Friday, June 3, 2011
Road America Qualifying-update
We have come to the beautiful state of Wisconsin to participate in the Subway Superbike Double-header at Road America. The Team is a little short handed this weekend. Chris Trounson still not cleared to ride after his concussion from last week and Jeremy Toye is off riding the Isle of Man. That leaves Steve Rapp as our solo rider this weekend. You would think that with 4 bikes and one rider we could avoid missing track time, but the first qualifying session was cut short by a defective clutch switch. This would not allow the power-shifter function properly. Steve rode hard and got a good time on the board. Although, we tried several times to to fix it on the fly, it took a little more work. Steve's time was good enough for 10th on the grid, but we have the bike in the Dyno truck now testing the switch. We hope to have it ready for tomorrow morning's second qualifying session, so Steve can have a chance to improve on his grid position for tomorrow first race.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Miller Motorsports Park's BigM Weekend- AMA Pro Superbike!
The San Diego BMW Locust Powered by Lee’s Cycle team arrived fresh and energetic after the successful showing in Northern California. Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT is a world class facility and the world has shown up; the World Superbike series that is. For this round of the AMA Pro Racing we are the support classes, as the World Supersport and Superstock classes do not compete in the U.S.
Utah in late May is hit or miss with regard to the weather, and it steadily deteriorated from the time we arrived until race day. Unlike the normal “race on Sunday” schedule, race day in Memorial Day Monday, May 30. Saturday’s Practice was cool and dry, and the weekend started well With Steve posting the 4th fastest time of the session. Saturday afternoons qualifying did not go as well. While all three San Diego BMW riders were improving their times throughout the session, we ended up qualifying in the back half of the field; Rapp 12th , Toye 14th , and Trounson 15th. This would prove to be a real handicap in the race, as the weather was about to get worse.
Sunday’s Qualifying was all wet. It rained from Saturday night to Monday morning, and got cold too. The snow was falling on the mountains and came to within a few hundred feet of elevation from the track. Full rain tires work very well at this track, but it was cold too. Under 40 degrees when our second practice started. We sent all three out with new BMW rain jackets to keep them dry and warm. Fortunately, our riders ride well in the rain, and all moved up in the standings compared to the rest of the field. Still, the Wet times were not fast enough to change any grid positions, so we had to start in the positions from the first qualifying session.
As a support class for the World Superbike Races, the AMA had to make some concessions. Among those were pit locations. And, being a small team without a lot of points in the class, we are relageted to the far end of the pit anyway. When you add those together, we ended up pitting almost a half-mile from the starting grid positions. This also proved to be a bit of an issue when the race started. Fortunately, for the first time in three days, the Sun was out and the weather felt a little warm. Perfect conditions for a race, except for the water running across the track in a couple spots and the Mud was bad for the riders who ran off the pavement.
The start of a race is always a bit hectic, but it was made even more so by the fact that Rapp had just won the XR1200 race. He had to rush back from the winner's circle and change leathers in the pits as the AMA officials were counting down the two minutes until the field had to be on track. Each rider is allowed to have two mechanics rush out onto the track and put the tire warmers on while the TV crews get their last minute interviews under the umbrellas. They usually take 5-6 minutes to do this, and the tires can cool down significantly in that time. At Miller, the typical out lap for the riders is about 2 and a half minutes. As you can guess, by the time we gathered the warmers and generators and jogged from the pit to the starting line, our riders had made the entire starting lap and the tires were cooling. Never the less, we got the warmers on and the minutes passed by quickly. It was time to race and the start from the third and forth row left the guys a lot of work to do.
The bikes were off in a crescendo of wailing exhausts. Steve Rapp #15 was eighth into turn one, just ahead of Bostrum, but behind Hayes, Young, Cardenas, T. Hayden, R. Hayden, Peris and Beach. Chris Trounson #62, had started next Jeremy Toye #57, and neither of them got a good jump. Chris beat Jeremy into the first turn and showed no respect as he held onto the position right behind Chris Clark #2 and the Factory Yamaha. Jeremy got around Chris and led him on the second lap.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last long. Chris had a moment when his brakes went spongy on the second lap and lost a bit of time while adjusting them. He then regained a position on the third lap only to have the issue pop up again on lap four. This time it was at just the wrong time. Going into turn one at 180mph, Chris had the lever come all the way to the grip and couldn’t slow enough to make the turn. The data shows he left the tarmac at 90mph and scrubbed another 30mph off before getting tossed over the high side and hitting his head hard in the gravel. He was out for a while… and spent the next 12 hours asking us what day it was, When’s the next race? Was I having a go at it? When will the Doc Clear me to ride? Since we race again this coming weekend, he will miss that round. He unfortunately couldn’t remember that he had asked that question before, so he got to experience the disappointment of not getting to race over and over Monday night. As of Wednesday, he is regaining his memory and recovering well after a couple days rest.
