Blackhawk Farms

Winning at Grattan felt great but there was more racing to be done and no rest for the weary.  Since there was no WERA race for me to attend, Matt and I decided to see what CCS had to offer.  CCS (Midwest region) was racing at Blackhawk Farms in Illinois on 30-31 May, fitting our schedule perfectly.  As always, I watched youtube video alongside a track map to learn the basic layout of the course.  I also printed off a CCS rule book to learn the rules on safety wiring, flags, and what classes I was eligible to race. 

My first observation of the course was that the layout wasn’t too difficult, especially compared to Grattan.  There were a few really long corners (T3, AKA the Carousel) in particular.  That corner felt so long that I could have written this article before it was finished!  Despite the layout seeming simple I wasn’t going to take it lightly.  Nelson Ledges had taught me never to take a track lightly, no matter how simple the layout looked.  I studied the track diligently enough to talk corner and line specifics with Matt prior to the start of the weekend and felt mentally ready to take on the challenge of racing at yet another new venue.  I had fresh oil and tires; my bike was safety wired beyond the standard outlined in the rule book and the weather showed only a 30% chance of rain with temperatures in the 70’s.  This was shaping up to be a good weekend and we hadn’t even started riding yet!

Matt and I got up early and did a track walk.  I can’t recommend this technique strongly enough to riders of all levels the first time they ride at a new track.  We discussed lines, identified the camber of the corners and looked for bumps in the track.  Some of the turns had only one line because of the bumps.  I wouldn’t have known this had we not walked the track.  Using his track knowledge we discussed what lines to take as well as the best corners to pass in. 

There are a few differences between racing CCS and WERA.  Flags are basically the same as are most classes, the main difference being the names (i.e. CCS middleweight superbike is the same as WERA C Superbike).  Safety wiring is also very similar between the two organizations with WERA being the stricter of the two with regards to safety wire.  In WERA you fill out your registration forms, get your tech form and go through tech.  Any contingency or sponsor paperwork is done at registration.  Not so with CCS.  You do not get a tech form after registering and turn in your contingency / sponsorship form in at tech.  The CCS tech inspectors check your motorcycle to ensure you are in compliance with sponsorship requirements (i.e. stickers, patches on leathers).  Another difference is what you bring to tech.  With WERA you bring your helmet and motorcycle with belly pan removed along with your registration and tech inspection form.  With CCS you have to bring all riding gear along with your bike and registration along with aforementioned contingency forms.  Some people even brought their belly pans with them.  My recommendation to everyone reading this is to ensure you read the rule book prior to showing up at the track.  As I’ve always said, preparation is the key and will save you headaches when racing with a new organization.

Practice groups and assignment of them are different also.  In WERA you get a colored tech sticker and are assigned your practice group.  In CCS you’re given a sticker and base your practice group on what classes you’re racing in.  It seemed a little more decentralized to me, not a bad thing at all.  Later I found out that there is indeed a sticker color system although I picked my own group and went out when I was ready.

A major difference between the two organizations is the post race tech requirement.  In WERA, everyone goes through post race tech before going back to the pit area or you don’t get credit for the race.  In CCS you have to attend the riders meeting to find out which races have to go through tech.  Generally CCS only requires the top three finishers to attend tech and the races that have this requirement vary from weekend to weekend based on some secret squirrel selection method.

Transponders are also different.  WERA uses AMB transponders whereas CCS uses their own.  Because of this, there is no rental fee for a CCS transponder itself but you have to pay $10 for the mount.  Mounting the transponder with WERA can be done anywhere (mine is on my fork leg) while CCS requires it to be on the tail section (not in front of the rear tire). 

My first (and only) disappointment was the class structure.  I really enjoy racing against other V twin motorcycles and was looking forward to facing BMW’s, Buell’s, Suzuki SV’s and other Ducati’s.  I’ve always looked at the Thunder bike class as the premier V-twin racing class and was quite disappointed to see that I wouldn’t be able to ride in it.  Ducati 848’s have pretty much been written out of the class according to the rules.  In fact, it seems like the CCS rules mirror the AMA rules in the sense that they favor Buell’s and every other non-Ducati brand.  At least I had the super twin’s class to go along with the middle weight GTU race (600’s) I would do Saturday afternoon and middleweight super bike I would race on Sunday morning. 

