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Forbin's Motorcycle Racing
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(48 posts, started )
Nice vids! One question. Does the bike tend to get real light coming over the hump on the backstretch? I remember that in the SHO, I would get a bit of wheelspin coming over the crest.

It really is cool that we have such a nice facility right in our own back yard. Even from last August until now, they keep making improvements. With two tracks, and an awesome managment, this will be one of the top facilities in the country within a couple years.
Not exactly my backyard. It's still 2.5 hours for me to get there from north Jersey. For comparison, Summit Point is about 4 hours.

And yes, the front on my bike gets light/hops up just a little over the crest after the second chicane. The other bikes with more power will happily loft the front wheel, especially the 1000's. Wheelspin generally isn't a problem on a bike when you're not leaned over. I don't think it's steep enough for them to get totally airborne, certainly not like Cadwell Park.
Date: 17 May, 2009
Track: BeaveRun (clockwise)
Laps: 6
Class: Supersport (650cc and under)
Air temperature: 59F (15C)
Starting Position: 12th (4th row, far left, inside for T1)
Finishing Position: 10th of 15

Results

I was once again on the smallest bike on the grid, but this time I had race tires. Big grin

The superbikes went first, then 10-15 seconds later the supersports took off. I got a fantastic start, ending up around 6th (in supersport) by T1 and making a pass into T4 for 5th on lap 1 (exact places may be a little off). I got eaten up on the straights after that, but that's to be expected.

No video of this one, so pics will have to suffice.

I ended up having an epic battle for a few laps with this guy:
You're certainly cranking that over Forbin.

Still running the BT016s? How are they getting on?

Either way, it looks like you're having fun which is the most important part. Seems like you had a good consistant race.
See note about race tires.

I was on Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pros. I hear they're not as good as the Diablo Supercorsas, the current generation race tire (the Dragons are the previous gen), but they're still WAY better than the Bridgestones in terms of grip. That said, the transition from gripping to sliding does seem a bit more abrupt. I think that's to be expected, though.
Ahh I see..my bad

I was looking at getting a set of Supercorsa scrubs... it's summer after all..
Being race tires, be aware they won't last as many heat cycles as a street tire. I hear they become a totally different tire after about 20-25 heat cycles. They really harden up.

That said, I've heard of plenty of guys running these as street tires. The guy pitted next to me said that even when they're old, they still feel way better than street tires. Just be careful in the wet.
You did well considering the big straights! What sort of bike is #959 in that first photo. Looks rather odd...

Im guessing you don't have to use numbers?
Thanks. Technically I'm supposed to have number plates but everyone at the club knows it's me so they just score me accordingly.

#959 is a Buell 1125R. And yes, it is quite an oddball bike.

This vid gives you a pretty good idea of what the track is like at race pace. For reference, my best lap was a 1:05.96.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoJCFwYn5z4
Ah right i was looking at the 1125R just the other night so i should have recognized it. The track is quite a bit shorter than i thought from looking at the track map!
I've been doing trackdays with for a little over a year now, even did some of my trackday club's lunch time races on my SV650 against grids full of 600's and did alright in those considering.

This was my first official race weekend, though.

Track: NJMP Thunderbolt

Bike: #412, '06 SV650 w/ '04 GSXR600 front end, Penske shock, Pirelli DOT's

Saturday

Practice
: Still feeling a little timid, having only done 2 trackdays so far in the year. A year prior, I ran low 1:39's and even a couple high 1:38's on a bone stock SV650 on street tires during a TPM race. Today, I'm a full second slower than that on a much more capable bike.

GT Lights: 25 minute race (13 laps). Gridded 11B, front row of the Amateurs. The flag waved and I popped a huge wheelie. Got it back down and under control as only 2 guys went by. Took it easy in 3rd into T1 and then went to work. By lap 2 or 3 I was leading. Around lap 5 I caught up to a 12 year-old on a 125 with expert plates. Passed him once, then he repassed me and I just kept pace with him for a few laps. Around lap 8, I fell flat on my face, figuratively speaking. Completely exhausted, I thought, "When will this race end!!! Pleeeease show me the white flag!" Around lap 10, the 2nd place amateur on an SV caught and passed me. Spurred on by the idea of winning my first ever real race, I repassed him on lap 11, but he promptly got back ahead. My whole body felt like rubber and I decided to let him go and just do what I could to bring it home. The checkered flew at the end of lap 13 with me in 2nd. First podium!

The winner of that race found me a short while later and told me he was shocked when he came up behind me, having thought I completely checked out. He then commented he was glad I would not be in his next race, LW F40. :-[ Mental note: work on physical endurance.

Ultra Light Superbike: 7 lap race. Gridded 15B, again front row of the Amateurs. Got a bad start due to some confusion about the number of waves due to seeing 2 waves of Experts, ended up 3rd into T1 again. Got by both guys just as quick as before and led to the end without drama until the final lap. I was pulling it in tight for the first apex of the decreasing radius corner when I see a flash of orange really close on the inside, forcing me to stand it up. KTM RC8, the leading Expert Supertwin at the time. With that close call behind me, I crossed the line as 1st Amateur. My first win!

Sunday

Practice: I'm instantly faster today. No doubt about it. I feel so much more confident in the bike, getting on the throttle sooner and harder, braking later and harder, and leaning it over more to carry more speed through the corners.

