars attention. I didn’t want to be the one to see it go off the road and over the cliff.

“Hello, is this 911? Yeah, I just saw a car go off a cliff on the 74?  Where? Umm ? Off the mountain over Indio. Up pretty high. Can I be more specific? Ahh, yeah, it was a left hander.”

Lucky for us it didn’t go off. As we approached 111 the car was still swerving. I came up along side it and guess what I saw? … If you guessed a blonde putting on make-up you would be 100% correct. OH my Gosh !!! I rolled down my window and in typical nice John I yelled “HEY DON’T DO THAT!!!” while shaking my finger in a disapproving manner. No extra expletives, just those words really really loud. . Price laughed telling calling me a wus. We arrived at CVR around 4pm and after checking in with Aimee and Price filling out some CVMA paperwork we got to the paddock and started setting up for the weekend. Getting excited.

- Fire !!!!!!

No really I had a fire in the trailer. After we had settled in and things had quieted down Price and I went walking around the paddock to see what we could see. On the way back I stopped at the bano and Price went on the trailer. As Im washing my hands I get a text, not a phone call, a text which reads “Get back asap!”.  Off I go arriving to a trailer to find it full of smoke and the smell electrical fire. I kill the generator and run around to the gen door and open it up to find nothing wrong. In the mean time Price is opening up the ramp to air it out.  I start my investigation and after finding soot on the cabinets I traced it back to a burn spot under my breaker panel. After removing panels we discover that water had leaked from melting ice in the fridge into the DC power converter and started an electrical fire. So here I am with a working generator which powers my outlets and working lights powered by the battery but no way to charge the battery or run the lights from the generator. To make matters worse in the process of removing the converter I touched the fuse panel to the side of the case and blew the fusible link between it and the batteries. Now I had no lights. S#1T!!!  “F” it I’m going to bed!!!!!! Next morning around sunrise I bypassed the fusible link and restored lights but still no way to charge the battery powering them.  Lucky for me there was a RV supply shop in Indio which had a 45 amp version of my 55 amp converter. I will take it. Price was kind enough to drive in to town to pick it up and by lunch time I had the trailer back to normal with the minor exception of the smell of burned electrical stuff.

- Friday: TrackDaz track day.

TrackDaz registration and tech went off without a hitch and after a through and humorous riders meeting we where ready to ride.  A-Group was up first and my goal for this first ride was to make nice with the SV. You see we were not on speaking terms. I apparently left her in the garage for a couple months. When I finally took her out, she was naked and only for just a half day on Sunday during the SoCal Trackdays event that weekend before.  She was not a happy camper. After cordial introductions and some tentative slow dancing through a couple laps we made nice and it was time to salsa. Unfortunately our dance was interrupted by a red flag and a medical transport. An hour or so later, after the ambulance returned, we tried the dance again and again our dance was interrupted by two more red flags and another medical transport. Needless to say the day was not as eventful as I would have liked. I got to a 2:07 which is not event close to my

best or the pace I would need to be competitive on Sat/Sun. Blah…

By the afternoon more Bigheadz started showing up. First Bill (#2) and Joanna (#88) followed by Sofia (#327) and Matt (#405). It started feeling like a race weekend. We are going to have a great time.

- Saturday CVMA Round One

Saturday actually started Sunday night with CVMA race prep and tech inspection. The pit was frantic and full of energy. It was awesome. I didn’t make it through tech my first time. My rear caliber safety wired. I didn’t forget I just never thought about it because I used it the entire last season unwired. Oops. Price was having some similar difficulty getting through tech. He needed to safety wire some additional water hoses and take off his kick stand. LOL, he kept repeating over and over “Are You Serious? I have to take off my Kick Stand” and the answer never changed. YES!

The morning, as the night before, was full of energy and the paddock was filling up. I have never seen so may people at CVR before. As predicted it was full of CCS and WSMC riders some of which I haven’t seen in five or six years from racing CCS in 05/06.

Practice was nice, not a lot of flags and I was happy that I took a couple more seconds off my time and by qualifying I was in the 2:03s. Unfortunately I was having some serious numb hand issues during qualifying and couldn’t get down below a 2:07.  That put me mid pack for the formula twins and lightweight shootout. Not the best showing. I was worried about the hand though. Not being able to feel your throttle and brake is a little sketchy.

After the riders meeting we went back to get ready for afternoon racing which did not happen on time. CVR was having major trouble with their gridding computer. It had the fast guys in the back or mixed in with others who had no times at all. The problems continued all day resulting in the 8^th race to be in the dark and the team challenge to be cancelled. It was a cluster. I do however have to give the staff props. They were up all night trying to fix the problem.

