2009 AMA season Higbee Racing recap

It’s amazing that even though the AMA season was relatively short, at 6 months in length. It felt like it absorbed more than a years worth of emotional and physical energy.  Racing of any type is difficult but even more so with the flux which was rampant in AMA roadracing competition this year.  Major changes within the AMA race organization, rules package, race format, and a struggling economy made for a very long season.  The 2009 season felt unfamiliar, however it certainly delivered change and was a growing year.  In my opinion the improved brand parity in AMA roadracing has increased the competition levels to rival world class events.  Sure it was an untypical year, but the 2009 season is more memorable in many ways than previous seasons.

In 1989 I started my racing career, and it has been an incredible 20 years of competition!  The peaks have been a mixture of international racing success, a score of 3 U.S National Championships, plus many individual race wins.  On the flip side, I’ve learned to endure the pain of injury and how to deal with the defeat of crashing. My body has been punished with broken bones including : both femurs, right wrist, ribs, collar bone, fingers, hip, and shoulder dislocation. The waves of glorious highs and treacherous lows have made me appreciate the essence of life.  After dedicating more than half my lifetime to motorcycle roadracing, it has taught me much.  I’ve learned how to over come fears and break through self limiting barriers.  Motorcycle roadracing has afforded me confidence to succeed and provide an arena to accomplish things I didn’t realize were possible.  To succeed I’ve learned that it takes passion, dedication, perseverance, positive visualization, courage, and to be surrounded by others who share the same attributes.  When all of this comes together and is injected with the right tools and equipment, a champion is born.  Unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to possess the championship attributes in 2009.  And as a racer it’s frustrating to compete knowing that you’re lacking some of the pieces to achieve the best results.

There has been more up and down this year than any previous race season. By far the biggest up of the year was the amount of support that came from race enthusiasts, friends/family, and my fiancé.  The downs included a mechanical dnf, series of crashes, and difficulty coming to terms with the new rules and procedures.  Partly out of spite and necessity, I created team Higbee Racing to buck the system and test my ability to survive.  The strategy that developed throughout the season was laughable.  Instead of racing to improve, the strategy became how much of a disadvantage can I withstand and still finish in the top 20 paying position. There was one positive to this that materialized.  As the cards where increasingly stacked against me, I pushed my riding abilities further and further.  It was very satisfying to consistently exceed the traction limits and elevate my personal riding limits.  Throughout the 2009 season, I rode harder than ever before in my career and developed a very high level of stamina and endurance.

In every aspect of racing the thoughts of efficiency instigated over usage, which became the status quo to extract every bit of usefulness. It was a season of getting the most out of used tires, the overworked volunteering crew, the high mileage engines, and skimping to cut all expenses!  When I worked at Buell I hated the concept of the 80/20 rule. However that’s exactly what I was forced to adhere to this season.  Arguably this is a misuse of the pareto principle, but I really did try to get a 80% result with only 20% of the proper resources. Now that the AMA season is complete, it’s gratifying to have stayed true to my principles and not folded in to an unjust offer. Ironically the best finish, 5th place in DSB,  was at the start of the season during the Daytona 200. It seems that the other teams were able to develop their bikes throughout the year, which allowed the competition to improve however we stood still with little to no development.  Progression and bike development wasn’t an option and  I feel that hindered our results, even though I rode better than before.  It was quite exhausting knowing that every race finish was paramount to being able to continue racing at the next event. The stakes were always high!  Not only was I putting my life on the line but I’d have to gamble everything I had to make it to the races and needed to make it into the money or else…  For the most of the season we finished inside of the top twenty in Daytona Sportbike and American Superbike, but when I didn’t it was desperate times.  I felt some relief throughout the year, and honestly my ass was saved more than once by generous race supporters.   Thank you to all!

July 25th, 2009 Socal Buell Riders Gather at San Diego Harley-Davidson

Throughout my career I’ve pretty much blended in with the crowd and didn’t draw much attention other than winning occasionally.  Sure it would have helped my racing if I were more outgoing and flamboyant but honestly I was content in pushing the bike and myself to the limits.  Later in my career I became fascinated with the physics behind motorcycle road racing and design as well. So I’ve spent most of the last 15 years testing the limits, grasping the physics and engineering as it related to roadracing.

