s a x m a n w e b s

Spent Friday morning trying to get the newly rebuilt calipers to work. Finally by 10:30am I had pressure in the lever and decided to head up to the track. Get up to the track and finish bleeding the brakes, then snap a bolt on the clip-on clamp. So the money I saved for practice was spent on a new clamp set. Good start to the weekend. I headed out to watch practice as the track has an alternate configuration this weekend because of the construction. Looks interesting …

Saturday:

Got the bike squared away and went through tech and headed out for practice. First time on the new layout. My biggest concern at first was the start of the races. It is very tight in turn 1 with the first chicane. At the end of the 2nd practice I started to feel like I was finding my rhythm through there. Seems kind of fun actually. The rebuilt calipers feel great and almost all my chatter is gone finally! 

MWSB:

Got a great start and was 5th on lap 1, but quickly the red flag came out. Restart, and I’m 6th on lap 1. Lap 2, #61 got by me, then lap 3 Zach (#79) got by. I stayed with Zach hoping to make a move on him later in the race. As I came over turn 5 on lap 5 I went to shift into 4th gear and the shifter snapped … race over for me. I ride around and pit in … not what I had in mind.

It was the bolt off the quick shifter that snapped. Not pleased at all. Expensive part. I’ll be calling power commander monday about this. 

MWGP:

Get an ok start, but not great. I believe I’m 11th or so. I get into a nice groove and start knocking seconds of my times from earlier today. I catch two people and pass them, feel very good. As I start to make ground on the next group the red flag comes out. I had just seen the halfway flag, so I know we are in for another restart. Sure enough, 7 lap restart. I got an ok launch, but couldn’t get through traffic quick enough before the first chicane. I tried to make a move to set myself up for the exit, but it quickly became a parking lot and I got stuck. Two guys quickly went around 3 of us. On the 2nd lap of the restart Ray (#71) tried to come up the inside of me in turn 1 but I was able to hold him off. I spent the last part of this race catching #18. I would make up so much ground in the corners, but his 848 just pulled on me coming out. I finally started to make my way closer to him and found a couple spots where I could make my move. We get to the final lap and I have to get by. I match his drive as best I can out of every corner and stay close. I know my only chance is in 12, to close the door on him and get a good drive. I stay close as we head over 8 into 9 and through 10. As we enter 11 I keep my corner speed up and go to the outside, squirt the throttle and shoot up the inside as we enter 12. I made the pass stick and got on the throttle hard coming out of 12 holding him off to the line by .06 with Ray coming in .31 behind me. Great 3 way battle for 11th, which this week I am happy to have come out on top of.

I really am having fun with this new configuration of the track. Its very different but fun. The starts are still a little hairy, but everyone is keeping their head about them, which is great to see. I started out in practice running in the 26s, and I got down to a high 21 and 22s in the last race today. I think I have found time in other place of the track as well and hope this translates to better times once the normal configuration is back.

Parade Leads Ducklings to Safety

A Washington state banker helps a family of ducks reach the local river.

Click here for the video

This is one of the coolest Beatbox performances I have seen!

Thanks again to Arcy/OnTrackMedia for the great images!

All photos from Round 2 can be found at http://www.eck-racing.com

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http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=36513

Loudon, NH – Wet weather forecasts dampened turnout but not the racing at the second round of the 2009 Loudon Road Race Series (LRRS) series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The skies stayed dry, the track cool, and lap times were fast all weekend long.

Bret Guyer led the list of multiple Expert winners riding his Seacoast Sport Cycle Ducati Classic to four wins in the Lightweight divisions. Todd Babcock pressured Guyer each race aboard his Dunlop-shod Suzuki SV650 with Nathaniel Mendell rounding out the podium twice aboard his Ducati 1000 SS. Other multiple race winners included Jeff Wood, Eric Wood, Scott Greenwood, Shane Narbonne, Michael Donovan and an emerging star, Christian Cronin.