Meanwhile, the race up front was a real battle and Steve was moving in the right direction. Unfortunately it was because, Cardenas, Peris, and Beach all crashed out. In fact, Steve was a little lonely in 5th, chasing R. Hayden until the end, but unable to gain enough time to make a move. This was a great finish considering his starting position, and rounds out the 6th and 4th from his previous races. Jeremy also had a lonely race and rounded out the top ten and now has finished 8th, 13th, 12th,
San Diego BMW Motorcycles is looking forward to this weekend in Wisconsin. We would like to thank BMW Motorrad, our partners; Locust and Lee’s Cycles, and our sponsors; Cataylist Racing Composites, and Yoshuramura. Photos by: Megan Kinderis
Monday, May 23, 2011
Replacement rider shines at West Coast Moto-Jam
The San Diego BMW Locust Powered by Lee’s Cycle team has been very busy since the First AMA round at Daytona nine weeks ago. Jeremy Toye had a solid premier and rode away from Daytona with an 8th and a 13th place finish, however he did so without his teammate. Yes... That would be me "Crashy,-crash-a-lot". Fortunately I won't be able to destroy anymore bikes this year..... I'm out for the season. :>(
We knew there was work to be done before the rest of the season started back up, so we brought in fellow Californian and all around fast guy, Steve Rapp to help with the testing. Steve liked the bike so much that he has decided to stay on with the team to race it in Infineon and Miller Motorsports Park Utah. OK, I admit I'm having a little fun with calling Steve "my replacement". He is one of the top riders on the grid and WAAAYYY faster than I would be! Not only is he fast, he's a nice guy and a perfect addition to the team.
We also picked up a third rider, Chris Trounson, who will help share expenses. Chris is an Aussie racer whose father crews for the Championship points leading Procon Maxima team in Australia. They have a lot of experience with the S1000RR at home and should be a great addition to the team.
Our only practice session for the weekend started out great with Steve posting the fastest times of the three and 5th fastest overall with a 1:38.5. Jeremy was working on the new electronics package we are developing for the bike and Chris was getting his first look at the very technical 2.3 mile Infineon Raceway, yet both riders lap times were moving in the right direction.
While there is little time for practice in the AMA, there were two 50 min. Qualifying Sessions for the weekend, and the laps times began to plummet when the factory teams installed softer rubber and pressed their riders for faster times. Steve bettered his previous time with a 1:37.9 and was one of three BMW riders to sneak under the 1:38 mark. Jeremy and Chris both easily qualified for the race with a 1:39.4 and a 1:41.2 respectively.
Now that the pressure was off for qualifying, the team was able to focus on getting the best grid positions possible for the race. Qualifying Session #2 was all about getting a flying lap in to do just that. Unfortunately, everyone else was doing the same thing.
Qualifying always seems like a game of cat and mouse. Teams start the sessions out with the harder option race tires and switch to softer compound tires in an effort to gain an advantage on the starting grid. Who are we to argue? Rapp set the 4th fastest time of the session, a lightening fast 1:37.0, but Ben Bostrom had a slightly faster time in the first session. That relegated Steve to the fifth position on the grid. First spot on the second row. Needeless to say we were ecstatic.
In Saturday’s race Rapp got off the line in fifth behind Tommy Hayden, Josh Hayes, Blake Young and Ben Bostrom. At first it was obvious Ben was holding Steve up a bit and we expected to see a pass on the Suzuki rider at any point. Martin Cardenas had other ideas and he passed Steve, then passed Ben and Blake to eventually take third. Loosing touch for a few laps with Ben, Steve lost a little ground as he was passed by Larry Pegram and Chris Peris. Ben picked up the pace a bit held off a hard charging Chris Peris until loosing a chain. Chris had quickly passed Larry and pulled a gap. As Larry lost touch with Chris, Steve began to real him back in. With a daring last corner pass, Steve squeezed through to take away 6th place. Not bad for his first race on the bike; Chris Trounson also in his first race on the BMW brought the bike home in 12th. Unfortunately, pesky mechanical gremlins reared their ugly heads and Jeremy was unable to complete the race
Race two was never a sure thing to start. The weather on Sunday was threatening all morning and radar was showing a thunderstorm was bearing down on us near starting time. It never really materialised, but rained a bit and caused a minor delay. When the clouds cleared enough to dry out the track, it made tire selection difficult. Toye chose a harder rear tire while Trounson chose a softer front tire. Neither turned out to be the best choice. Rapp had stuck with the hard front, soft rear combination that proved to be the best choice. On the first lap with Rapp running fifth, Chris Ulrich had a massive crash in turn three. Less than a half lap later, his teammate Martin Cardenas crashed and caused a red flag to come out.
On the restart Rapp didn’t get a great jump. He ended up behind Bostrom again, but this time passed him quickly and made it stick. Ahead were four riders. Hayden and Hayes, who were hounded by Young and closely followed by Pegram. Towards the back of the pack, another Turn 3 mishap claimed the new Team Iron Horse BMW rider Tony Kasper, and Jeremy Burgess when the Kawasaki ridden by Young Gun rising star JD Beach slid out after clipping the back of Trounson. Trounson didn't fall, and all other riders were up and OK and the race was not red-flagged again.
