Whoa.
Chris Sarbora @ Miller Motorsports Park, 2008
June 6, 7 and 8 was the 4th round of the WERA Bridgestone National Endurance and Michelin National Challenge series, at Miller Motorsports Park down in Utah. Just one week prior, WSBK and AMA both had their races at the very same track. I would be racing with AMA professionals, WERA semi-professionals, and top riders from all over the country. To top it all off, I’d never been at Miller before, and I hadn’t even seen video of the layout we’d be running. Needless to say, the night before, I was pretty nervous 
I flew down Thursday night with the usual suspects: Mario Alvarez Sr. and Jr. of Adrenaline Freaks Trackdays, Corey Baum, Brandon Bones of Studio819 Photography, Will Grenier, Troy Knapp and Duane Warren. When we got to the track, we began the (fairly sizable) task of unloading the trailer – and all my tires – and setting up our garages. Corey had rented two day garages for the weekend, and they turned out to be one of the best investments of the trip, with power, air, water, bathrooms and shelter all in one. Too hot/cold/windy/rainy/noisy outside? No problem, close the door! Plus, we were fortunate enough to find that our spaces were in the same overall garage as AMA riders Amber Rimes and Chad Lewin, Majik X riders Amy Karthaus and Mike Zottmann, and even one of the tire vendors.
Friday morning I was joined by my endurance partner Damon Mon Wai, OMRRA #1/WMMRA #4 back in 1994, and his friends Alfred and Eric. On Friday we got four practice sessions, but I only ended up running one of them, giving the bike to Damon for the rest so that he could familiarize himself with how it handled. I had a small scare in the morning when I heard what I thought was a valve tap, putting the fear of another engine failure into my head. As I fretted, Big Mario came over and only needed to listen to it for about half a second before confidently dismissing it as an exhaust leak. The bike indeed lasted the weekend, and most importantly I didn’t worry about it again, so whether he was right or wrong that was exactly what I needed to hear.
Saturday – Endurance
Saturday morning we woke to find something interesting – a sopping-wet track, and ominous clouds indicating that it’d stay that way! I remember hopping up and quickly switching my bike to the rains I’d brought on the 10% chance that it might be wet, and thinking to myself, Please, God, let it piss rain all day!! Being from the Northwest, I knew that Damon and I would be very comfortable and at home on a wet track, whereas most of the other competition would probably not be. My goal for the endurance race was initially just to complete all six hours and get some experience on the track, but if it was raining we might be able to actually get something done! But, the weather did not cooperate (or perhaps it did for everyone else). By the time my practice session came up, the track was dry enough that I found myself actively hunting for wet spots to cool the tires down, and by the second lap I was spinning up the rear due to overheating. I came in and with Will and Corey’s help, made a record-time tire change back to dry tires: In and out in about four minutes! I went back out and finished that session, then gave the bike to Damon for the second practice while Alfred, Eric and I started bringing things over to the hot pit wall in preparation for the endurance race.
When the race itself started, I actually ignored my grid position completely and started straight from the pits. I figured in a six-hour race, where our team had only two riders, no dry-break fuel cans, no quick-change wheels, eight-year-old equipment and no track experience, the 30 seconds I lost at the start wouldn’t end up amounting to much. Better to start 30 seconds after the pack and with a clear track than catch red mist and shag the tire for half an hour trying to keep up with the big teams. However somehow a mix-up occurred between registration and scoring, and pit gate wouldn’t let me on the track, because apparently I wasn’t on the grid in the first place! After a couple more minutes we finally sorted it out – somehow Team Shake ‘n Bake had gotten registered with #44 instead of the 262 that was on the bike. I got the green flag and was off, settling in for a comfy half hour of riding before Damon’s turn.
While we wait out six hours, a couple things about endurance racing:
First, it’s kick ass. Try it. There’s not as much adrenaline and raw, bleeding-edge action, but there’s a lot more strategy and planning involved, and it’s definitely a team-oriented sport instead of a solo one. Many times racers have a “go it alone” mentality, and in endurance racing that attitude is both logistically and physically impossible.
Second, it’s the most exhausting thing on the planet. Never in my life have I been more tired than my last two half-hour sessions. The Vesrah Suzuki guys next to us were running hourlong shifts, and after getting off the bike after 30 minutes, my eyes bugged out at the thought of going another half hour.
Third, awesome people race endurance. We were pitted on the very end of the hot pits, next to Vesrah Suzuki, which is made up of some of the coolest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around. Despite all the extra junk Damon and I brought specifically for the endurance race, we were still woefully ill-prepared, and Vesrah Suzuki graciously lent us tools, shade, water, food, duct tape, and even encouragement.
Fourth, the equipment used in endurance racing is way cooler than the equipment used in sprint racing. Recall above where I said that Will, Corey and I changed my tires in a record four minutes? The Vesrah guys would refuel, change riders and change tires in under twelve seconds, from bike stopped to bike moving. Just before one of them came in, Bones noticed the crew preparing for a stop. He started flat-out running across the hot pits to try to take some photos – before he even got there, the stop was done and the bike was on its way out.