 This year however, has been filled with many surprises and I have realized a whole new dimension to racing.  From the start of the race season support has surfaced in unlikely places.  I have to thank Marianne for her help in establishing an online presence for Higbee Racing and giving me a way to interact with people.  I have met some incredibly nice and generous people who have shown support at the Willow Springs and some AMA events.  But it was shocking when I heard that the SoCal Buell Riders group, recently founded by Wolf, was planning on holding a benefit ride in conjunction with the San Diego HD dealership to auction off some Buell merchandise, sell some Higbee Racing t-shirts take donations for the race tire fund.  This was quite an organized effort and I felt honored and overwhelmed.  And to top it off Jerry and Kathlene offered us their Ulysses to ride, so Marianne and I could attend the event!   

I believe twenty five bikes signed up for the ride around the San Diego Area.  The route was approximately 116 miles and took us about 3 hours.  After the ride we meet up at the San Diego Dealership where they had a band playing and barbeque going on.  The ride was fun, everyone was safe, and the roads were twisty.  Okay it’s true…. I did let the bikes in front gap us so we could speed up the pace through some of the tighter corners.  I think the guys following us knew what I was doing, and had them smiling a bit more!

Higbee Race Summary from the AMA Mid-Ohio Roadrace

July 18th-19th   2009

Prior to leaving for Ohio, Mitsu and I had our work cut out for us as we swapped the well-used motor for another fresh stock, crated motor.  Mitsu gathered his tools from Bartels’ HD and flew in from LA to Milwaukee on Wednesday night.  He immediately started working on the Buell1125R race bike in my garage.  I had previously removed the old engine and so the bare frame was ready for the new heart.  Mitsu clicked away at the project with the precision of a Swiss watch.  I only tended to a few areas of the engine installation. Leaving Mitsu from the distraction of my hands I focused on repairing bodywork, preparing wheels, sprockets, swing arm etc.  

Photo by Dan Lo of cornerspeedphoto.com

My 3 year old twins were having fun playing with us in the garage.  I only had to fetch a few tools from the front yard, LOL.  It quickly became bedtime for the kids so I tucked them in bed and went back to help Mitsu.  We worked all night and finally finished the bike, loaded up the trailer and were ready for bed around 5am on Thursday.  The alarm was set for 7:30am, 2.5 hours of sleep would have to do.  Unfortunately the kids beat the alarm by a few minutes and were up and playing in their bedrooms.  We  loaded the kids into the dually and with a 44ft trailer in tow, we set out for a 7 hour drive.  Okay here we go, all I need is a little Redbull and adrenaline. Thank God my mom was coming to the races to help care for the kids!

The crucial decision heading into Mid-Ohio was should I catch up on the mortgage or buy tires?  This weekend is a double-header so that means a huge tire bill to compete in the Daytona Sportbike and Superbike events.  As the AMA has increase parity, it too has increased the importance of new tires for all track sessions.  A few tenths of a second could mean several position further up the grid and farther away from the dreaded 21st position.  To ensure your best qualifying position and solid races, I estimate it takes at least $3700.  To max out the regulated tire allotment, and burn up some soft tires for a few extra tenths of second improvement in lap time, be prepared to dish out over $5000.  Now I’m sure that these costs are not considered high for those accustomed to running racecars, or even the motorcycle teams with 1 million dollar budgets, but for the privateers who fund their program from the purse money it’s a debilitating reality.  Especially when top 20 results for all four races will only gross $6000.