Steve had a couple of seconds to make up if he was going to catch Pegram, and he put his head down and did just that. Taking a few tenths a lap out, Steve closed the gap several laps before the end. He waited for an opportunity and squeezed up the inside of the carousel only to have Larry and his BMW beat him to turn 7. Steve definitely had the bike working better on the brakes and late braked him into the corner. Larry, attempting to keep him at bay, out-braked himself and ran a little wide. He lost a second or so and that was all Steve needed. Finishing forth behind an epic battle for the lead as Tommy held Josh off for his first win of the season and Blake rounded out the podium
San Diego BMW Motorcycles is looking forward to the next round at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah May 30th. We would like to thank BMW for building an awesome bike, our partners; Locust and Lee’s Cycles, and our sponsors; Cataylist Racing Composites, and Yoshuramura.
We knew there was work to be done before the rest of the season started back up, so we brought in fellow Californian and all around fast guy, Steve Rapp to help with the testing. Steve liked the bike so much that he has decided to stay on with the team to race it in Infineon and Miller Motorsports Park Utah. OK, I admit I'm having a little fun with calling Steve "my replacement". He is one of the top riders on the grid and WAAAYYY faster than I would be! Not only is he fast, he's a nice guy and a perfect addition to the team.
We also picked up a third rider, Chris Trounson, who will help share expenses. Chris is an Aussie racer whose father crews for the Championship points leading Procon Maxima team in Australia. They have a lot of experience with the S1000RR at home and should be a great addition to the team.
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| Steve Rapp Photo by: Will Guyan, BMWRA.org/OTL |
While there is little time for practice in the AMA, there were two 50 min. Qualifying Sessions for the weekend, and the laps times began to plummet when the factory teams installed softer rubber and pressed their riders for faster times. Steve bettered his previous time with a 1:37.9 and was one of three BMW riders to sneak under the 1:38 mark. Jeremy and Chris both easily qualified for the race with a 1:39.4 and a 1:41.2 respectively.
Now that the pressure was off for qualifying, the team was able to focus on getting the best grid positions possible for the race. Qualifying Session #2 was all about getting a flying lap in to do just that. Unfortunately, everyone else was doing the same thing.
Qualifying always seems like a game of cat and mouse. Teams start the sessions out with the harder option race tires and switch to softer compound tires in an effort to gain an advantage on the starting grid. Who are we to argue? Rapp set the 4th fastest time of the session, a lightening fast 1:37.0, but Ben Bostrom had a slightly faster time in the first session. That relegated Steve to the fifth position on the grid. First spot on the second row. Needeless to say we were ecstatic.
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| Jeremy Toye Photo by: Will Guyan, BMWRA.org/OTL |
Race two was never a sure thing to start. The weather on Sunday was threatening all morning and radar was showing a thunderstorm was bearing down on us near starting time. It never really materialised, but rained a bit and caused a minor delay. When the clouds cleared enough to dry out the track, it made tire selection difficult. Toye chose a harder rear tire while Trounson chose a softer front tire. Neither turned out to be the best choice. Rapp had stuck with the hard front, soft rear combination that proved to be the best choice. On the first lap with Rapp running fifth, Chris Ulrich had a massive crash in turn three. Less than a half lap later, his teammate Martin Cardenas crashed and caused a red flag to come out.
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| Chris Trounson Photo by: Will Guyan, BMWRA.org/OTL |
Steve had a couple of seconds to make up if he was going to catch Pegram, and he put his head down and did just that. Taking a few tenths a lap out, Steve closed the gap several laps before the end. He waited for an opportunity and squeezed up the inside of the carousel only to have Larry and his BMW beat him to turn 7. Steve definitely had the bike working better on the brakes and late braked him into the corner. Larry, attempting to keep him at bay, out-braked himself and ran a little wide. He lost a second or so and that was all Steve needed. Finishing forth behind an epic battle for the lead as Tommy held Josh off for his first win of the season and Blake rounded out the podium
San Diego BMW Motorcycles is looking forward to the next round at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah May 30th. We would like to thank BMW for building an awesome bike, our partners; Locust and Lee’s Cycles, and our sponsors; Cataylist Racing Composites, and Yoshuramura.
Follow up from Gary's Daytona weekend.
Gary Orr
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
2011 season opener !
Gary Orr out of contention, Jeremy Toye presses on
Gary Orr took and unfortunate spill during practice Thursday. He has been hospitalized with some serious injuries but is well on the way to recovery and is going to be O.K. Our thoughts are with him and his family.
Jeremy Toye on the #57 BMW S1000RR finished Superbike round 1 in 8th place earning 13 points, round 2 in 13th place earning 8 points putting him in 11th position series points standings.
Best wishes to Gary for a speedy recovery!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
WERA in Vegas....
Well, This will likely be a short entry as my weekend was cut short. Had a little low-side in turn one during Friday practice. As the bike slid off the pavement, the Right side engine protector caught on a rock and ripped off the cam sprocket cover. Hopefully the motor was not still spinning when the cam sprocket became disengaged from the crank.
Back to the shop on monday for clean-up and repair.
Gary
Back to the shop on monday for clean-up and repair.
Gary
Monday, January 24, 2011
2011 Daytona Tire Test
And so it begins!
The official beginning of the 2011 season for the San Diego BMW Motorcycles powered by Lee’s Cycle team was the Daytona Dunlop Tire Test Jan 18-19.
Riders Jeremy Toye and Gary Orr are competing in the 2011 AMA Superbike season.