PRACTICE

My first experience with Illinois weather was the realization that a 30% chance of rain was more than enough to make things wet.  As Matt and I were riding to registration it started to rain.  Not hard but enough to make things wet and slick.  That made the first and basically second practice session washes, literally.  I didn’t even bother going out for the first session as the rain was still falling and only got about three laps in the second session.  I was on new tires so things were doubly slick. 

In my lone practice session I was able to confirm the direction of the track but not much else.  The damp conditions made it impossible to ascertain grip levels and brake markers.  I did ride the lines I intended to use but really couldn’t determine if they represented the right way around the track.  It wouldn’t be the first time that my first real practice would be my 25 minute race later in the day.

MIDDLEWEIGHT GTU

I was gridded near the last row so if I got off the line in my usual slow fashion and struggled with the track I wouldn’t be in the way.  Not exactly the right attitude to have for a racer and as soon as I left hot pit lane I dropped it along with my visor.  It was time to race and if someone was faster, they would just have to pass me as I had no intention of moving out of the way for anyone.  I knew the layout, had sticky tires (the track had dried over the course of the day), and felt confident I could figure out my brake markers quickly.  I completed the warm up lap, lined up, and awaited the green flag.

The timing boards and green flag procedures are the same for both WERA and CCS.  The one board goes sideways and the green flag waves to start the race.  In two wave races (one start for experts, one start for novices) the second wave is required to hold their hands in the air.  This prevents anyone in the second wave from jumping the start. 

Even though starting procedures are generally the same, my start was different.  I actually got a pretty decent launch and wasn’t dead last into turn one.    The leaders took off and I did my best to hang onto the bikes in front of me.  During the first lap they pulled a bit of a gap in front but no one passed me so that was good.  Over the next several laps I pushed my brake markers deeper and deeper while getting on the throttle earlier and early.  At about half race distance I started catching up with the group of about three riders in front of me.  A few turns from the end I was able to pass the guys, moving into fifth position, where I finished.  Overall I was pretty excited with my performance.  Never having ridden on the track before I was able to get up to speed very quickly and actually manage to pass a few people.  Matt was happy with my performance and commented on how comfortable I looked.  This was a very promising way to start the weekend.

My only problems came from the front end.  Blackhawk has three heavy braking areas and I was bottoming the forks going into each of them, making the bike skip and chatter on corner entry.  This forced me to reduce my entry speed as I wasn’t feeling totally confident with the front end as I started to turn in.  I knew this cost me a bit of time so in my post race debrief with Matt, we decided to make a few changes to the bike.  I didn’t want to lose the turn in or stability of the bike but needed a stiffer front to deal with the heavy braking forces.  Basically, I needed to find the ever allusive balance everyone looks for when they set up there bike.  As we discussed options, I decided I didn’t want to know what changes he made to the bike.  I didn’t want to think “well, Matt added preload so it should feel like this” and have that cloud my feedback.  Rather, we decided that he would make changes and I would ride it, tell him exactly what I was feeling, and go from there. 

He observed that I was getting through most corners pretty well despite this being my first time at the track and the skipping problem.  All corners that is, except the bus stop.  I was going entirely too slow into that corner and sweeping through it as opposed to just getting into the corner, dropping the bike across the apex and getting out of it.  We discussed how to get through it quicker and I went to the corner and watched the experts rip through it for the better part of the afternoon so I could see what right looked like.  Armed with this new perspective and the suspension changes, I was eager to start the next day. 

MORNING PRACTICE

The morning was cool but clear.  The day was going to be bright, sunny, and warm.  However, the temperature was in the upper 40’s when the time for my first practice session came around.  Most of the track was steadily warming up but there were several places that were hidden from the bathing UV rays of the sun by overhanging trees.  I kept the pace easy as I warmed the tires and took an additional lap before picking up the pace.  Good thing too.  Coming down the back straight into turn seven, another rider flew past me at full tilt.  This guy was clearly at race pace and pushing hard.  I went down the front straight and into turn one when I saw the yellow flags out.  He had crashed going through turn two, a fast kink heavily shaded.  This only reinforced my theory about the ground still not being up to an acceptable temperature.  I wasn’t tip toeing around but definitely not pushing as hard as I would have liked.