The Laguna Seca purse/Mortgage money ran out early and I need to thank my parents and Ozzie for contributing to the tire fund and getting us through the weekend.  I also want to thank all of the fans who purchased shirts through the higbee-racing.com website and showed up at the races.  There were so many people supporting me at Mid-Ohio, I couldn‘t give up, even as hard and dismal as things seemed.  I attacked every corner of every lap like I was running scared from a disaster.  Every corner was an opportunity to evaluate the limits of the tires and plan a more aggressive attack the next time around.  I not only found the limits but found myself riding past the limits of the tires all too often.  Frequently losing the front tire and falling down on the footpeg, fairing, and ultimately preventing a crash by putting my knee down and using more throttle.  Whether it was heroics or intervention, I felt fortunate not to crash out.  However it does seem that the TTR dirt riding is helping my riding abilities too, as I felt comfortable drifting the 1125R with both tires sliding evenly through a few corners.  

I also worked with the crew and we honed the bike setup throughout the weekend.  We struggled to find the best combination of front/rear tire balance, versus tire wear, while maintaining good cornering abilities.  Saturday’s setup was good for tire wear but compromised grip balance and wasn’t finishing the corners well.  In Sunday’s Sportbike race we went backwards in the setup and grip levels and balance were off in left field.  We finally got the setup right in the Sunday Superbike race and where able to click off some mid 1:28 laps.  The bike would finally turn, had good grip balance, but was a bit  harder on the tires.  The net result was a faster elapsed race time for the 23 laps, but the pace definitely slowed in the last part of the race.  Whereas the Saturday race setup was slower ultimately but was easier on the tires and allowed me to run consistently right to the end of the race.

Photo by Dan Lo of cornerspeedphoto.com

Overall the Mid-Ohio weekend was promising, with a 10th place finish in Sportbike race 1 and a 15th place finish in Superbike race 2.  I feel like we can claw our way back up into the top five with some sponsorship, bike development and a crap load of work!  I’m very frustrated with having to run a stock 1125R engine in the Superbike class.  It’s unrealistic to keep running the stock bike in Superbike and expect to always finish in the top 20.  So I am going to work hard to get onboard a competitive Superbike before the end of this year and see how far up the finish order I can get!  I either need to hop-up the stock Buell engine, by the grace of God and the powers that be somehow obtain a 40K Buell1125RR, or will have to ride “something else” in Superbike. 

Photo by Dan Lo of cornerspeedphoto.com

I really missed not having my fiancée, Marianne, trackside to help out, but it was nice to have other family members there along with plenty of friends and fans.  Even though not at the track, Marianne did an awesome job reporting on the races remotely via twitter.com.  I would like to give special thanks to my crew Mike Richter, Mitsu, Scott, Michelle, Paul, Tyler, Rosemary, Ozzie, and Mike. Mike R. did a fantastic job as crew chief once again.  Mitsu was extremely overworked but never missed a beat and kept the bike running without any issues.  Scott really came up to speed as he is more familiar with the maintenance and tire changing routines.  Michelle helped out in the pit area and cheered us on.  My dad managed the tires, fuel, and pit board, as well as offering the good father to son talk.  Tyler kept me hydrated and was my go-to person.  My mom, Rosemary, took care of my kids and cheered from the trackside.  Ozzie and Mike were always in there lending a hand, taking split times, and helping with pit transportation.  And as always racing wouldn’t be possible without my sponsors Bartels’ HD/Buell, Buell Motorcycle, Pilot Leathers, Shoei, Pit Bull, Dunlop, Sunoco, Traxxion Dynamics, EK chain, Vortex, and Pit Bull.  We also received some help from the James Gang / Hoban Brothers Buell racing team.  Thanks to everyone!

I’m off to CA to hang out with the SoCal Buell riders for a ride with their group in San Diego this weekend.  Other than that I’ll be busy training, searching out additional sponsorships, enjoying some time with Marianne, and preparing the bikes for the next round at Topeka on August 1st and 2nd.

A huge thank you to Dan Lo of http://www.cornerspeedphoto.com  for the great photos!

Set New Track Record @ Willow Springs Round 4

This month’s WSMC event was one of my best weekends at Willow Springs to date. The highlight was finishing third in the Formula 1 race, which was better than I ever expected to do with a stock engine Buell. I also won the Heavyweight Twins and Formula Twins Heavyweight races aboard the Bartels’ HD/Buell. I was feeling extremely comfortable and aggressive on the bike and was able to set a new class lap record of 1:22.445 in Heavyweight Twins.

