Four riders, four bikes, 21 sprint races, three sidecar monkey races and one 92-lap endurance race.
One DNF, too many podiums to count and one newly licensed USCRA rider. Start. Finish. Improve. That pretty much sums up the CBE Works Racing team’s Grand Finale at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
- Getting to the Starting Line
- Sunday: Back on Track
- The Three Amigos Take on Loudon
- Brenden Earns His Racing Stripes
- Monday: Game Faces Back On
- 92 Laps to an Endurance Victory
But before we get into the racing, we need a little soundtrack. Turn this up!
It may just become our new hot-pit theme song. We’ll come back to that later.
Getting to the Starting Line
Getting to the start ended up being the hardest part this time. Pooh had a number of new elements for the weekend following the “Canaan Incident”: waist-level exhaust to address our scraping issue, a lower 18T counter sprocket to make better use of fourth gear, progressive fork springs to keep the front end up, new triple trees to replace the bent units, straightened clubman bars, a form-fitting belly pan, thanks to Steve, that also eliminated scraping, and a fairing to help on Loudon’s long main straightaway. Not to mention yards of safety wire.
I had hoped to put several days of fine-tuning into the bike before the weekend. Instead, I enjoyed an all-expense-paid, three-day visit to the local hospital to fix a collapsed lung I had apparently been sporting for a week following a trail-running fall. They fixed it in an hour, then had me cool my heels in “observation” for the duration of my stay. I was very fortunate, lucky and happy, but going nuts knowing the bike wasn’t done.
The team stepped up. C2 had already put in a pile of work, and then he, Jim B, Brenden, Sherb and I put the coals to it Saturday. Eventually we had to throw the bike into the trailer unfinished so we could get Brenden to Race School for 6 p.m. C2 came down as well, and we finally finished the fairing just before 9 p.m. We were allowed one short burst of running before curfew, the first time Pooh had barked since Canaan.
Sunday Morning: Back on Track
Sunday morning practice confirmed my beneath-the-surface fears. The pipes and belly pan had solved the scraping problem, but now the engine tune was screwed. Griff came in after just a few laps and reported that the midrange was a gaggle of misfiring.
We got lucky by mixing and matching needle position with a different set of slides. It was better and raceable, although not perfect. The Boy Wonder simply changed his shift points and learned to live with it. And all of this happened before second practice.
Euro Cup and a Little USCRA Triage
Euro Cup was next, with Steve aboard his reconstituted Guzzi, now in RED and looking meaner than ever. The mean machine had its own issues getting dialed in. Griff came across the finish line first, shaking his fist in delight, until another kind of shaking announced itself: a broken exhaust header on the timing side. He limped the bike back just in time to jump off and get into his sidecar race.
Then came some classic USCRA paddock triage. C2 got the pipe off, and with help from a new friend in the next paddock, had it welded and back together in about 45 minutes. We reconfigured the exhaust setup to reduce stress on the joint, resulting in a somewhat unsightly tangle of 40-thou safety wire. But it held for the rest of the weekend. Happily, that was our last significant mechanical issue, other than a broken tach cable Monday.
The Three Amigos Take on Heavy Weight Super Vintage
Heavy Weight Super Vintage came in the middle of Sunday afternoon with our three heroes lined up at the start. Peter finished second, Griff took third and Steve was…kinda pissed. The Guzzi simply wasn’t on song, especially in the handling department.
Overnight, Steve changed the fork oil and made some adjustments. He emerged Monday morning as a new man with a new bike, and he was jonesing for a rematch with the kid.
Brenden Earns His Racing Stripes
Meanwhile, Brenden progressed nicely through two practices, his rookie race and two additional class races. As the weekend went on, he looked increasingly comfortable aboard the Ninja, including taking a shift during Sunday’s endurance race. In hindsight, the Ninja has been a great pickup for CBE Works Racing, proving itself as an excellent entry-level track and race bike as well as our dedicated endurance race bike for future seasons.
By Monday, Brenden was running Formula Middle Weight smoothly and consistently, keeping every lap under two minutes and turning a weekend-best 1:55. Not a bad way to earn your USCRA racing license.
The Mighty Titan Keeps Steaming Along
All weekend, the mighty Titan just kept steaming along. Peter quietly got himself started on the rollers and needed assistance only to get the bike onto the track stand when he returned. The bike is drop-dead gorgeous, and builder Ken, while sunning himself in Europe, was waiting for updates throughout the weekend.
Peter collected a pile of podiums, but who really cares… it’s a two-stroke. Seriously, the lack of mechanical drama gave Peter plenty of time to coach Brenden and handle the roughly 39 other jobs required of him as a USCRA race official. He did have one serious mechanical problem Sunday when the silencers began coming apart, but helpful hands, including Brenden’s, got him back onto the track by third call for his final race.
Sunday Night: Podiums, Peter and the Grill
The awards ceremony is essentially the Peter Booth Show, since Peter MCs the event, and he did not disappoint, especially since Griff collected a first and a third. We announced that Jim B was on the grill and invited the gang over to our garage for a grill fest and corn.
The invitation was very well received. USCRA is a great organization, and it was a nice way to say thanks for a fun first season.
Monday: Game Faces Back On
Come Monday morning, the game faces were back on. Steve was up first in Masters with Peter, then went directly into Euro Cup, Race #2, with the kid. He took no prisoners, finishing first overall and 14 seconds ahead of the Norton, which was running fine and scored second behind him. Steve had been on a mission, and he was a much happier man.
Heavy Weight Super Vintage, featuring the Three Amigos, was Race #5 and did not disappoint. Pooh came around the final turn and clipped the Guzzi by one second to claim third. The Titan had lost its chain on the previous lap, clearing the way for Griff’s podium finish but ending Peter’s weekend.
Brenden then closed out the team’s sprint racing in Formula Middle Weight, smooth and steady and consistently under the two-minute mark. Then it was time for the big one.
92 Laps to an Endurance Victory
Next came the three-hour Endurance Race. We had planned on four riders, but broken-rib guy C2 had to bow out, leaving Brenden, Steve and Griff on the Ninja. It turned out to be a lot of fun to watch as the boys peeled off 92 laps over three hours and brought home first place in their division. The Ninja was exactly the right tool for the job.
Four riders, four bikes and a weekend of scrambling, fixing, tuning, coaching, racing and occasionally holding things together with safety wire. Ninety-two laps later, the team had an endurance victory to cap its first season.
Start. Finish. Improve.
Now go back and listen to the lyrics of “The Distance.” Griff would still be out there.
Results, Photos and More from Loudon
Scott Hussey Photography
Great racing photography as always. Look for bike numbers 8 (Brenden), 44 (Griff), 725 (Peter) and 858 (Steve). Please don’t copy and paste the photographs. This is the photographer’s livelihood.
Westhold Timing
Complete race timing broken down by riders and laps. Look for USCRA.
USCRA Results
See all the famous names and how they fared this season.
CBE Works Race Team Photo Folder
Our own collection from the weekend. Uploads are in progress.