First, I'd like to thank everyone who was watching the coverage on the 'net' and sent me mails regarding my DNF during qualifying, I did 'start' the qualifier and made the main (from row 15!), but here's the full story...
Last year, my best lap time ever was a 2:09.3. With the new bike, I was hoping to improve on those times. Ed Sorbo drove all the equipment out from L.A. including Bruce Lind and Briggs Willoughby's. We got the pit setup (thanks Ed!) on Tuesday and teched bikes and were ready for another long Daytona weekend. I drove 2 hours south to Fellsmere to pickup my new Cheetah bodywork from Jim Hiscott who worked his ass off making sure it was ready in time *and* painting it. It looks killer...black with silver-pinstriped number plates.
Wednesday
Practice was great. I got down to near my previous best times turning 2:09's, but the bike would not handle worth a damn and did not inspire confidence to go faster. Luckily, we were pitted very near Traxxion Dynamics. I went and saw Max, and we determined that the bike was under sprung (I knew that) and the brand new Ohlins rear shock had NO DAMPING and that the ride height was all wrong. You could turn the adjuster all the way in and the bike would pop right back up! (at that setting, it should have come back like a squeezed loaf of bread, not a balloon) The Traxxion guys were great; very fast and focused on customer service. In about two hours, I had new fork springs installed, a new rear shock spring installed, and the rear shock was revalved so that it actually *worked*. Max bounced on the bike and said "this is a good starting point".
Thursday
Went out in practice and after a few laps got used to the new feeling of the bike. About lap 6 I started going faster. I was passing riders here and there, and when Bonner came by me, I tried my best to keep up (actually, to *pass* him back :) It turns out that on lap 13, I did a 2:06.3 and backed it up with a 2:06.6 on the very next lap! I gained 3 seconds thanks to Traxxion Dynamics! Bruce Lind even commented that *he* did not think I had those times in me...I was pleased to say the least. This put me near 30th place in fastest practicing order. Now that the bike was working, I was really hoping I could *maybe* get down to a 2:04 by race day. Oliver who was "still finding his groove" was already turning 1:57 lap times.
Friday - Practice and Qualifying
I was still jetting the bike down to find the best power and the Bridgestones I put on at Willows were still looking good. Practice was more of the same, turning 2:09, 2:08, 2:07, then 2:06 laps. I now *know* how to do a 2:06 at Daytona. I was ready for Qualifying.
There were 60 bikes qualifying, 30 in each heat race. I was gridded in Row 4A for qualifying. I missed the warm-up lap, but that's not really important (read on); the tires were warm from the tire warmers. The green light goes on, and we are off. I get an okay start and filter into the mass of bikes going into Turn 1. I would guess I was in about 15th place at T2. I start setting my sights on the riders in front of me and will work to safely improve my starting grid position by my qualifier finish. I got a little wheel spin in the 2nd horseshoe, and was passed by a group of 3 riders when we hit the banking. I give chase and catch them by the chicane; they were braking way too early. As we exit the chicane and enter the banking again, I cannot pass so I follow the group towards T1. Again they hit the brakes a little early for my taste. I recall that Andy Edwards who was in the group was practicing a few seconds slower than me. I decide that I will setup for a pass on the back straight after the International Horseshoe. As we approach, these guys drop anchor like there was a car parked on the track. I totally misjudged their early braking, and had to decide 'inside' or 'outside'. I decided outside and just kept applying the Galfer brakes on the I-90 Motorsports TZ250. Andy who was in the back of this grouping kept coming left towards the outside. I kept braking and waiting for him to turn in. I was running out of track as he kept swinging wide and the blacktop turned to yellow as I was on the paint line. Then it turned green with Andy still ahead of me as I was now on the grass heading for the tire wall. I could see no way out of this one; cant turn, cant brake, decide to lowside the bike. I turn the bars and when I hit the ground, let go of it. We both came to a stop at the tire wall. I jump up and wave OK to the corner workers as I jump behind the tire wall. I had crashed my brand new 2000 TZ250 proving that it is *just a machine*. I get a ride back to the pits in the crash truck and start to assess the damage.
I hope you've read this far because the new Cheetah Racing Bodies bodywork by Hiscott Composites I picked up was *in tact*! The lower was slightly scuffed, but the tail section had BOTH number plates bashed in (like a plastic milk jug), but there were no missing sections or pieces. I punched the number plates from behind with my fist and they popped right back into place! There were a few cracks in the bodywork, but this stuff is very flexible and durable. Ordinary fiberglass would have broken into pieces, but this epoxy stuff Jim makes is great. With a few pieces of duct tape to cover some cracks, the bodywork was ready to go again. The only other damage was a broken front master brake cylinder, and get this, I found the brake lever and broken piece in the bottom of the lower!
So I was almost last in the qualifier, but I did start the qual. and would be in the main event.
Sunday - RACE DAY!
I noticed on Friday that the clutch felt weird and thought it might have gotten oil on it or something when I changed tranny ratios about 1 hour before qualifying. So I cleaned all the parts with some Motul contact cleaner and went out for practice. It had rained overnight and the track was damp. The 250's were out first, so I took it easy. Janet timed me at some 2:13's :) The main goal was checking the jetting via the SpeedTune by AIM Racing and scrubbing in the new Bridgestones. Mission accomplished, the entire bike was working perfectly. Fuel up, wait 2 hours and go race the 18 lap main event.
MAIN EVENT - I am gridded in Row 15B (out of 16) and am in the 2nd wave (starting about 5 seconds after the first 10 rows leave). We go out for the warm-up lap and I think it was Vos who crashed. So we got a 2nd warm-up lap and returned to the grid. The board reads 2, then 1, then the green light goes and the first 10 rows are off and racing. The rest of us wait...then all of the sudden the light just turns green! No #2, no #1, just a green light. Shit! I was already in gear and take off. I almost kill the bike and slip the clutch and try to get going. Almost instantly, the clutch starts slipping! I grab the lever adjuster and turn it all the way in...still slipping. By the time I exit the horseshoe, the bike is done and so am I. I do the best I can to get around the track. One guy passed me on the banking and now that I am DFL (dead f'ing last), I stay low and come back to the pits and park the bike. I finished 59th out of 65 racers and 62 starters. Not the way I wanted things to turnout, but hey there's NEXT YEAR for Daytona and the rest of the season is still ahead of me.
I would like to thank I-90 Motorsports, Cheetah Racing Bodies, SpeedTune, Galfer, Motul, Lockhart-Phillips, PBI Sprockets, and Bridgestone.
For other race reports, please see http://korygill.net/korygillracing-retro/racereports.html.
I hope you enjoyed my race report. If you have questions, comments, or want any specifics on my race setup or anything else, just ask.
Kory Gill
#15 AMA 250GP
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