It wasn’t easy sailing though….there was some apprehension that weekend as we remembered the accident in turn 8 that took racer, Pancho Spain’s life. A ceremony was held and family members spread his ashes near turn 8. Because racing is dangerous my instincts are to detach myself from the possible dangers. However, while watching Pancho’s ceremony at the riders’ meeting I was feeling a bit uneasy because the obvious dangers were undeniable. I certainly felt sorrow for the loss of a fellow racer even though I didn’t know Pancho personally. But after the riders’ meeting I knew I must not let the fear of death enter my mind while on the racetrack. My focus had to be on the “procedure” I’ve used to navigate safely around the Willow Springs Racetrack. Truth is, it’s my job now and I really needed to work hard on improving my riding techniques of getting into the corners deeper and hone my ability to slide both ends of the motorcycle.

Willow Springs Raceway offers high speed turns as well as straightaway speeds in excess of 160 mph. Turn 1, 2, 8 and 9 are very fast corners. This weekend I focused on braking really late going into turn one without compromising my exit speed. Occasionally I’d lift the rear wheel or otherwise just backing it in a bit and laying black marks going into one. I learned that using more rear brake took the load off of the front so the front felt planted when approaching the apex. This new approach felt like maybe 1 or 2 tenths quicker through turn 1. The right hand turn two is like a 1/2 mile dirt track turn but in the opposite direction. I practiced running it into the turn harder and harder until losing the front. A couple of times it felt really good…slide the front in…picked up the throttle to balance the bike….felt both ends drift out equally through the middle…and dialed in the throttle to slide sideways on the exit. Sliding both ends was like the Holy Grail for me…a feeling of calmness, quiet and smoothness as lateral loads slowly dropped to near nothing. There was no fear of falling because the lean angle didn’t waver, just pure lateral drift. If I could only do that every lap of every turn I’d be World Champion! LOL. Turn nine is difficult because the outside edge of the track is blind until well past the apex. I was able to really nail down a consistent turn in and apex position which gave me confidence to get WOT early and slide the rear right to the tracks edge. Turns 1, 2 and 9 are impressive but there are no racetracks in the country with a corner that deserves respect like Willow’s turn 8.

On the Buell 1125R you approach turn 8 flat out in top gear, breathe off the throttle just enough to initiate the turn in, and immediately start rolling back on to WOT. Turn 8 has taught me a lot about reading the track conditions, being committed to the throttle, and the significance line choice has on tire wear. The wind speeds and directions can be quite variable at Willow. Judging the wind speeds and direction is one of the keys to going fast through turn 8. Between the wind catching your front wheel and the slight dips in the asphalt its pretty common to lose the front tire grip sometime after the turn in point. I’m usually good for at least one tire smoking front tire slide per weekend. Thank God for physics and the stabilization offered by the bikes strong gyroscopic effects at such high speeds. The other things that seems to work well is to get back to WOT ASAP so you can steer the bike by sliding the rear tire. As crazy as it sounds, at corner entry when rear tire starts to step out is when I can relax because I know I’m not going to crash. At this point it’s just a matter of preserving the tire by limiting the spinning. But sometimes it just feels good to spin’er all the way through!

I really need to thank my crew, Mitsu and Marianne, for their support throughout the weekend. I didn’t know until after the fact, but apparently Mitsu was at Slaughter’s house working on the bikes really late! Thanks for the use of your shop Steve….great job Mitsu the bikes ran flawlessly on Sunday. And as always, I couldn’t live without the help and support of Marianne, she’s my driving force! I want to also thank Ozzie who volunteers his time helping out when he can. I couldn’t do it without you guys. I would also like to recommend some fine companies that you might have a need to contact in the future- Bartels’ HD/Buell, Dunlop, Pilot Leathers, Shoei, EK Chain, Taylor Made Racing, Vortex Sprockets, and Pit Bull.

Next Stop AMA – Barber May 1-3.