Bartels‘ HD/Buell Sponsors Higbee Racing to Compete at Willow Springs May Event

May 17^th 2009 Rosamond, CA

Although I was scheduled to race the AMA event at Infineon on this weekend, things didn’t work out as planned.  I ended up racing at Willow instead of the AMA event.  It was a troublesome build-up to the Willow event but I did feel some relief at the conclusion of the weekend.  The tension started during the drive back to WI from Barber, where I was disappointed we didn’t finish higher but was thankful that the 16^th, 19^th, 19^th and 20^th positions in the Daytona Sportbike and American Superbike respectively, was in the money.  Or at least that is what I thought when I packed up the race trailer to drive toward CA in preparation for the next AMA round at Infineon.

I arrived at Marianne’s house after a few days of traveling across the country and was in a panic because my funds were dried up and the AMA money from Barber still hadn’t made it into my account.  After several failed attempts to reach someone at the AMA offices I finally received a voice message explaining that I didn’t finish in the money because they only paid back to the top twenty positions.  At first it didn’t make any sense what they were talking about because I did finish in the top twenty and assumed some reporting error or something similar.  Additional follow-up revealed that I didn’t understand the payout procedure and wasn’t going to receive any purse money from Barber even though I finished in the top twenty in all 4 races.  Coincidentally, the AMA issued a bulletin that same day, clarifying how it paid out the purse money based on combined points from race#1 and race#2.  So as it turns out, by the points system I was accredited with 21^st position in Daytona Sportbike and 23^rd position in American Superbike.

This situation added extra drama, created a serious low point and I honestly didn’t know what to do.  Mike Richter was scheduled to get on a plane, so I had to call him ASAP and explain that I wouldn’t be able to go to Infineon.  I also followed up with Mitsu to explain the bad news.  The Willow Springs event was going on the same weekend as Infineon but it wasn’t part of the 7 race Willow sponsorship deal that I have with Bartels HD/Buell.  My only hope was to call Bill Bartels to see if he would be able to extend his sponsorship to include the May event as well.  Thanks to Bill Bartels and Marianne I was able to get to Willow.  I called Mitsu back to share the new plan and was hopeful that we’d have another good weekend at Willow.   

The Buell 1125R’s have been very dependable so far this season but they have a ton of race miles and are in great need of service and repair.  With that much time on the bikes I was very concerned that they wouldn’t hold together for another weekend.  So to minimize the wear and tear we decided to just run a single Sunday morning practice and then go straight to the races.  Thanks to Mitsu, he did his magic and kept the bikes running all weekend.  The Formula Heavyweight Twins and BOTT heavyweight races went as planned with convincing wins.  In the Formula One race, I didn’t quite nail the start and found myself dicing with a few other guys.  Unable to clear them completely, the other bikes did a good job of blocking in the corners and prevented me from capitalizing on the Buell’s mid-corner speed advantage.  All was not lost though as I managed the tire throughout the 20 lap race well enough to finish 6^th in the competitive F1 race.

Willow was in sort my salvation, to get back on track in both senses of the word.  I thrive at the challenges of racing but sometimes it’s more than I bargained for.  However seeing all of the Buell enthusiasts at Willow inspires me to push on.  One of those enthusiasts and an overall great guy is fellow Buell racer Ernie Snair.  He’s a strong ambassador for Buell and always has a fun group of people following him.  Thank you Ernie, Mitsu, Marianne, Steve, Sunny, and Bartel’s HD/Buell for your continued support!  Higbee Racing is also proud to be sponsored by Pilot leathers, Shoei, Vortex, Dunlop, Pit Bull, EK chain, and Traxxion Dynamics.

Next stop is the June 5^th/6^th AMA event at Road America in Elkhart Lake.  The Buell homecoming should be a hoot with riders gathering in Wisconsin from all across the country.  We hope to put on a good show for everyone at RA!

#11 Higbee Racing Barber Motorsports Park Report – AMA Pro Roadracing

Leeds, AL 5/2/09

 After having such a good weekend at Willow in April, I was hoping to take that momentum to Barber and put in a really good showing on the Bartels’ HD/Buell 1125R.  The Barber track is tight and technical just how I like them.  Horsepower shouldn’t matter as much at Barber and felt like top 15 in Superbike was possible.  Daytona Sportbike has proven to be the most competitive class I’ve ever competed in but felt like a top 10 was a realistic goal.  I was extremely thankful for my friends and Buell employees’ support that would allow me to compete at the Barber event.  These days just getting to the next race is an accomplishment.

I had a hard time focusing on improving the bike setup and getting myself dialed in on the corners because of the varying weather conditions and non-stop on track and off track  responsibilities.  The double header weekends are an incredible amount of work for rider and crew!  When running Superbike and Daytona Sportbike, Friday thru Sunday it seemed like we were always on track with practice, qualifying or races.  With that much track time there isn’t enough time for my traditional relaxation and mental prep naps prior to going out on track.  Plus, the torrential downpour and tornado warnings put everyone on edge.  As if the crew didn’t have enough to worry about, now they had to tear down the pits only to set it up again after the weather passed.  And my lowside crash in qualifying added some additional work load too.  Luckily the bike was only lightly damaged and the Pilot leathers held up well so I escaped without injury.  At the apex of turn 8, I was caught off guard and lost the front end,  partly due to the combination of  a new rear and used front tire, plus a slight change to the setup which caused the front to push more.

The crash during the Sportbike qualifying meant that we weren’t able to put in a good time and therefore was stuck starting back in 30^th position.  A poor starting position in combination with the 2 by 2 bike rolling start configuration pretty much shot my chances of a top ten finish.  Barber is a difficult track to pass at plus the field was very stretched out at the start of the race.  So moving up through the pack to finish in the top twenty in the Daytona Sportbike race #1 felt like an accomplishment.   

Tire choices, tire choices, tire choices…..slick, DOTs, or full rains?  Well for the wet  Daytona  Sportbike race #2 we ran with full rains.  The track was quite wet at the start of the race but a dry line slowly developed throughout the race.  The grip was amazing, dragging knee even at the start of the race when the track was completely soaked.  Wet tires were the right choice, but the front rain tire was completely shucked by ½ way through the race.  Every right hand corner was a perpetual crash that never completely happened.  I held my breath on right hand corner entry until I could get past the apexes.  There were more moments of falling onto my knee and  hold the bike up than I’ve ever had in a single race!  I think this was my best wet performance since racing in the Lemans 24hr endurance race years ago.  I was very excited to be working my way up through the field and wished the race was a bit longer.  I had to be pleased with finishing 16^th in the Daytona Sportbike race #2 especially considering the 30^th starting position.

 

The Superbike races results were just “okay”, finishing 19^th and 20^th.  The highlight was being ninth quickest on the Buell in the wet warm-up session right before the Superbike race #2!  Granted just coming off the track gave me an advantage because I had a handle on the grip levels of the track surface.  Nontheless, it was cool to see the Buell that far up in the Superbike order. 

Once again I’m very thankful for my dedicated crew of Mike, Mitsu, and Marianne.  I also couldn’t have competed if it were not for the support of my sponsors.  Thanks to Bartels’ HD/Buell, the employees at Buell Motorcycle, Pilot Leathers, Shoei, Vortex, EK Chain, Dunlop, and Taylor Made Racing.  Even though I went to Barber on  the thin edge of disaster we were able to just sneak by and finished in the top twenty for the 4 races.  This meant I’d have enough money to pay for the Barber expenses and go on to the next event at Infineon, or so I thought……..