Since Daytona is the season opener and the most unique track on the schedule, Hauling 3 bikes and all our gear 4860 miles for a day and a half of track time almost sounded reasonable. The decision was made Monday to attend the Dunlop Tire test and the bikes were prepped and Sprinter was loaded just in time for volunteer driver, and all around irom-man Seth to leave on Thursday evening. Riders and crew flew in on Sunday and were greeted to an unloaded van at 8 am on Monday morning. The track was wet from some overnight rain, but we were still optimistic that it would clear up.
Dunlop brought plenty of tires. Each Superbike rider had an allotment of about 12 tires, and had different compounds and construction options to choose from.
Day one was a total washout. The rain started slow and steady just after we arrived. Unlike most tracks, the Superbike class doesn’t run in the rain at Daytona. Dunlop was not there to test rain tires anyway, so the decision was made around noon to send everyone back to the hotel.
Day two didn’t start well, but the rain died down by 9am and the Jet Dryers were sent out to dry the track. We didn't make it on the track until a little after noon on the second day. As this was officially my first time out with the AMA Superbike field, I took AMA Race director, David McGrath’s advice to heart. He said to “sneak up on it”, and I tried to do just that. The first 6 or 8 laps I felt like I didn't belonged out there, but I tried to learn the track and learn where I could find speed. The banking is unlike anything else. It feels as if you are riding on a wall, and if you were to slow down too much you would surely slide all the way to the bottom. I admit I was intimidated, but by the end of the session I was getting out of the chicane and accelerating all the way through. I was seeing 186 on the Speedo at the start finish line, but I was still slow in the infield. The tires that are used at Daytona are Hard. Stiff and hard means not nearly as sticky as the Dunlops we are used to running. Going fast in the fast parts of a track is the easiest way to reduce lap times, so I was concentrating on getting a good drive and learning the best lines on the banking. The infield is certainly important too, but the bang for the buck is up on the banking, and the BMW really shines there. The S1000RR motor is strong, and it held it’s own with the factory superbikes. I was starting to feel a little better about the track by the end of the session, and it is obvious that getting on to the banking correctly will be important.
Jeremy spent his session fighting with the front end of the motorcycle and even had the bike slide on the banking. It was determined that something failed internally in the aftermarket fork we were testing. We will tear it apart and find out what failed when the truck gets back with the bikes. It is still in Texas…. Jody and Jason quickly swapped the fork for the Ohlins units we had and we readied ourselves for the next session.
Unfortunately, it started raining again before our second session, which eventually happened at 5:15 pm. The track had oil on the banking and all the way through turn one, so better lap times were impossible for most of the top-level riders. A couple of us new to this track were able to decrease our lap times relative to the earlier session. I made a respectable 1.6 second improvement, but was still over 4 seconds off the fast guys pace as we were all forced to tip-toe through the oil in turn one. I worked on the infield and felt like I made some progress, this time running with the traction control on and felt like I was quicker everywhere except entering the banking. Jeremy spent most of the session dialling in the new fork and was only slightly off his first session pace. Which represented improvement for him as well considering the oil.
All in all, it was a lot of time and expense to go to for relatively little track time, but it was valuable track time and I know we will be that much further ahead with bike set-up (and track knowledge) when race day rolls around. There is a lot of work to do before the March 11-13 season opener. Wish us luck!
Gary Orr
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Introducing new line of S1000RR kit parts after Macau Success!
Coming off the heels of a top three finish at the demanding and highly technical street race on the Guia circuit Lee’s cycle is releasing the line of kit parts that helped get them there. Among top level international competition the San Diego based team had what it took to run at the front, and now you can too!
The engine department at Lee’s Cycle, headed by Quinten Robles, has developed a set of high compression pistons along with kit racing cams for the new BMW Superbike. The very same ones that allowed Toye to blast past WSBK spec bikes on the long straights Macau are now available. In addition to hard parts, Jody Scheuring (Lee’s top engine builder) has also mastered a series of refinements to push the horsepower numbers even higher while still keeping the torque curve flat and useable.
On the other side of the shop, Jason Turner (team engineer), has been working/testing with Toye this season to make the already competitive chassis of theS1000RR even better. With the proprietary LCR linkage, and adjustable swingarm pivots the team has landed on a setting that can run at the front amongst world class riders. The LCR linkage has been tested by other top level racers with unbelievable results including three lap records in the past few weeks at various Southwestern tracks.
For more information please contact Lee’s Cycle at (858)541-2080 or on the web at www.leescycle.com.
The engine department at Lee’s Cycle, headed by Quinten Robles, has developed a set of high compression pistons along with kit racing cams for the new BMW Superbike. The very same ones that allowed Toye to blast past WSBK spec bikes on the long straights Macau are now available. In addition to hard parts, Jody Scheuring (Lee’s top engine builder) has also mastered a series of refinements to push the horsepower numbers even higher while still keeping the torque curve flat and useable.
On the other side of the shop, Jason Turner (team engineer), has been working/testing with Toye this season to make the already competitive chassis of theS1000RR even better. With the proprietary LCR linkage, and adjustable swingarm pivots the team has landed on a setting that can run at the front amongst world class riders. The LCR linkage has been tested by other top level racers with unbelievable results including three lap records in the past few weeks at various Southwestern tracks.