- Race three.  Modern Vintage Lightweight 4^th 2:06

This was in actuality race four because they had to split race two into 2a and 2b. Apparently there would have been over 60 expert and amateur riders on the track at the same time if they left a single two wave race.  Ouch. Talk about an opportunity for disaster. Glad they decided to split them but it did put a lot of pressure on the schedule.

I was gridded row 1 left or as my tank had written “R1L” with Brian Long # 93 to my right. I didn’t do as well on the start as I would have liked and gave up to easy as Brian and Andrew # 41 came by me in T1. No sense getting hurt the first turn of the first race of the season right? I know, your right; I should have not given up the turn. I was on the inside it was mine. Anyway, as we entered T4 Melissa Paris AMA #13 and Dani Taylor # 144 from the Femwalla race came flying by us. Not sure if they started with us or in a second wave but they split our small group in half with me behind Andrew and Brian behind Jonathon Marquez # 46 pulling away from us. This was a frustrating race because Brian on a 02 CBR was killing my drive in to every turn and powering away from me on the straights. I never did get around him and ended up forth, miles behind Jonathon and Brian. I’m sure I could have gotten around him if I was more aggressive. If I could have done it in T4 I’m sure I could have broken him by the back straight so he couldn’t pass me before T11.  Live and learn.

- Race 7 Formula Twins. 11^th 2:03.9

This was a huge grid. I was R5L behind and in front of a bunch ton of the GP cycles riders. Basically 15th with 13 riders behind me. To make things even worse the sun was going down and it was starting to get dark. I decided to go to a clear visor before the race which made a big difference near at the end of the race. The start was ok and I was doing well going into one. I made a pass or two through T2 and exiting T3. I think I was 12^th by the back straight and doing my best to stay with the leaders. Those guys are several seconds faster than me and my goal going in to this race was to follow as long as I could and learn something. On the third lap I had caught up with # 11, Andy Palmer, I think and passed under him going into T4 and moved into and finished in 11^th.

- Sunday

After the major issues with gridding, scoring and timing on Sat there was hope that the issues had been corrected. I know Dustin and Aimee where up into the wee hours and that Aimee did an all nighter getting the problems sorted out.  But it was not going to be the case. CVMA continued to have problems with gridding which delayed the start of some of the races including the running of the team challenge which should have run the Sat but was called do to darkness.

A quick shout out to EJ for coming out and supporting us in the pits. Now get your bike race prepped and get out here with us. J

- Race 2 Lightweight Shootout 11^th 2:04

Holy crap this is a long race. I need to be in better shape. I gridded R5C I think. Hard to remember. I was defiantly in row 5. Much better start this time. I don’t think anyone got by me and into T4. I think I was in the 12^th. I was doing ok staying with the front group for a bit. But by the forth lap I was fading fast. I remember seeing the halfway flags thinking “are you kidding me.” I think this is the race Christian # 69 went off but I’m not sure. I remember this race getting flagged and regridded for a quick four lap sprint. By the end of the race I was spent and its all kind of a blur.

- Race 5 Modern Vintage Lightweight 3^rd 2:04

I was gridded R1L and my goal for this race was to not let Andrew with the CBR in front of me at the start. I knew if I could keep him behind me at the start I would be able to get away from him leaving me trying to catch Brian. Mission accomplished.  Well partially. I got and stayed in front of Andrew but I never gained ground on Brian. He was on and I decided to save something for race 6 which was a back to back for me. I crossed the finish line several seconds behind Brian with a numb throttle hand and wondering how I was going to get any decent riding in not being able to feel my brakes. My wife was waiting for me along pit entry as I came in and gave me some water. After a couple drinks, a kiss on the helmet and a good luck from her I was out again for the Formula Twins.

- Race 6 Formula Twins 15^th 2:05.5

Time to stick it out. Again I was gridded R5L and as in the last couple of races I got a good start with no one getting by me through T1-T4 but this is where the similarities ended.  Halfway through the race the groups had split up into the sub 2 min riders and the low two min riders with me bring up the beginning of the mid to high 2 min riders. I was by myself most of the second half of the race, watching my times go up and up and up. That was until I saw a shadow coming up my inside in T14 exiting the bowl right before the white flag. With a boost of adrenalin I decided to get on and not let who ever it was by me going into 14 and get moving for the final lap. It worked and even though I had only gotten down to q 2:05 that last lap it was enough to keep me from losing another spot. I looked back at race finish to see Brian # 93 behind me.