New Challengers

Two of the best races of the weekend featured fierce battles between veteran stars and young guns looking to take their share. Unlimited Grand Prix saw young Shane Narbonne grab the holeshot from Eric Wood. Riding his Dunlop equipped GSX-R1000, Narbonne laid in a blistering 1:13.9 on his standing start lap. Wood answered with a 14.2 aboard his Woodcraft/Dunlop Ducati 848. Together they checked out running an incredible string of 11s right to the checkered flag. Wood clawed back fractions early but Narbonne stood up to the pressure and held on for the win. After being asked how he could run an 11 flat and come in second, Wood responded: “When the other guy does an 11 flat, too… Shane is riding better right now then I’ve ever seen him. I had a little on him going in, and he had a little on me coming out. I tried to pressure him into a mistake, but he was perfect. It was fun and now we’ll both come back next weekend to do 10s…”

Later in the afternoon, second-year Expert Christian Cronin grabbed the holeshot from Scotty Greenwood in Unlimited Superbike. Riding his Argo Cycles Kawasaki/Dunlop ZX-6R, Greenwood powered into the lead on the first lap and put his head down for an attempted breakaway. But Cronin had seen enough of Greenwood’s tailsection all weekend and stepped up his pace. Shockingly, on lap four Cronin backed it into Turn One and took Greenwood on the outside like a half miler. It was a bold move but Cronin’s lead lasted only a few yards before Greenwood slammed the door on him in turn 1A. Cronin finally retook the lead on lap six and held off Greenwood to the flag for the second Expert win of his young career–Cronin recorded a personal best lap time with a 1:12.6 riding on Dunlop’s new AMA spec GPA race tires.

Earlier on the ‘Dash’ podium, Greenwood commented about his Kawasaki: “I’m chattering my brains out running mid 12s. We’re missing the set-up a little on the ZX-6 but we’ll get there”.

The Dash for Cash

The feature race of the weekend was the $1500 Dash for cash, sponsored by GMD Computrack, Dunbar Euro-Sports, New England Performance, Woodcraft, Street & Comp, Rob’s Dyno and Seacoast Sport Cycle. The grid included 31 of the club’s fastest middleweight racers with Narbonne grabbing the holeshot. Jeff Wood soon took over the point aboard his Higgins Powersports/Roadracing World ZX-6R and steadily built a lead towing Narbonne’s GSX-R600 with him a few ticks back. Greenwood trailed in third with Bruce Transportation’s Cory Hildebrand working hard to keep pace aboard his Yamaha YZF-R6 in fourth; 11 laps later they finished in the same order. On the podium Jeff Wood remarked, “Like Scotty, we are struggling with the ZX-6. Peter Kates is working hard to find a solution and Sweeny Engines has given me great power. We’re trying to get ready for the Nationals.”

Tire War?

The AMA Pro series spec tire rule is turning club racing paddocks into a front-line battleground among race tire brands. Motorace’s Sto Smead showed up with an attractively priced new Michelin premium race tire alongside last year’s product at even lower prices. Pirelli appointed Bostonmoto as the new LRRS trackside vendor and they, too, showed up with two grades of race tires at attractive prices. Bridgestone sent an 18-wheeler to support Street & Comp, while Dunlop’s Race Tire Service responded by offering the GPA spec tire at lower price points alongside their premium priced GP211 series. While Dunlop is dominant in the LRRS paddock, Michelin appears to be in position to make significant gains this season through the introduction of new tires and the recruitment of new riders to race them. Club racers have rarely had so many good tire options and trackside technical support.

The next LRRS race weekend is May 30/31. It will be the traditional warm-up before the 86th running of the Loudon Classic on June 12-14. For more information, log onto www.lrrsracing.com.