For more information please contact Lee’s Cycle at (858)541-2080 or on the web at www.leescycle.com.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Macau, a David vs. Goliath Type Story.
Macau Moto GP 2010 from Toze Soares on Vimeo.
Nov. 18 – Breakfast at the buffet and then off to the track. The bike was almost ready to go, but we still had to be there to fuel it up and get the warmers on about an hour before the session. It’s something else being minutes away from our first International session with the real bike, the one we’ve been working towards since April (far beyond the Laguna disaster). It was a success! By the end of the first session, in which we were sitting second most of the time, we were in third right behind Michael Rutter and Stuart Easton. These are two of the biggest names in street racing, and probably the two best here this weekend. Of course there was way more time to be had, and there were some mods to the bike, but we knew it was going to be one of those better weekends.
Our next session was going to be at 330, so Jeremy, Jody, and I split to debrief and get the game plane for Q1.
The clutch, tires, shock, and a few little nick nack things were put on the “To Do” list. It wasn’t supposed to take too long, but we did manage to waste a bunch of time trying to mount the tires on possibly the worst machine ever. Regardless, we got it done and had a bite to eat before Q1.
The improvements helped and Jeremy ended up 3rd for provisional qualifying with a 2:27.3 (faster than he’s ever gone here before). As before we came up with a new game plane for Q2 (at 730AM). There was still plenty to do that night so Jody and I were in the garage until 10, but it all got done.
Nov. 19 – It’s 730 and were back at the track for final qualifying, but I have to say it really makes no sense as to why they have bikes on track before any of the cars, especially after seeing all the dust that was lofting off the ground in the first laps of the session.
The craziest part is that even in dirtier, colder conditions almost every single rider went faster, way faster! Rutter and Easton were trading the lap record in the 23s, while Jeremy dropped his best time even more to a 26.3 and will be starting from the front row in P4.
It was an early day for us because there was only the early qualifying session, and nothing in the afternoon. We had a pretty darn good race setup at this point so we decided to try something. From the qualifying lap charts we could see that the place we were losing the most ground was in the twisty top section. We decided to try the bike with a new offset in the front for more of a different type of steering characteristic. Tomorrow is Race day!
Nov. 20 –I can’t explain it exactly, but when I woke up wayyyy to early this morning, about 450AM, I had a really good feeling about how the day was going to play out. Unfortunately the first practice didn’t follow. The change that we made to the bike with the trail actually ended up hurting the turning characteristics in Sector 2. Instead of aiding in the delay it actually took away feeling and caused Jeremy to have to wait even longer for the bike to do what he wanted. We finished the session down in 9th position with a bad feeling. I told Jeremy that it was going to be ok, and come race time we were going we’re going to give him the best bike he’s ever ridden.
Our race start was pushed back about thirty minutes throughout the day because of all the crash happy cars that were on track before us. I think we saw more red flags then a Fastrack Riders trackday before a WERA weekend! Regardless, we were on the grid at 1515 for the start of the warm up lap. It was a cluster getting out there with all the media, teams, and aux personnel, but what an experience. Standing on the front row of an international grid like that was eye opening.
The sirens kept sounding, 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 1 minute. The start was getting close. People cleared the grid. Tire warmers came off. Bikes were started, and visors were dropped. After the warm up lap the riders again took their grid positions with only their bike keeping them company. Man and machine awaited the lights. The scream of the 30 1000cc engines amplified, and when the lights went out the screams turned to howls as thousands of horsepower was poured onto the tarmac.
Jeremy got a great start and ended up 3rd into Lisboa, the first breaking right hander at the end of the straights. Before the end of the second lap Jeremy had already made a shot at Rutter with the horsepower of our S1000RR. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold the line and the number six quickly took back second place and built a gap. The race was settling in nicely with Rutter and Easton clearing off out front while Toye, McGuiness, Johnson, and Andrews battled for third.
On lap 7 of 15 the red flag came out for a fallen campatriot. Chris Peris, on a much harder tire that he was used to running, lost grip and put him off line right into a wall. The sight of him motionless on the tv as he lay there helpless with the bike on top of him was heartbreaking. He was transported to the hospital and minus a bruised lung, back, and a concusion he was ok. The bike on the other hand was a different stroy. It looked like someone planted a small charge of C4 in the frame right at the steering head as it was completely separated from the rest of the motorcycle. I know it sounds cliché, but those parts can be replaced. There wasn’t a person in the garage who was more interested in the bike than Chris’s well being.
On the other side of the American Team’s garage we were deciding on what to do with the tire situation. We had a soft qualifying tire on the spare rim for a short restart, but the officials decided that it would be a 9 lapper. There was no way that the soft tire would hold up for 36 miles so we put the USED race tire back on and accepted the hand we were dealt. Jeremy was going to have to make the best of it and he certainly did!
The start of the second race was almost an exact replica of the first with Rutter and Easton slotting into first and second and the number 57 landing in third. After a few laps the electronic gremlins that we’ve been dealing with all year started rearing their ugly head. With the bike cutting in and out amongst Armco barriers Toye was forced to slow. He was passed by Andrews on the other Paul Bird prepped Kawi. With Toye falling back and Andrews quickly pulling to a two second gap things weren’t looking good, but that wasn’t the end, far from it.
