2024 WMRRA Round 4
Track:
The Ridge Motorsports Park, Shelton, WA
Date:
July 27-28, 2024
Results:
| Class | Result | Video |
|---|---|---|
| MW SBK (Saturday) | 6th | N/A |
| 600 SS | 4th | Video |
| MW GP | 5th | Video |
| Formula 600 | 8th | Video |
| MW SBK (Sunday) | 4th | Video |
| 600 SBK | DNF | Video |
Report:
I’ve been thinking about adding two bikes to my racing program for a couple of years. My initial thought at this was a KTM 890R, but I decided I wanted to go a different direction. Well, it just so happens the person who wanted my KTM had an Aprilia RS 660. The twins class sounded fun so why not! Well, one good reason would be back to back races.
I was a bit under the weather this weekend, but it didn’t really hit me until Friday afternoon. As it wasn’t anything contagious I decided to rough it out and try to get through the weekend. I was excited to try out the new Aprilia, and I’ve been making good gains this season and wanted to continue.
I didn’t have a chance to test the Aprilia RS 660 before Saturday. In truth, the number plates and final prep were done late Friday night trackside. I spent the morning practice just getting comfortable on a new platform. I came in and had to make a lot of ergo adjustments. Fortunately the bike is well setup with various bits, mostly Flyhammer and Spider, that meant it was pretty straightforward to get the setup close to what I’d want. I went out in Qualifying and was able to get on the 3rd row, which I thought was alright for my first time on the platform. I should also thank Andrew who was pitted with me and races in Middleweight. The time he spent with me Friday night talking over a few things was super helpful.
The R6 was a bit less drama. I took it out for practice just to shake it down. I qualified in the 2nd row and that’s more than workable.
The races would go in the pattern: middleweight, no break, 600 race. I was fortunate to have an amazing group with me to help. I would come off the track, a teammate would ‘catch’ my bike as I hopped off, hopped on to the R6, and went right back out. I don’t think we have a video but a few people told me it looked professional. Seppi, the teammate catching the RS 660 as I came in, let me know they didn’t really coordinate it and it just worked out. Way to go both Paul and Seppi for all that help.
By the end of Saturday I rode 32 laps at race pace. I was tuckered out. But my results were solid.
Sunday qualifying went well enough to put me back on the second row. On a positive, Sunday’s ordering is a bit more friendly. I’d have a race between MW and 600 events. I started the day with MW SBK and was able to get 4th. This exceeded my goals on the bike. I also got my lap times within 2 seconds of what I figured was the pace I could hope to achieve over the next season, so I need to reset my goal time.
My (unexpectedly) final race of Sunday was 600 SBK. I didn’t get an amazing start and needed to try and claw back places. I spent most of my race behind Garret Visser. I’d seen many of his laps, knew where I was stronger and would spend the second half of the race trying to make my way around him, but he defended well. On the last lap, I figured I could get up the back hill (8/9/10) than Garret, and then be on the inside to Turn 11. I did get a better drive up the hill, and I was even, possibly in front as we crested, but it became clear to me that Garret didn’t know I was there. I elected to back out and try to funnel in. Unfortunately I missed it by an inch or two. That’s when the fun really began.
At about 70 MPH at that point, our wheels touched and I met the ground. I then slid into the gravel where I proceeded to do 3+ barrel rolls before stopping. My bike had made even more distance than I had. The camera footage shows my R6 also decided it wanted to do some rolls as well.
The Positives:
- I am relatively alright. While I am a bit bruised up, I have no broken bones and, more imporatnly, no head injuries. My KYT helmet worked perfectly. And it has plenty of damage to show it was working…
- The motorcycle really isn’t that bad.
- Rick (Crash) and Paul Gieneau were super fast to get to me.
- The corner worker helped me out, had water for me, and was generally kind to someone who was a bit upset.
- I have an amazing pit that helped me get the bike cleaned up, my pit loaded up.
The Bad:
- My helmet is very done. It did it’s job though. I have no head issues despite very much taking some impacts. KYT, you make a fantastic product.
- so are my gloves
- My suit is pretty second hand at this point
So it was a mixed weekend. I had great fun racing, I made huge strides on a new platform, but I also had a racing incident that now means I have some nights of work ahead of me to get the R6 back on track. But racing is like that sometimes. I’ll fix it up and be out there soon enough again.
Thanks to my wife for supporting me, even when I crash. For KYT Americas for providing one of the best helmets available on the market right now. Thanks to all of Short Fuse Racing for your help as I tried to wrangle a two bike program. Thanks to Louis Stevenson, StevensonFoto for making me look good out there. And thanks to WMRRA and the Volunteers that put the event on. I interfaced more with you this time around than usual and you made a not great situation a bit more pleasant.