I did however carry more speed the first time I came out of turn five and into the heavy braking zone of turn six.  This section of the track wasn’t shaded by any trees and hopefully a bit warmer.  I wanted to test the unknown suspension changes from turn five through turn one, all without shade and heavy braking areas.  I knew I wasn’t at race pace but still going fast enough to get a feel for things.  The changes Matt made were totally unknown to me but the feeling was apparent.  I wasn’t able to bottom the front end at all, there was no chatter or skipping into the corners and the bike retained its turning and ability to finish corners.  Overall, I felt like we had achieved the balance we were aiming for.  I still didn’t want to know the changes but gave feedback to Matt that we found the sweet spot.  This only served to bolster my confidence going into my morning race, middleweight superbike. 

MIDDLEWEIGHT SUPERBIKE

I was very eager to get this race underway.  Having raced against some of these very same racers the day before I knew the competition would be stiff but that I was up to the task.  Most of all I was eager to see what the bike felt like as I pushed it harder and faster. 

I was starting from the last row again but was hoping for another good start.  As we say in the Army, hope is not a good tactic to count on.  This statement proved to be true as I went backwards off the line.  I ended up passing one person into turn one on the brakes and set about chasing down all the riders in front of me. 

The bike felt great through all the corners but especially so on the brakes.  I found that my initial brake markers were too early and I was scrubbing too much speed off on corner entry.  On nearly every lap I made a point to brake a bit later.  This incremental approach may not have been the fastest but prevented me from braking far too late and completely missing a corner.  It also made it more difficult for guys behind me to pass. 

I picked off a few riders in front of me and had caught up with a rider going at a very similar pace.  I was a few tenths quicker however and decided to pass going down the back straight.  This pass is actually set up coming into turn six.  I closed on the brakes and stayed on his back tire through the turn six kink.  Inline four cylinder 600cc motorcycles have a huge top end rush and a lot of horsepower for their size but are nowhere near as good coming off a corner as a v twin.  I used my 848’s torque to get a great drive coming down the back straight and drafted past before we hit turn 6A, right as the braking zone starts.  I held my braking as late as I dared and set up for a mid track entry.  This was a fairly defensive line but one I knew I could hold.  Something in the back of my mind made me hold turn in just a second longer however.  This bit of intuition prevented me from being T-boned as the rider I had just passed attempted to retake me on the brakes but couldn’t hold his line.  He ran straight and I made the turn. 

Not sure of the position I was in, I looked ahead for the next person to catch.  There was no one in my line of sight at that time so I focused on keeping the guy I had just past behind me.  As mentioned earlier, I kept braking later and later until I got them as deep as I dared.  I knew the guy was still behind me but not sure how far back.  I don’t like to look behind me but rather focus on what’s in front of me.  As the laps ticked down I focused more on running clean lines as fast as I could and making it as difficult for anyone behind me to pass because of speed, not defensive lines. 

The bus stop was also slowing me down less and less.  Rather, I was slowing down less and less for it!  I did go through a bit hot at one point and felt the front slide on the patch.  I made a mental note not to do that again! 

On the last lap I ran into my first problems.  Ducati’s require a positive shift and sometimes I forget to be as firm as I need to with the lever.  Coming into turn three I down shifted and caught a false neutral.  I still turned in but a bit later as I had to shift the bike into gear before it was at full lean.  This cost me a second or two.  I normally up shift out of turn four into turn five.  Again, I missed the shift and had to get it into gear before entering the corner.  This cost me more time and unfortunately, a position. 