Fifth, .. it’s kick ass, try it!
Chris Sarbora @ Miller Motorsports Park, 2008
Damon and I switched off every half hour, with Alfred and Eric timing and supporting us. We steadily improved from 2:20+ to a race best of 2:09 for me and 2:08 for Damon. The best times were actually achieved about halfway through the race; beyond that we were too tired to go any faster! However, the times did hold pretty steady as we fatigued, meaning that although there wasn’t numeric improvement, we did get steadier and smoother as the race went on. The equipment we ran held up remarkably: The bike didn’t complain even once, the brakes held up admirably, and the tire wear we faced was unbelievably gentle. I had brought three Medium DOT rears (already had them) from home for the weekend and I bought two new Hard slick fronts, but we ended up using only two rears and one front, for six straight hours in the desert heat. And the tires weren’t even bad when we took them off – the front looks like it could go a whole ‘nother six hours, and the rear we switched out (at four and a half hours, not three) easily has a few trackdays left on it. Bottom line: Bridgestone tires last forever! Bad for Troy, great for us! We ended up taking fourth in our class, Heavyweight Superbike. I was pretty happy with that result, considering it was a national event at a track we’d never ridden, I’d never run an endurance before, we didn’t have endurance equipment, and we didn’t come in planning to really compete
The only hiccup we ran into during the endurance race was in the very last few minutes – the rear wheel siezed up, bucking Damon off the bike in Turn 2. He was very lucky in that he came out with nothing more than some bruises and scrapes, considering that T2 at Miller is about a 100mph turn and (I’m pretty sure) the crash was technically a highside. My first thought was that the motor had finally given up and that I was out a bike for the sprints on Sunday. When we got it back to the garage, though, the motor started up and revved fine, and sounded like there was nothing wrong. Wheel spun fine, tranny felt fine, nothing wrong with the chain.. but, just to be on the safe side, we swapped out the rear wheel for the sprints the next day. I was lucky about the crash as well in the fact that there was almost no damage to the bike – scraped up fairings and a broken lever and rearset peg were all it cost. Amber Rimes was kind enough to give me a brake lever, and Brian Trudeau (who flew in during the e-race) lent me his spare peg for the sprints the next day. After taking care of all that and changing the oil, I found some Icy-Hot for my legs and slept like a baby.
Sunday – Sprints
On Sunday, I awoke pretty relaxed, and surprisingly limber considering what I’d put myself through the previous day. After discovering and sorting out some registration hiccups (I was registered to race in a class with 100hp less than my bike), I spent some time going over the bike and double-checking everything, still a little wary of the lockup that had caused Damon to crash earlier. I ended up actually skipping the first practice session for this, but it didn’t worry me as I figured I’d got enough practice the day before, heh. When the second practice session came around, I went out to warm myself up for the day and stretch out, then I came back in and started mentally prepping myself for my first race of the day: Formula 1, somewhat akin to WMRRA’s Formula Ultra class. I had a while to wait, so during the downtime I helped out the other guys when they needed it, and otherwise kicked my feet up
For Formula 1 I was gridded directly at the back of the first wave, with only novices behind me. Duane was in the same race as they ran Experts and Novices together, and somewhere back in the second wave I could tell he was drilling into my back with his eyes, dying for a chance to stuff me. For my part, my goal for the race was simply, beat Duane. It wouldn’t be a very fair goal, as I’d have a good 30-second lead on him at the start, but judging by the laptimes and track experience we each had, it was still a needed one. Board’s up, board’s sideways.. go!!
I got an alright start and picked off a few people on the straight, then merged into the pack and took a tight line for the first turn, a sweeping left. I kept up and did well through T1, but after T2 and T3, very fast right- and left-handers, the pack began to spread out. I did my best to stick close to the bike just in front of me, using him as both a tow and a teacher. He pulled away from me on the exit of 3 but I reeled him back in on the brakes into 5, a hairpin left. He pulled away again on the exit of 5 and that time I couldn’t make it back up on the brakes, as he had a better line through 6. I made a mental note to try that one on the next lap and concentrated on getting back on him, but by the next turn he’d powered away far enough that I wasn’t close enough to study him anymore. I continued this pattern for the rest of the race, studying the sprint lines of whoever was in front of me and at the same time trying keep up the pace and not become simply a rolling roadblock, until Duane passed me on the brakes in the last section before the straight! This will not fly, I said to myself, and with renewed spirit I chased him as best I could. Unfortunately for me, he had more track time and was better through the corners than I, and the usual Fuzimoto Advantage(R) I enjoy over my competition was null against Duane’s Speeddealer-built GSX-R1000. All I could do in the straights was keep up (which in itself speaks volumes to Fuzzy, considering the base differences between my ‘01 750 and his ‘05 1000), and he crossed the finish line two laps later just out of reach. Back in the pits, he and I congratulated each other on a great race, and I got plenty of ribbing for letting a Novice (quote quote) beat me in a National. Duane may be many things, but a novice he certainly is not! I ended up taking 15th of 18 experts, with Duane finishing 5th of 10 “Novices”.