The weekend ended with the Post race camaraderie and dreaded pack up. My wife bet me we could do it in an hour and a half to include dumping the tanks. We made it home by 930pm and went promply to sleep.

Thanks to all my sponsors. ACT Leathers, Scorpion Helmets, LP, WoodCraft , Armour Bodies, Bigheadz Racing,Warrior Foundation and Freedom Station. Without your support this would be a whole lot harder.

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To start off, it was brutally cold all weekend. Friday night it was 18 degrees (and I was sleeping in a tent) so didn’t get much sleep.
Only did a half day of practice on Saturday as it was still cold all morning and I was running DOTs for practice. Respectable times and everyone seemed to be going just a little slower than usual.
Sunday morning was just as bad as Saturday except worse. A good wind was blowing across the track which isn’t fun at 140 in turn 8 as it tries to pick you up and toss you off the track. Still ran one practice (this time with the slicks on) and got some pretty good starting positions. (6th for the first race and 4th on the second).
1st race was Open Superbike and I was gridded 6th for it. Didn’t bother me as we were trying a new shifting scheme for turns 5, 6 and 7 so I didn’t expect to beat the class champions. The shift scheme worked alot better over turn 6 and thats when the fun started. Through turn 8 I could feel the rear hopping around. It was so bad I had to let off to get the bike to settle down. I wouldn’t of noticed it except we were going through turn 8 alot faster and the wind was gusting pretty hard. Could only manage a 5th place in the race.
Once I got back in the pits I told my crew chief (yes I have one) about the hopping and he slowed the rebound down by 4 clicks. My race was only 3 away from my first one so we didnt try anything else as that may have been worse.
Went out in Formula 40 gridded 4th and got a pretty good start. Wasn’t first but wasn’t last by any means. On the first flying lap going through turn 8 the hopping was gone and the bike was behaving nicely. Only problem was now the front was getting light over the bumps in the straights but that was ok, I can handle that. Alsop, on the first lap we managed to knock 3 seconds off our fastest lap so far. What was even better was that we knocked another second off on the next lap and the bike was feeling better and better. The next lap was slower however, I was dicing with a ZX10 and passed him for good on the exit of turn 9 on the outside. The drive out of 9 was fantastic. I actually thought he had let off until I saw the laptimes. Unfortunately there was a rider down in turn 3 so we only did 5 laps but it was a fun five laps at that.
Thanks to my sponsors – Torco lubricants (great oils!!!), HRS suspensions, MoPowerSports, Bridgestone, Tige at CM, Scorpion, TrackSkinz, Pitbull , SoCalTraackDays, SBKPaint and EBC

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With help from Andy @ ACT leathers John Reynolds, Bill McCoy and Sofia Amadio will be sporting new looks for 2012. ACT has long been a friend to BigHeadz Racing and has hit a home run helping us come up with some new rider designs that we can use to show off some of ACT’s latest leathers offerings.

ACT Leather’s moto is “ Factory Protection and Privateer Prices” and with a new manufacture and input from AMA Pro racers like Scott Jensen and Jeremy Toye and WERA, WSMC and CVMA club racers, ACT is producing some of the safest and best fitting leathers available.

We are grateful for ACT support this year.

Bills Leathers for 2011

John's Leathers for 2012

Sofia's Leathers for 2011

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Congrats to John #619 and Sofia #327 for picking up new sponsorships with Woodcraft CFM and Armour Bodies for the 2012 season. WoodCraft rear sets and Armour Bodies body work are currently being used by John and their products have taken all the abuse a racing and crashing can throw at them.

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BHz Pit Bike

24″ Frame with a 66cc, 2.75 HP two stroke motor. Custom Handlebars and lots of personal extras…

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Bigheadz CVMA racing results for 2011

Bill McCoy

#2 Overall

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Finally made it back in the country long enough to actually race!!!  Turns out the weather wasn’t perfect (28 degrees and raining) but still a good outting.