The guy I had held off all race had caught up with me, got a better drive through turn five and passed me on the brakes into turn six.  I was so pissed off!  My only chance was the passing maneuver I had done earlier in the race.  I wasn’t as close as I was earlier going into the kink and had more ground to make up on the straight.  I think he remembered the pass I put on him earlier as he stayed very tight into the 6A kink and was late on the brakes into turn seven.  He ran a defensive line into the corner so I set up a bit wider, squared off the corner and accelerated as hard as I did all weekend.  I could even feel the back tire spin a bit as I put pressure on the outside foot peg and tried to stand the bike up onto the fat part of the tire.  I got a great drive out of the corner and was in his draft.  I was so focused on passing him that I forgot to watch my shift lights and hit the rev limiter!  What a rookie mistake.  I shifted quickly but ended up about ¾ of a bike length back when we crossed the line.  I was upset with myself for making mistakes but happy I had done well. 

Something very odd happened after this race.  I was positive I had finished fourth, behind a red CBR600RR.  This was the guy I had raced with; I knew the bike.  When I checked the timing sheet, it showed me in fifth place with the CBR in third and a Kawasaki ZX636 in fourth!  I was confused.  It was literally physically impossible for another bike to have been between myself and the CBR.  I consulted with scoring and timing but they can only go with what the timing sheet shows when it comes off the computer.  I wasn’t really happy with this but understood their position. 

Rather than be upset about it, I focused on my next race.  This one was done and there was no use dwelling on it.  I had developed some pretty deep brake markers, confirmed the suspension adjustments, and gone faster than I had all weekend.  Best of all, I had the super twins race after lunch to put everything together and run a strong race.

SUPER TWINS

This was it.  This was the race I wanted to do more than any other over the course of the weekend.  As I’ve previously mentioned, I really enjoy racing against other V-twin machinery.   This race contained some very quick novice racers and an assortment of V twin motorcycles from nearly every manufacturer.  The day was beautiful, mid 70’s, not a cloud in the sky.  I’d be starting from the back row but felt pretty confident that I could do well despite my grid position.  With the warm up lap complete, I found my spot on the grid and got ready to go.

After the expert wave was given the green flag, I clicked my bike into reverse and awaited the start of my race.  The 1 board went sideways, the green flag dropped, and I may as well have went backwards.  Thankfully the 848 is no slouch on acceleration and I was able to use the long (ish) straight to make up some ground I lost going into turn one.  None the less, I was still last as we circulated the track for the first time. 

Something felt different this time however.  I was faster than these guys, knew it, and intended to prove it.  During the previous races I had played with passing in a few areas and knew where I was strong.  I had also spent a lot of time watching the other races and learning the best areas to pass as well as the preferred lines.  This all went into my mental roll-a-decks for future reference.  I’ve always found that visualizing various scenarios (passing, being passed, or just running lap after lap in your head) greatly increases your ability to adapt to the ever changing race situation.  I had visualized several passing scenarios and developed a couple of options that I thought I could put to good use in this race. 

My first proof of concept came as we exited turn four and set up for turn five.  The normal line through turn five has a tight apex and an exit that puts you about mid track as you enter the braking area for turn six.  I ran a bit of a wider, faster line through turn five and was nearly on the outside of the rider in front of me.  Matt had stiffened up the front end to handle the heavy brake load so I had a lot of confidence that I could out brake the fellow I had just set up.  This pass worked to perfection.  I was already nearly around the guy in front of me as I hit my brake marker.  What I didn’t expect was the added bonus of another rider directly in front of the first guy.  I eased of the brakes slightly and rolled past both guys into turn six.  Using this type of maneuver will put you very tight into turn six but because of the angle you enter the turn and reduced entrance speed, it becomes a perfect block pass.  After that it was get on the gas through the silo turn and down the back straight. 

This double pass was a maturation point for me as a road racer.  Normally I’m fairly conservative on passing and a lot of times my race performances will suffer.  Waiting too long to pass a slower rider cost me a possible race win and Nelson Ledges and I wasn’t about to let that happen again.  At that moment I realized that close passing is part of racing.  It’s been done to me before and will be done again, I have no doubt.  Aggressive passing is perfectly acceptable as long as it isn’t reckless.  There is a fine line between the two; I watched two racers cross the line in my C Superbike race at Talladega in February.  I had no intention of crossing the line but was mentally prepared to be closer to it that I had ever been. 