James Kupernik
ECK-Racing
LRRS/CCS/WERA #576 Expert
LRRS Round 2 – May 1-3, 2009

Friday:
Had every intention of skipping Friday practice and saving the $100. Woke up and saw the sun was out and the weather report looked promising. I hadn’t done any packing for the weekend yet, so I just started to throw stuff in the truck and trailer and headed up to Loudon. Arrived at 12:30, setup and signed up for practice.
I got about 5 laps in on the first session, then it started to rain. I came into the pits and it started to pour. Rain lasted about 15 minutes. Sun came out and dried the track within an hour. I got out on a dry track for the last two sessions. My rear tire was starting to go off pretty quick, but I was still able to turn 18s, and a high 17. I knew that I could get back into the 16s with a fresh tire on Saturday. It Ended up being money well spent for practice.

Saturday:
Woke up to rain, but just enough to make the track damp. Sat out the first round of practice while the track dried out. By the second round of practice the track was dry and I was able to get some good morning laps in. Was in the 18s, rear tire is done, but I feel like my mind and body are ready to go.

MWSB:
Gridded 3A. I got a good launch, but the bike didn’t shift into 2nd or 3rd gears right away so I started to get consumed by the pack. I hold the throttle open a little longer once I find 3rd, Joel (404) is just in front of me and I tuck up the inside of him going into turn 1. We are making our way through 1a and Mike M. goes down, and gets hit by at least 1 rider (he is ok). Everyone else stays up and we make our way through 2, in the mess I ended up in the top 6, but the red flags came out pretty quickly. Restart.
Got a better launch this time, and was able to find both 2nd and 3rd gear successfully. I was 7th on lap 1. #61 got by me on lap 2, then #10 got by me in turn 3 on lap 3. Laps 2 and 3 I was back in to the 16s again. I was now in a comfortable 9th place and rode around in the low 17s for 3 laps. The last two laps I made some adjustments and got back to the mid-16s finishing 14 seconds ahead of 10th and 11 seconds behind 8th. Pretty uneventful race, but very pleased with my finish (best in class for me). 

MWGP (Dash for Cash):
Gridded 3C. I got a very good launch, but turn 1, 1a, and 2 were a mess. I went wide in 1 which hurt me in 1a and 2. I had no drive out of 2. I am not sure of my position. As the race sorted itself out it became a 3 way battle for 12th between #141, #79 and me. I was following 141. The first move I made was in 2. I followed close in 1, 1a and went around the outside of 1a and put myself on the inside of 2 at turn in giving me the position. He quickly got me back on the outside of 11 (I am awful here). My next attempt was in turn 3 on the inside. I made the pass, but didn’t square up the corner enough, so 141 tucked up the inside going up 4 and 79 was able to capitalize on my lack of drive up 4. 79 got to the front of our group and put a small gap between him and us. We started to come up on traffic and the gap closed down, but my focus was on 141. 3 laps from the end I made the same move in turn 3 again, but this time was able to make it stick. I tried to hunt down 79, but couldn’t close the gap fast enough. Last lap I knew 141 was right behind me. As I headed up 4 I heard him coming up behind me. As we crested turn 5 we were side by side heading into 6. It was a who is going to brake later battle. The first two cones went by and I gave in and rolled off and tucked in behind him. Chased him over the back half of the track hoping to make a move in 11, but he got a better drive out of 10. My last chance was on the front straight, but I knew from following him around that my bike was down on power. I got through the chicane quickly and rolled on the throttle hard and started to close in, but as we stood the bikes up he start to pull away. The three of us finished within half a second of each other. It was a great race! I ran consistently in the high 16s for the race and did a 16.1 on the last lap. Both 171 and 79 dipped into the 15s that race.

I really feel like I’m on the edge of getting into the 15s. I believe I know what I have to do to get there, it’s just executing on it. Following both those guys I believe I got a little quicker through 11. I was talking with Zach (79) after the race and he told me where he was catching me the most, which is the exit of 10. I will work on this in practice tomorrow.