On lap 6 of 9 things started going the other way! The bike cleared its throat of whatever it was that it was choking on and Toye was given full control again. Knowing that we’ve come too far, and put in way too much time he decided to put his head down and make a run for Andrews who was still two seconds ahead.
Overtaken by the red mist Toye kept reeling off laps quicker than he had ever gone before, first matching his qualifying time and then besting it by over a second. On the last lap of the race the 2 second gap was now just over half of a second, and he was right on him. Through the fast bend in the first sector Jeremy blew past Andrews like he was tied to a post, and breaking for Lisboa pulled out every motocross and flat track skill he had. Backing it in and making himself as wide as possible there was no way past for Andrews. The monitors around the track were more interested in covering Easton’s final lap and we didn’t get to see the battle for the last podium position on screen, but our eyes were glued to the last turn. First Easton… then Rutter… and then… a lapped rider (that one freaked us out), but finally the battle for third came into view and blasted across start/finish!
Toye had grabbed the final spot on the podium, and his best result ever here at Macau. As a matter of fact it was the first time an American had been on the box in 10 years when Mark Milled did it back in 2000. Everyone was so excited, but we had no idea where we were supposed to meet the rider. When we walked down to the pit entrance, the marshal told us Jeremy would meet us back at the pit box. When we walked back to our garage the teams were telling us that he would be at Park Ferme, so we all ran down there. Still no Toye…
Aparentely there was a mistake form a track worker when the riders were coming in and he led the podium finishers to the wrong place. Never the less I grabbed my camera and a spot in front of the podium presentation. Jody and I were so excited to take it all in and when Jeremy walked out to take his trophy there was a lot of emotion. We’ve worked insanely hard this year with a lot of highs and lows. It’s nice to know it hasn’t been in vain.
This year we built one hell of a motorcycle! It was really almost like a David vs. Goliath type story. For just being a small shop in San Diego we stuck it to a strong field of international competition. There were many other teams there who have been well supported and running bikes all season. The bike that Jeremy beat out for 3rd was a Paul Bird World Superbike for Pete’s sake! Hopefully this means everything I think it means for the success of this program.
After he was done with the press conference he came back to the garage to see his bike being swarmed by fans. Of course Jody and I gave him a big hug and everyone congratulated him for his strong ride. One belated smoky burn out and a few tears later we were ready to go out and celebrate properly! I don’t remember a whole lot of that story, but I will say the level of celebration definitely was on par with the achievements that day!
San Diego BMW Motorcycles at the WSMC Series Finale
San Diego BMW Motorcycles at the WSMC Series Finale
Some say the world’s easiest job is Weather forecasting in Southern California. “Sunny and seventy, Just like yesterday and tomorrow.” The weather at the November round of Willow Springs Motorcycle Club Races was anything but predictable. Saturday started out with a wet track from the overnight rains. The only rider to venture out for the first round of practice ended up coming back on the crash truck without completing a lap. The morning only got worse as more rain clouds rolled through.
With Jeremy and the rest of the team racing in Macau China, I was at Willow Springs primarily to ensure I kept my points leads in the Formula 40 class and Top Rookie overall. I also had in mind to try to better the Formula 40 lap record, but with the temperature almost 70° colder than last time we were here it seemed unlikely to have the traction to run at that speed. I did however get out in one practice session on Saturday afternoon. The track was still cold and the wind was blowing hard, but I was able to get the fastest lap time of any rider for the day.
Sunday Morning got off to a slightly better start. The track was still wet from more overnight rains and the wind was blowing even harder, but the rain did not return. While the wind made the day uncomfortable, it did help to dry the track out quickly and blew the clouds away. With temps in the forties and 30 MPH winds, it also blew the spectators away. Race one, Open Modified Production, may have had 5 die-hards in the bleachers. I got off to a decent start and was third into turn one. I passed Reno Karimian into second and was chasing the New Number One plate holder, Karl Lowery, when the red flag was thrown. The restart went slightly different. I was still third going into turn two but first two positions had reversed. This allowed me to make a pass on Karl going into turn three and we both passed Reno on the first lap. That’s when it got interesting. The rear tire had been spinning a lot through turn two on both starting laps. I assumed it was due to the cold temperatures, but on the second lap with Karl all over me, it really let loose and I got thrown out of the seat. I barely managed to keep it on the track and lost the lead to Karl. I immediately realized why the tire had been spinning. I had pulled a rookie mistake and forgot to check the rear tire pressure. The rest of the race was like riding with a bowling ball for a rear tire. It was all I could do to hold onto third behind Matt Quiqley on his Kawasaki.
The Formula 40 race went a little better. I adjusted the rear Dunlop’s pressure and put a new Slick up front. I took the hole shot and never looked back. I ran some respectable times, but not close enough to beat the record on an icy cold track. Frankly, I didn’t think I would be able to run that quick with the weather, but in the Premier class I found more speed and actually ran considerably quicker than the record. I did complete my main goal for the weekend though; this win clinched the Formula 40 Championship, and the Top Rookie Classification. I was relieved to have the pressure off, especially after how close I came to making a mess of it in the first race.