Chris Sarbora @ Miller Motorsports Park, 2008
My next race was the one I was most excited about – B (750) Superbike. I had no power disadvantage in this race, so I was determined to do as well as I could. I was gridded again right near the back in the second wave, but on the start was a bit more careful with the clutch and made good time getting off the line. By the time I entered T1, I was at the front of the second wave and within sight of the first. I held on pretty well through turns 1 – 4 and even made some passes on the brakes into turn 5, but started to lose ground again in the more technical back stretches of the track. However, I didn’t lose too much and I knew that since this race was only four laps, if I could tooth-and-nail it well enough through the back sections to keep up until the straight, I might be able to do well. I stuck to that plan as best I could, and coming onto the front straight I planted myself firmly in the draft of the bike ahead of me, letting me slingshot past about halfway down. I got the guy ahead of him a few seconds later as we entered the braking zone for T1 and I deliberately pushed myself well past where I’d normally been braking, just like the Adrenaline Freaks motto says.. “Wide open ’til you see God, THEN brake!” I definitely saw something as I tipped in, but I’m still not sure whether it was God or simply my life flashing past. Either way, though, the pass stuck and I made the corner… then quickly romped back on the throttle for turns 2 and 3. I ended up finishing 16th of 24 in that race, far better than I’d either expected or hoped! I also ended up getting my best time of the weekend; 2:06.032 around the Perimeter (World Superbike) course.
Finally, the last race of the day, A (Open) Superbike rolled around. Duane and I were again both in the same heat, and this time I had a score to settle. I was gridded at the back of the Expert wave, and he at the back of the Novices. I nailed the start and flew up into mid-pack down the straight, bombing into T1. On the exit I immediately lost some ground to the bigger bikes, but I didn’t worry about it as I know many of these racers are fast by AMA standards. I instead concentrated on pushing myself to gas earlier, brake later, and turn harder, hoping that if I could ride the snot out of the old machine I was on, I could stem the bleeding and keep up better with the big boys. However, right as we entered Witchcraft, the very fast turn 7 on the Perimeter course, the red flag comes out. Crap! I couldn’t see the crash as I went around back to grid, but it turned out that the rider was OK and the red flag was just due to the bike laying in the race line.
With blood flowing and adrenaline from the previous half lap still pumping, we lined up for grid again. I nailed the start a second time and drove hard into T1, and caught quite a scare for a moment as I grab the brakes and didn’t slow down. Apparently the endurance the day before wore them down quite a bit! I pulled the lever harder and found the bite I wanted, though at much higher lever pressure than I was used to. Conveniently, that little episode helped me brake later, though! I put my head down and really concentrated on the areas I knew I was weak – T2 and T3, T6 and T7, and the final corners just before the main straight – as in this race I had a disadvantage in both the power and track experience department, and I needed to find a few seconds to keep ahead of Duane. For the first three laps I managed to hold my own, wringing my poor 750’s neck and diving deep into corners to try to keep pace with all the built literbikes around me, but finally on the fourth lap I figure out that I’m not going to catch the guy just ahead. I also knew that Duane was somewhere behind me, probably creeping close up on my rear tire, so on the fourth lap I started running slower but more defensive lines – tighter corner entries, not leaving as much room on the exit, etc, hoping that even if Duane was indeed faster than me, I’d prove too difficult to pass. By the time I entered the last section leading on to the straight, I could practically feel him behind me. I entered hot and late into Clubhouse, a 90-degree left hander, then immediately exited wide and set up tight for Windup, a right-hand loop leading into the final corner of the track, Release. I did the same wide exit from Windup and held a tight line through the sweeping final left turn, then smashed open the throttle and tucked like my life depended on it. Out to the rumble strips, row through the gearbox, pin the limiter and … finish!!!
The gamble worked, and I crossed the finish line just ahead of Duane. He caught up to me on the straight and gave me the thumbs up as we looped around the rest of the track. He ran a hell of a race and made up probably a 30-second time difference to finish just behind me – congrats, man!! For my part, I got not-dead-last again, which along with beating Duane, was my goal! Final result was 13th of 15, which on an eight-year-old 750 in a National Challenge Open Superbike race at a track I’ve never seen before, I think is pretty good
Chris Sarbora @ Miller Motorsports Park, 2008
All in all, this was an amazing experience, one that I hope to repeat over and over again in the future. I will definitely be competing in as much of the WERA West and WERA National Challenge series as I can in 2009, and hopefully I’ll get to do an Endurance or two as well. I want to thank my sponsors over and over again, for they make this dream possible for me and I couldn’t do it without every one of ‘em. Adrenaline Freaks Track Days, Studio819 Photography, Highway 66 Motorsports/Bridgestone, MorePower Racing, PowerStands Racing, RaceTech Suspension, new sponsor V-holdR Cameras, Vortex, Motorex, Pipercross Filters, Junior Monkey Design and last but never least PNWRIDERS.COM! They give me their support, so show your appreciation and give them yours!