Sunday:
I had high hopes for today based on the lap times I put down on Saturday. I was the first one out for practice both sessions and got the most laps in out of anyone. I got my times very close to race pace and was ready to go. When I came in from 2nd practice, I had noticed my tire was starting to shred on the left side. I had increased my pressure by 2 PSI before I went as a test, but was surprised to see this. I dropped the pressure slightly for the first race.

MWSS:
Gridded 3A and I get a good start off the line. I am 7th into turn 1 and stick with the front group for the first lap. As we came out onto the front straight the rear started to spin up on the exit … I was wondering if I took a bad line through 12. As I enter turn 1 I give the throttle a turn and the rear steps out again. Now I know the left is on its way out. Time to be more careful coming off the corners. I put my head down and try to brake less and carry more corner speed, but I know 141 is right behind me. Sure enough he drives past me on the exit of 12 (I believe) on lap 3. I try to hang with him but I have nothing for him. I make up some ground under braking, but either over brake into the corner and/or can’t get the power down on the exit. I’m comfortably in 8th and finish the race clicking off mid 17s. I finished 13 seconds in front of 9th and 5 seconds behind Zev (#141). I came into the pits and the tire pressures were on the high side, so I dropped them down a couple pounds for the next race.

HWSB:
Gridded 3A again, I got a great start for this race. I was right with the front group for lap 1. As usual, they started to pull away, but not as quick this time. I did a 1:19 on the out lap which is where I was at last year. I felt that controlled aggression that is need at the start of the race to get up front. I was right on #91’s rear tire for lap 2. As we entered turn 6, #6 went by me and I tucked in behind him. As we went over turn 8 Rick (#6) setup Brent (#91) for a pass on the outside of 9. Brent went wide which forced Rick wide as well. I was able to tuck up the inside of both of them, but Rick got me back near the apex of 10 and I followed him into 11. Rick quickly checked out, but I could hear Brent’s 848 right behind me. I put my head down and tried to click of consistent laps. I had better rear traction, but still not great. I couldn’t accelerate between 1 and 1a, which didn’t help me coming out of turn 2. I clicked off laps in the high 16 low 17s. The last two laps I clearly heard someone behind me each time up turn 4. On the last lap, sure enough Alex (#100) got me going into turn 6. I followed him and tried to find a way by. I thought about a bonsai move into turn 11, but couldn’t pull it off, so I squared up turn 12 to try and get the drive on the front straight but I didn’t have it today and he beat me out by 3 tenths of a second to the line to finish 8th. I had a lot of fun this race though and a great way to end the weekend. 

Overall from a results standpoint this was a good weekend for me. As I continue to say, if I can get into the top 10 with this group, I’m very pleased. I was able to pull out two 8th place finishes, a 9th and a 14th this weekend. I did get my times down to last year’s pace, but I am feel frustrated that I am still stuck here. I feel like I have found more time in parts of the track and just wondering what I am missing to get into the 15s. Just need to get out there more and keep turning laps. 
Thanks so much to all that came up to support us this weekend, especially Tim, Jess and Ken. It was great seeing you all up there. Thanks again to all our sponsors TonysTrackDays.com, Pine Motorparts/PBE Specialists, Phoenix Graphics, Woodcraft, Moon Performance, RJ’s Motorsport, Motorcycles of Manchester, and BostonMoto-Pirelli.

“Fine is a relative term. Sandpaper can be defined as fine, but its still rough by its design” -Neal Mulcahy

(12:02:43 PM) Neal Mulcahy: PING James Kupernik 56(84) bytes of data.
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— James Kupernik ping statistics —
3 packets transmitted, 0 received, +3 errors, 100% packet loss, time 2008ms

Just launched the new site for Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD)! We have done a lot of work on making this site a great resource in addition to finding out more about their products. You can get recipes for your favorite BMD product and search for locations (with Yelp reviews!) that carry BMD. 

I love their Ice Glen Vodka, which made this a great project to work on!

Hats of the Christine for the great design work on this site!

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Check photos from entire weekend at www.eck-racing.com