As I mentioned the Formula 1 class is the premier class. It is only open to those riders who have qualified as Pro level with WSMC, and it draws the best riders from all classes. I have only raced it twice before, as this is my first season on a liter bike. I only had time to install a new rear Dunlop between races, and this time managed to remember to check the tire pressure. On the out lap I noticed we had a new rider added to the starting lineup. Bobby Fong was joining the grid on his Ducati. That meant I was not gridded last. You see, in club racing, a riders position on the grid is decided by the current championship points of each rider in that class. Since that was Bobbies first time competing in this class, he had fewer points than I did. So he was last on the grid. Lot of good it did me though, as on the start I went into turn one right behind him. I was able to get around him and Reno on the first lap and crossed the line at the end of lap one in fifth position behind Lowery, Higby, Prince, and Duran. I had lost a little ground to the leading pack in the first lap, but was able to reel them back in and to get around Higby as he faded back due to the blistering pace and the relative lack of power with his Buell. So at the end of lap 3, I was 4th and had caught right up to the pack. Duran had passed Prince, and I was able to use the power of the S1000RR to get by him as well. I ran third from lap 4 through 9, trying to find a way around Duran, all the while Duran was trying to find a way around Lowery. You could have thrown a blanket over the four of us. I tried to get up the inside of Duran on lap 10 in turn 8. 160 mph, knees on the ground, tires sliding as I surged forward into turn nine. Duran had the better line and closed the door leaving me very close to touching his rear wheel with my front. I had to check up to avoid hitting him and lost the drive. This allowed Prince to get by and I was relegated to 4th. The three of them all posted their fastest laps of the race in lap 11 making it impossible to make up the lost time.
I was thrilled with this finish. I would have loved to get on the podium, but finishing fourth was three positions better than last month and my best finish in Formula 1 so far. I had bettered my best lap at the track and ran well under my goal for the weekend (albeit in the wrong race). Also, Lowery, Duran, and Prince finished in the same positions in the WSMC over-all points as they did it the race, so they will be the guys to beat next year.
With one more race left in the day the weather began to worsen. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped down to 44° before the Open Superbike Race. The grid was smaller that it should have been, as some competitors opted to pass on the last race of the year, but I was just not ready to quit riding yet. I was wishing I had heated grips on my race bike though. I got the hole-shot and lead into turn three when I saw another red flag. Turns out Prince had high-sided in turn one and injured his foot. On the restart, I was second into turn one but led out of it and just enjoyed the last laps of the season. I had a sizable lead at the finish, and had secured third position in the Open Superbike Championship.
For Me, (Gary Orr, Owner of San Diego BMW Motorcycles), coming back to the competition of racing has been amazing. After more than a 15-year layoff, to return with a Stock bike that truly is competitive with the best super-bikes is a dream come true. The S1000RR has consistently been the best bike on the grid this season. After just 7 months of development (including a lot of rider on the job training) I have won Two WSMC Championships (Formula 40 and Solo GTO), a California State Championship (Formula 40), and the WSMC Top Rookie Award. Perhaps most importantly we have a truly competitive team in place for next season. I plan to take the next step in competing with the Formula 1 class next year. That of building a Super-Bike engine to go with the platform we have developed.
I would like to thank everyone for a great year, starting with thanking God for keeping me safe. I can’t thank our staff at San Diego BMW Motorcycles enough for covering for me at the shop and doing such a great job while I was away. My new friends Jeremy Toye and Lee’s Cycles have helped me in so many ways. They helped me to set up the bike, allowed me to see that the bike and I were capable of more than I thought possible, and helped to develop the rear suspension components I am using. (They are also building the engine I will use next year). Also, thank you to Tim Chin and X-Dot Racing for building the front suspension, and for making this same fork kit available through our service department. Jason Turner worked tirelessly to set-up my bike and made it absolutely the best for me, and he did this in addition to managing the entire team and designed several parts in the process. Finally, I want to thank my wife Heather and Brother in Law Michael for allowing me to take the time away from our shop and our personal lives to participate in all these races.
Some say the world’s easiest job is Weather forecasting in Southern California. “Sunny and seventy, Just like yesterday and tomorrow.” The weather at the November round of Willow Springs Motorcycle Club Races was anything but predictable. Saturday started out with a wet track from the overnight rains. The only rider to venture out for the first round of practice ended up coming back on the crash truck without completing a lap. The morning only got worse as more rain clouds rolled through.
With Jeremy and the rest of the team racing in Macau China, I was at Willow Springs primarily to ensure I kept my points leads in the Formula 40 class and Top Rookie overall. I also had in mind to try to better the Formula 40 lap record, but with the temperature almost 70° colder than last time we were here it seemed unlikely to have the traction to run at that speed. I did however get out in one practice session on Saturday afternoon. The track was still cold and the wind was blowing hard, but I was able to get the fastest lap time of any rider for the day.