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11/12/13 Nov 11
John Reynolds
CVMA EX# 619
Chuckwalla Valley Raceway CCW
Center Valley Ca. Partly Cloudy /51/80 deg
00 SV650
Sponsors: ACT Leathers, Scorpion Helmets, LP, Bigheadz Racing,Warrior Foundation and Freedom Station.
Results:
     SuperSport Twins –3rd and 1st
     Modern Vintage Lightweight (Formula Rules) – DNS & 2nd
Best Lap: 2:03.5
Ave Lap: 2:05.4Friday:
     Friday was originally planned to be an easy day with K and I taking our time driving up to CVR from San Diego but as luck would have it that was not the case. Because another rider couldn’t make it to the Trackdaz Friday event I had the opportunity to buy his spot and ride in B group. So now my lazy Friday turned into a hectic Thursday making sure we could leave early enough to make the first sessions. My lovely wife was none to happy to hear I wanted her to get up at 430ish in the morning and drive to Desert Center after we had planned to sleep in.
After arriving, trying to find a spot in a very packed paddock and a little confusion about who I was and whose spot I was taking in B group, I got all checked in and teched. My first session in B group was Ok. I was going faster than most in the group and found myself constantly checking up coming into every turn because of tentative riders. By the end of the second session I was frustrated and was going to ask if I could be moved up but I changed my mind when my friend Sofia decided to go out with me in B for the third session. The sad thing is she got ejected off her bike coming out of T11. Apparently it was frustrated with B group too and after leaving Sofia on the track it continued on its own with a ghost rider all the way down to the 3 marker at the end of the back straight. She’s ok but broke her wrist. She was out for the weekend.
     On the bright side I took her spot in A group and the last sessions went Oh Soooo Muchhhhh Better. Thanks Sofia! Sorry you got hurt though. Going into a corner with 5 other riders was like being on a train with everyone maintaining their lines and no one checking up. Not like the inchworm antics in B group. By the end of the last session I was turning 2:06’s and was happy thinking that’s as fast as I’ve gone CCW and I would get into the 2:05s and maybe even a 2:04 during sat qualifying.Saturday:
     First and second practice was fun. I wasn’t trying to break any records just wanted to shake off the dust that had settled overnight and to try to get through T7 and T6 without hitting a curb or rumble strip. I was blowing it every other lap. I know it was one of my weak spots and wanted to get it right at least once.Qualifying:
     Went out to go fast. I know that there are a couple guys in the SS twins who are faster than me and I wanted to do well enough to get the opportunity to go through 16 with them at the start and stay with them as long as I could. I really wanted the 2:04 but if I got a 2:05 I would be happy. Well I was happy. After only three laps I was in the 2:05’s, my personal best CCW and decided that Id better go in before I got any faster. On the way in I stopped by the Pirelli tent and asked about the tire temp and the wear and ??? told me I was several pounds over what my hot temps should be and he adjusted them. Well I had to go back out. Right??? To see what if any difference the change made and I’m so glad I did. 2:04 baby!!!! Easy lap. Now it was really time to come in. I pitted and after verifying the pressure with my gage I put the warmers on and settled in for the long wait until my first race. OBTW the tire wear started looking as it should, working the edge instead of the space between edge and the middle.

Race 1: SuperSport Twins, 3rd place
     Andrew Zabzdyr(805), Paul McComsey(155), and Mike Gougis(791) were gridded in row one and I was row two left (inside) with other riders to my right and behind. Obviously all three qualified faster than I did but I was going to do my best to stick with them as long as I could. I green flag goes and I get a terrible start but I am still fourth into T16 behind Mike. By the time we were headed out of the bowl and into T12/11 Andrew and Paul were already pulling away. I followed Mike out of T11 and was on his rear wheel heading down the straight in the hopes I could draft past or get him on the breaks into T10. Just as we approached the three marker I came up on the inside and when he hit the breaks I counted one before hitting mine. It was probably closer to a tenth of a second but it felt like a second. I got up under him and moved into third. I ran a super defensive line in T9 and T8 hoping to check him up and to give me a strong drive out toward T7. Not sure if it worked, you’d have to ask him but I didn’t see his wheel as we entered seven. I was so happy with the pass and so focused on getting some space between us that I totally forgot where I was on the track after entering T7 and by the time I realized it I was hitting the inside curb of T6. Mike saw me hit it and swears he heard my sphincter clinch shut. It was all I could do to keep it on the track. Lucky for me Mike couldn’t take advantage of my mistake and I was able to keep him behind me. By the third lap I believe I had gotten away from Mike and was actually closing on Paul but I made my second mistake going into T15. I got in between gears and couldn’t get it turned in and off I went. As I went off I was cursing !!!!!!! Mo!@$#r $#fW#@$%$^ER. Now Mike was going to be gone and I would be done but as I slowed and turned toward T14, I see Mike just coming through T15. As he goes by me I am pretty certain I can catch him before the end of the race. My hopes of catching Paul were dashed but in front of me was the chance to retake 3rd. I chase Mike for another lap and I get under him in T3. I keep my head down for the rest of the race. I cross the checker with my wife jumping up and down for me at track entry in celebration of my 3rd place finish.

