AMA SuperBike Races at Barber

[donaldb]

Are'nt they racing out in California next weekend? If I'm correct, are any of our west coast members going? I'm headed back home today and back in the office chair tomorrow.

 

[NoCage]

Hey DB... was good meeting you. I looked around for you later and Sunday... didn't find you. I guess there was to much eye candy walking around... very distracting. :dribble: It's a great venue... motorcycle racing just kicks ass, period. I did meet up with 3 feejer pilots Sat. morning at 29Dreams. Pete (on an '06) and Jack (on an '04 I think) from Oklahoma were there for breakfast. Also met Larry?... from Tallahassee. Parked near Jack from Nashville on Sunday. All nice guys... I haven't run into one Feejer pilot asshole yet (maybe I'm it?) :haha:

I did the parade lap this year. The wife of a friend of mine is interested in riding, and asked my bud about riding on the back of mine. It was interesting seeing the track from the racers' perspective. I really didn't comprehend what 80 feet of elevation change was until I ran the track... and we got almost 3 laps. They should call it blue balls lap, because it certainly was a tease. I may get an older used bike for track days.

A friend took a ton of pics with an 8 megapixel camera with a long lens... I'll post some of them up (reduced). He got a pic of the rider in mid-air when 2 bikes collided in turn 5 (hairpin) of the 1st lap in one race.

Ben Spies is #11, Matt Mladin is #1. They're both on the Suzuki Yoshimura team. Mladin has owned the Superbike series for a few years now, he's been like Rossi is to MotoGP. In the 1st race, Spies took an outside line passing a lapped rider. It must've spooked the lapped rider because he braked and stood the bike up. Mladin was right behind Spies and was committed to that line, so Mladin was run off the track. Mladin's demise was more obvious in the Sunday race when he low-sided in turn 5... with a big lead.

Next week they'll be in Fontana, CA.

Superbike planet is a great site to keep up with 2-wheel racing.

 

[Scab]

Dang. I hate that I missed you guys this weekend. Work has thrown some nasty deadlines my way of late. Then, just to make things worse, we found out that my 17 year old daughter has cervical cancer. I hung out with her Saturday.

I did make a quickie-run up Cheaha Sunday. Saw an '05 with trunk riding 2-up. Any of you guys?

 

[petey]

Hey SouthernFJR, good to meet you as well. Boy, "29 Dreams" resort is a must visit if you all get a chance. I was impressed. The road (Hwy 25) getting there, is very technical and fun to ride. But BEEE careful for the hairpin on the way there.

 

[donaldb]

Hey Scab, sorry to hear bout your daughtor, I'll say a short prayer and I hope things work out. My niece was diagnosed w/uterine cancer while in her early 20's and she survived though children are not in her future (cept by way of adoption) which aint such a bad thing these days. You did the right thing by staying by her side.

Southernfjr, sorry I did not make breakfast but as you know and saw I just rode in when we met by chance in the Barbers parkinglot. Trip over was about a perfect as you could wish, weather was cool and overcast. Windshield in the down position, hardly any traffic. Made only one stop on the way and that was at BP station, first exit off 459 bypass. Stretched legs, gulped down a cup of java, filled the tank and headed on to Barbers. I look forward to seeing the pics and I was in the general area where your were, in the shade across from the score tower. Took me a while to figure out what it was I was watching, after I bought a program and picked up on some tip/things from the surrounding crowd, I felt like a vet. by day two. I saw Mat low side in turn 5,----then to see hime come back from last to 3rd--I mean damn that was cool! Spies doing the wheelie down the front stretch, waiving to the crowd as he crossed the finish line and doing the burn out right in front of us on the back stretch was absolutely incredable. I'm still not sure of the top speed of those bike on the straights but if I had to guess I'd say somewhere around 170+/-. Listening to those Duc's short shift was cool. I took the tram around ring road on day one and watched the race from different angles. I also liked watching from the hill side where the bikes exited the pit, the elevation change in that hard right was awsome. What a hoot, I had lots of fun and will do that again next year. I hope I can meet up w/you guys for breakfast next time. Likewise it was a pleasure meeting you.

 

[donaldb]

Oh yea, here's one thing I have not yet figured out, why was there no Yamaha represented in the superbike field/class?

 

[donaldb]

Anybody from here leaving out of the Sonic parkinglot in Leeds, AL Monday 4/24 at about 10 a.m. on a blue 05? If so, I was the 04 who waved from across the intersection

 

[Bike Effects]

Oh yea, here's one thing I have not yet figured out, why was there no Yamaha represented in the superbike field/class?

You will have to wait untill next year for that. You will then see Eric Bostrom campaigning the R1.

 

[parnellIII]

I met many fjr riders this past weekend at Barbers and was informed of this website. Thanks to that Gent and looking forward to meeting many more in the future. Mark