Lightweight Grand Prix: 7 lap race. Gridded 11B, front row of the Amateurs. I made sure I knew there were only 2 waves in this race, and I made sure to be smooth on the clutch. The flag waves and I'm off like a rocket, carrying a small wheelie all through 1st gear and well ahead of the 3 other guys on the front row. Then I go for second and the revs shoot up. !@$%, neutral. I give the shifter another kick and I'm back in gear, but not before 4 guys go flying by. I outbrake one of them into T1, putting me in 4th. Then it's back to work as usual. I'm feeling awesome and I'm flying, riding harder and faster than I have in the year since I highsided for the first time. I catch up to 3rd easily enough and pass him within a couple laps. Then I look ahead and see nothing but expert plates. Where did 1st and 2nd go!? I keep my head down and try to catch up. Around lap 3 or 4 I get stuck behind a 2-stroke with expert plates. I'm following a few bike lengths back through the bowl when I notice I get a much better drive out than him. I exit in 3rd keep it pinned all the way through 4th and 5th as I go through the esses, short shifting to 6th just before the final turn. I'm gradually closing as we approach the final corner and, seeing that I'm carrying more speed, I go for a tight exit to pull up along side him. I suddenly get a weird feeling in the bars that brings me back to the dirt class I did a week prior. My front end was sliding. It only lasted momentarily though as I just picked the bike up a few degrees. He shifts into 6th as I pull up along side him and our speeds match. We're in a dead heat down the straight. He brakes at the 5 marker, I at the 4 marker. I never saw him again till the cooldown lap. Anyway, I kept that pace up hoping to catch the Amateur leaders but no such luck. I crossed the line in 3rd.

A look at the time sheets after the race revealed 2nd place on an SV650 was running a full second a lap quicker than me, and 1st place on a Ducati was running a full 5 seconds a lap quicker than me!

Personal best - 1:37.2

Three races, three podiums. Not bad for a racing debut.

tl;dr:

Amateur GT Lights (25 minutes, 13 laps): 2nd
Amateur Ultra Light Superbike (7 laps): 1st
Amateur Lightweight GP (7 laps): 3rd



That's me with the white helmet, 4th in that group.
nice forbin. Keep it up man.
A couple videos from a trackday last week.

720p @ 60fps

Summit Point Shenandoah Trackday (advanced/intermediate combined) - May 9, 2010
Noon session (218 MB)
Final session (314 MB)
Well, it's been a season of some big ups and downs. Won a race in my first race weekend at NJMP Thunderbolt, then went and broke my collar bone in a big off the following round at Summit Point back in May. Went back to the same track 3 months later and did okay, about 1 second off my previous pace. Then followed that up 2 weeks later with the final round at NJMP Lightning.

First race went well with a 2nd place after the guy in first with his monster motor making 30 more HP than me pitted with engine problems. Second race I started from the back of the combined grid of middleweights and ultralights. I dispatched with the whole ultralight grid in a single lap and started to go after the middleweight guys for the hell of it. Then I put myself into a bad spot setting up for a pass and got run off the track, at which point I was faced with a choice: slam into the steel guardrail at 90 mph, or hit the ground. I chose the latter. I just rolled a little while the bike suffered only minor damage. Still sucks crashing out of the lead for being stupid.

I ended up 2nd overall in the Amateur Atlantic GT Lights championship, 15 points behind that guy on the Ducati 1000SS with the worked motor.

Still got a great pic from the first race.

good for you
Breaking your collar bone sucks(I know all about it) sounds like you had a pretty good season though. Running the same series next year?
Yeah, same club, same classes. I may get bumped up to Expert, though. We'll see. If I'm offered Expert classification, I'll probably take it.

My pace is at least mid-pack Expert already and there are only a few guys in Amateur right now who can run with me and I them. They may go Expert next year, too.
wait i diddnt read anything, i wanted to show support, i diddnt mean to encourage more collarbone breaking
No worries, logi.

Yeah, first bone I ever broke at age 25. It felt very weird, didn't even really hurt immediately after it happened, so long as I didn't move. Adrenaline's funny like that. I was wincing the whole 4 hour drive home, though. Then I had to very carefully slide out of bed in the morning because I couldn't sit up. The good painkillers I got worked nicely. I still have some I've been saving, just in case.

I've been told I'm an idiot for going to races by myself due to circumstances such as those, but I don't have anyone else to go with me.

I got back on my street bike 8 weeks later and was back on the racetrack 12 weeks later. Nowadays it only bothers me a little in the shower and in bed if I lie on that shoulder.
ouch, my cousin broke his collarbone, he said its the most painful bone to break (that he has broken)

have you gon to the doc's?
I'm back at it again this year!

ASRA Thunderbike race last week, 30/5/2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m5YTTwdZnM&hd=1

NJMP Thunderbolt Results (15/5/2011)
AM Lightweight GP: 1st
AM Lightweight SB: 1st
AM Ultralight Superbike: 2nd
AM GT Lights: 3rd (on DOT's in the rain)
AM Thunderbike: 3rd

Summit Point Results (30/5/2011)
AM GT Lights: 1st
AM Ultralight Superbike: 1st
AM Lightweight GP: 1st
AM ASRA Thunderbike: 2nd
AM Lightweight Superbike: 2nd
AM CCS Thunderbike: 3rd


In pretty much every race where I finished first, I led into T1 and led the whole race.
Mmm nice video so much fun. :sadbanana
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Forbin's Motorcycle Racing
(48 posts, started )
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