That first double was out of my head as soon as it happened.  There were more people in front of me to pass and I only had 7 ½ laps left to do it.  I picked another rider off coming into the turn 6A kink and one more going into turn one on the brakes.  It took me a few laps to catch the group in front of me but when I did I was able to use a carbon copy of the double pass I did at the end of the first lap.  The only difference in this pass was I bottomed my forks out on the brakes on the way into the corner.  This made the bike chatter and weave pretty badly.  It was a bit nerve racking but at that point I had two choices, stand up and run straight or pitch the bike into the turn and hope for the best.  I chose the latter option, powered out of the corner and through the silo turn, then right past another Buell going down the back straight.  I wasn’t sure what position I was in but was quite positive it wasn’t first.  This meant more people to catch and pass.  The feeling I had at Talladega when I took three seconds off my lap time in a single lap and the feeling I had at Nelson when I was catching the leader came back.  I had found my rhythm, was in my zone, whatever you want to call it but I was going faster than I had all weekend, with less effort and it felt good.  I could feel the back end lifting on occasion going into turn one on the brakes and was starting to spin the tire coming out of the same corner.  Even the bus stop felt better than it had all weekend.  The bike felt perfect.  Matt always tells me to make sure that I breathe during the race, explaining that sometimes you’ll actually hold your breath for short periods of time around the track and not let it out until a straight.  I could feel the steady, metronomic inhalation and exhalation as I went around the track.

A few laps later I caught sight of a rider.  It was like putting a carrot in front of a hungry horse.  I pushed as hard as I possibly could in an effort to make up the distance.  Every lap I could see the rider coming back to me, much like at Nelson Ledges.  I had no clue what place I was racing for at this point and couldn’t care less.  I wanted to catch the guy in front of me.  Unfortunately, my psychic uplink to race direction failed and they didn’t add additional laps to the race so I could achieve my goal.  I had made up several seconds but was still about a second or two behind when the checkered flag came out, marking the end of the race.  I went to the tech shed just in case I was top three and found out I had finished fourth!  Not bad for starting dead last. 

I rode back to the pit with a smile under my helmet.  I hadn’t one, set the fastest lap of the weekend, or even finished top three. What I had done however was push the motorcycle faster than I ever had before and rode with more controlled aggression that I had ever managed.  For me, that was as good as a victory.  The race felt great and best of all, I didn’t crash or make anyone else crash. 

We put the bike on stands and tire warmers on to control the cool down cycle of the tires so I could use them again.  I pulled off my helmet and Matt came over to congratulate me.  I told him where I finished.  He could see me gaining on the third place guy but knew I didn’t have the laps left to catch him.  “You looked better than I’ve ever seen you look.  If I didn’t know it was you under the helmet, I would have thought it was someone else riding your bike.” Matt said.  He was right.

THE DRIVE HOME

So what did I learn this weekend?  First and foremost that preparation is and will remain the key to being successful at anything.  Had I not learned the track from you tube and our track walk, I would have been lost in the first race with no practice time.  My bike was in order, making tech easy, despite a different organization inspecting it with slightly different standards.  I came there ready to race, had my documents in order and my equipment ready to go.  If it weren’t for rain, I would have made my practice sessions easily.  Also, reading the CCS rule book along with Matt’s (long time CCS racer) advice, there were no surprises with registration or licensing.  Slowly but surely I’m escaping the shackles of rookie-ness and becoming a slightly seasoned racer.  There is as always, room for improvement.

My starts continue to be the worst part of my weekend.  The only way to improve these is with practice and I have to make time to do it.  Racers will spend hours ripping around a track to lower lap times but rarely practice starting.  I fall into this category.  My pace was within a second of the front runners but starting from the back of the grid as poorly as I did ensured I would have to fight tooth and nail for every place I made.  This was fun but would have been a lot more enjoyable had I been battling it out for first or second as opposed to fourth or fifth.   

My passing was greatly improved in the final race but still needs refinement.  This can always be improved.

I did learn that my practice pace and race pace are very different.  Top riders will ride race pace even in practice to confirm their setup and test various aspects of the bike and tires.  As I gain experience, I need to work on being more consistent in practice as well as a race, making it easier to test set up and essentially gain speed.  I still have several seconds to make up to be as fast as an expert level rider and not pushing as hard in practice as I could is not the way to get faster.