Sunday Morning got off to a slightly better start. The track was still wet from more overnight rains and the wind was blowing even harder, but the rain did not return. While the wind made the day uncomfortable, it did help to dry the track out quickly and blew the clouds away. With temps in the forties and 30 MPH winds, it also blew the spectators away. Race one, Open Modified Production, may have had 5 die-hards in the bleachers. I got off to a decent start and was third into turn one. I passed Reno Karimian into second and was chasing the New Number One plate holder, Karl Lowery, when the red flag was thrown. The restart went slightly different. I was still third going into turn two but first two positions had reversed. This allowed me to make a pass on Karl going into turn three and we both passed Reno on the first lap. That’s when it got interesting. The rear tire had been spinning a lot through turn two on both starting laps. I assumed it was due to the cold temperatures, but on the second lap with Karl all over me, it really let loose and I got thrown out of the seat. I barely managed to keep it on the track and lost the lead to Karl. I immediately realized why the tire had been spinning. I had pulled a rookie mistake and forgot to check the rear tire pressure. The rest of the race was like riding with a bowling ball for a rear tire. It was all I could do to hold onto third behind Matt Quiqley on his Kawasaki.
The Formula 40 race went a little better. I adjusted the rear Dunlop’s pressure and put a new Slick up front. I took the hole shot and never looked back. I ran some respectable times, but not close enough to beat the record on an icy cold track. Frankly, I didn’t think I would be able to run that quick with the weather, but in the Premier class I found more speed and actually ran considerably quicker than the record. I did complete my main goal for the weekend though; this win clinched the Formula 40 Championship, and the Top Rookie Classification. I was relieved to have the pressure off, especially after how close I came to making a mess of it in the first race.
As I mentioned the Formula 1 class is the premier class. It is only open to those riders who have qualified as Pro level with WSMC, and it draws the best riders from all classes. I have only raced it twice before, as this is my first season on a liter bike. I only had time to install a new rear Dunlop between races, and this time managed to remember to check the tire pressure. On the out lap I noticed we had a new rider added to the starting lineup. Bobby Fong was joining the grid on his Ducati. That meant I was not gridded last. You see, in club racing, a riders position on the grid is decided by the current championship points of each rider in that class. Since that was Bobbies first time competing in this class, he had fewer points than I did. So he was last on the grid. Lot of good it did me though, as on the start I went into turn one right behind him. I was able to get around him and Reno on the first lap and crossed the line at the end of lap one in fifth position behind Lowery, Higby, Prince, and Duran. I had lost a little ground to the leading pack in the first lap, but was able to reel them back in and to get around Higby as he faded back due to the blistering pace and the relative lack of power with his Buell. So at the end of lap 3, I was 4th and had caught right up to the pack. Duran had passed Prince, and I was able to use the power of the S1000RR to get by him as well. I ran third from lap 4 through 9, trying to find a way around Duran, all the while Duran was trying to find a way around Lowery. You could have thrown a blanket over the four of us. I tried to get up the inside of Duran on lap 10 in turn 8. 160 mph, knees on the ground, tires sliding as I surged forward into turn nine. Duran had the better line and closed the door leaving me very close to touching his rear wheel with my front. I had to check up to avoid hitting him and lost the drive. This allowed Prince to get by and I was relegated to 4th. The three of them all posted their fastest laps of the race in lap 11 making it impossible to make up the lost time.
I was thrilled with this finish. I would have loved to get on the podium, but finishing fourth was three positions better than last month and my best finish in Formula 1 so far. I had bettered my best lap at the track and ran well under my goal for the weekend (albeit in the wrong race). Also, Lowery, Duran, and Prince finished in the same positions in the WSMC over-all points as they did it the race, so they will be the guys to beat next year.
With one more race left in the day the weather began to worsen. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped down to 44° before the Open Superbike Race. The grid was smaller that it should have been, as some competitors opted to pass on the last race of the year, but I was just not ready to quit riding yet. I was wishing I had heated grips on my race bike though. I got the hole-shot and lead into turn three when I saw another red flag. Turns out Prince had high-sided in turn one and injured his foot. On the restart, I was second into turn one but led out of it and just enjoyed the last laps of the season. I had a sizable lead at the finish, and had secured third position in the Open Superbike Championship.
For Me, (Gary Orr, Owner of San Diego BMW Motorcycles), coming back to the competition of racing has been amazing. After more than a 15-year layoff, to return with a Stock bike that truly is competitive with the best super-bikes is a dream come true. The S1000RR has consistently been the best bike on the grid this season. After just 7 months of development (including a lot of rider on the job training) I have won Two WSMC Championships (Formula 40 and Solo GTO), a California State Championship (Formula 40), and the WSMC Top Rookie Award. Perhaps most importantly we have a truly competitive team in place for next season. I plan to take the next step in competing with the Formula 1 class next year. That of building a Super-Bike engine to go with the platform we have developed.
I would like to thank everyone for a great year, starting with thanking God for keeping me safe. I can’t thank our staff at San Diego BMW Motorcycles enough for covering for me at the shop and doing such a great job while I was away. My new friends Jeremy Toye and Lee’s Cycles have helped me in so many ways. They helped me to set up the bike, allowed me to see that the bike and I were capable of more than I thought possible, and helped to develop the rear suspension components I am using. (They are also building the engine I will use next year). Also, thank you to Tim Chin and X-Dot Racing for building the front suspension, and for making this same fork kit available through our service department. Jason Turner worked tirelessly to set-up my bike and made it absolutely the best for me, and he did this in addition to managing the entire team and designed several parts in the process. Finally, I want to thank my wife Heather and Brother in Law Michael for allowing me to take the time away from our shop and our personal lives to participate in all these races.
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