Race 2: Modern Vintage Lightweight (Formula Rules), DNS
     Oh My Gosh!!!!! What a terrible race. I didn’t even get to start. I have had some electrical issues with my bike not wanting to start or just completely turning off mid corner and then starting again giving me quite the scare. Try as I might I hadn’t narrowed down the problem and it cost me… As I’m waiting for the grid marshal to let us out on the warm up lap my bike stalls and will not restart. DAMN!!! I push my bike all the way back to our pit and with sweat rolling down my back from my mini marathon I try to jump start it. It was no use. The bike just turned over and over but would not start. I was done and alone. This is where you say, ahhhhhhhh. Everyone had gone to the wall to watch the race and I was left to fend for myself. Luckily a guy came over and helped me get the bike up on the stands. After my sweetie realized I was not on the track and didn’t go past her as the race started she came back and found me dejected. I know, poor John should have fixed his crap.
After the wonderful CVMA buffet, Bill and Joanna McCoy helped me find the problems. Well actually they watched me find the problems but they were very helpful with their multitude of recommendations in between libations. Turns out I had a bad battery and a bad ignition switch.

Sunday
     Single practice was just a sight seeing trip for me. Lightweights are out first in the morning and with the use of Bills battery and a switch I found in my electronics box I went out to just enjoy the ride for a couple laps and come in. After three laps I was in the 2:04’s without pushing and decided to come in and take a break. My first race was nine of twelve so I had lots of time to do important things like home work, which by the way is hard to do when you hear the entertaining race announcements and the bikes going by. Thanks Mike for making my homework difficult.

Race 1: SuperSport Twins, 1st place
     This was a fun but lonely race. Andrew wasn’t there; guess he didn’t need the points. He had a lot!!! And Paul had decided not to run because of a shot rear tire so it was just Mike me and a couple Kawi 250’s on the grid. I was still in row 2 left and Mike was in the row one right. When the flag went up Mike was first into T16. I stayed with him onto the back straight and just like the day before I passed him on the breaks going into T10. Mike, you really need to work on that spot. I don’t expect to take you there next year. Only this time I didn’t hit the curb in T6. I put my head down and away I went. My wife and I had worked out two basic hand signals for when someone was close or far behind. Apparently Mike wasn’t going to give up and stayed with me for quite a bit of the race. I’d peak back on the back straight to see him there pushed me. His chasing actually pushed me to a 2:03.8. Thanks Mike for helping me get my best ever lap time at CVR!

Race 2: Modern Vintage Lightweight (Formula Rules), 2nd
     Similar to my previous race the grid was light. It was the last race of the day and the season. I guess peeps had places to be. There were three of us gridded Brian Herzfeldt(19) Vincent Rolleri(224) on what Brian called Vince’s tz250 rocket ship and behind us was the Femmewalla racers. I had two goals this race. One was to keep up with Brian. He was a couple seconds faster and to not let Joanna Bitter(88) who was racing Femmewalla catch me on her 600.
     With Brian and Vince in row one and me in row can you guess? Two left. We waited for the flag to go. 2card, 1card, half, and we were off. My SV had the torque to get by the both their two strokes into T16 and I was leading. I know it wouldn’t be for long. My only hope was to try to kill their drive else they would scream by me. Each lap my wife was signaling me CLOSE and on the third lap I saw a shadow on the inside going into T15. I kept pushing but it was to no avail. Vince came around me in the bowl and took off. Well that could only mean that Brian was close behind. I focused on catching Vince with the knowledge that Brian was going to come by me any one of these next few corners. As I went through T7/T6 I got my foot stuck and could shift as my inside toe was dragging along on the ground. I think Vince was going to let me catch him so he could play but after that blunder I wasn’t going to make up the lost time before the end of the race. I finished the race in second with no Brain behind me. Apparently he went off some time during the race and couldn’t make up the time. The bright spot was I ran 2:03.5. A new personal best at CVR CW or CCW.

     Thank you CVMA for putting on a great inaugural season and CVR for hosting. Id also like to thank ACT leathers for the best fitting leathers I have ever worn, LP for providing me with some great support, Warrior Foundation and Liberty Station for the support you give me and the wounded veterans in San Diego and a big thanks to my newest sponsor Scorpion Helmets.
I cant wait until next year.