http://www.acmemotowear.com/report.html
photos here, with captions...
http://trojan43.smugmug.com/gallery/...78205764_NjkUK

And, then there was no transmission.



During my brief stint at the AHRMA Miller Motorsports track my transmission failed, failing, not doing whet it is supposed to do when it’s supposed to do it. I brought the bike home and handed it off to Ron at Ron’s Performance Motorcycles (503-650-9401). He re-built my motor and Dustin’s motor over the winter and he also has put together many other SV’s on the grid. Ron was able to fix the transmission and do a complete rebuild over the course of 1 week. Ron has been a huge help to me, not only this week, but over the years that I have had him work on my bikes. Thanks Ron.



I got the bike back on Friday afternoon and had to use Saturday’s practice sessions to break it in. Dustin and I helped with the Novice Check rides on Saturday and I used the easy pace of those sessions to ease in the motor.



Sunday arrives after a Saturday evening Chinese food comedy fest with Oliver Jervis and his sidekicks, Brian and Kevin Pinkstaff. Tom Young could not avoid being the brunt of Oli’s jokes, some jokes that have persisted for more than a year and will haunt Tom for the rest of his life, no doubt.



We had a special guest in our pits this weekend. His name is Jake Dering and he is 4 years old. (http://www.jakesake.com/) He has a genetic defect called OPD type 2. It is very rare and about 30 cases have been reported worldwide. The racers all got together and showed him and his family a good time and introduced him to the world of motorcycles and racing. I’m glad to have been a small part of his experience. An inspiration for sure.







Middleweight Supersport, 4th Place, Best Time 1:17.630, Conditions Dry



I got a good start and slotted into 4th position into T1. Going into T4 on the first lap Dustin Ranck attempted a pass under Brian Pinkstaff and I was anticipating them slowing each other and I was prepared to sneak by both. Dustin ran wide on the exit and Brian tucked up for the infamous over under move. I was not committed and they both stayed in front. I then had a battle with David Lane, Brian Schilt and Dave Wallway. It was a 4 way battle for 4th place until Wallway ground his peg in T4 and he stood the bike up and off into the grass he went. He ultimately rejoined. Then it was a 3 way battle battle, until I was able to scrub traffic just a little better than David and Brian. It was a fun battle.



450 Superbike, 4th Place, Best Time 1:17.366, Conditions Dry



This race was awesome. A decent start and I was able to slot into 5th place going into T1. I followed Greg Levin, but Greg seemed to be a little off his game this race. Maybe pushing just a little too hard to try and stay with the front 3. But by lap 3 Greg and I had some new guy join the mix. Club President Mike McDonough, in his first race this season, drafted past me on the front straight. Then I knew the fight was on. I would then tuck in behind, catch a small draft and slingshot past and out brake him into T1. This scenario played out for the next 9 laps. Mike would draft past and I would pass back on the brakes. Hold him off in the infield and then do it all over again. White flag lap I had him held off until the last corner when we had 2 lappers in front of us. I was able to pass one of them in T8 and was prepared to pass the 2nd lapper on entry into T9 but the r ider turned in a little earlier than anticipated and I had to get on the brakes, almost tuck the front all crossed up with Mike nearly hitting me from behind. On the exit, after gathering it all up, I chose to stand it up while Mike was able to get a good draft to the outside and Mike pipped me at the line for 3rd by an ironic 0.067 seconds (his number is 67). Oh, and by the way Mike, I want my rear sprocket back …..



Middleweight Superbike, 3rd Place, Best Time 1:29.331, Conditions Full Wet



Usually wet races are hard to call. I feel pretty at home in the wet, however the track was very dicey. Lots of oil had been laid down over the course of 2 months of no rain in the Portland area and now that we had a huge downpour it was all coming up. T3 was very treacherous with many rivulets of water streaming across the track. Track drainage needs to be addressed over the winter, especially in the area. I was able to quickly build a gap while holding onto a lonely 3rd place. My lackluster start prevented me from dicing with Dustin and Kevin. With no one to catch and no one pushing from behind, I was happy to chill and bring it home in 3rd with out pushing in the rain.



Thanks again to Ron at RPM and to all my sponsors and friends. Dustin as always is my race partner and someone I get to bounce ideas off of and Dave Salmi for all the help and motivation to get me up to speed. The rest of my pit buddies, Elaine, brother Eric, Jeff Brooks, Brian Moe, Mike Gray, Brian Pinkstaff, Kevin Pinkstaff, Oli Jervis and Dale Zlock. We missed Connie and Matt Gougler.



Sponsors that have helped me in some way along the way. Jason Pridmore and James Lickwar at the Pridmore Star School, PSSR, Richard Petty Enterprises, RPM, Alameda Dental, Moto Interactive, PSi Leathers, Impact Armor, ACME Motowear, Tech Spec, Pirelli Tires, Competition Motors, and Matt, Sam and Kim at Cycle Gear Portland.



Next race, and final round of the 2008 OMRRA series, is on October 12th. Hope to see you there.