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Racing the Las Vegas Classic Course
By Dale Whelan, Terry Jasper and Mike Lachance
All photography ©2002 by Mike R. Lachance

GETTING TO THE TRACK
Mike was to be at the house at 5:00pm. Of course he showed up before on time. He's pretty reliable that way. By 5:20pm we're on the road.

A good friend, Terry Jasper, had called earlier in the day and said he probably wasn't going to go. I gave him a bit of a hard time. He said it was a money thing, I said I'd loan him the money if needed to pay a traffic ticket.

We're now on the way to north Phoenix to get the trailer, the bikes and Terry Jasper, who will be racing his FZR400.

5:30pm: Traffic is heavy on the northbound 101, but we're still moving. We got the trailer, loaded up Terry's bike and are now on the way to Terry's house to drop off his car. Little does he know that we plan to find lunch after that, somewhere on the road. We all agree Wickenburg will do. At Terry's house we wait… and wait… we suspect he took a power nap inside, but eventually he re-emerges and we are on our way. For real.

8:00pm and we're now on the way to Wickenburg after checking tire pressures. We've been spending some time talking about muscle cars, I don't know shit about them but we've been talking about them. Terry and Mike seem to know a good deal about them. It's TacoBell time in Wickenburg and by 9:10pm we're back on the road again. That's the last of "civilization" we will see for some time.

About 20 minutes later, my co-pilots begin to worry that we won't have enough fuel to reach Kingman. I think I have gas in the trailer. After all, we calculated all this out… didn't we? Mike says he has a cell phone, just in case. (I was hoping somebody would have one.) Regardless, I suspect we'll be in a dead zone when we need to call. We collectively estimate we're about half way to Kingman and have about half a tank of gas, so we're just about ready to take bets on whether or not we'll make it. Terry knows the town and informs us there is gas about ten miles this side of Kingman.

10:00pm: Things are looking grim. While the first half of the trip was on mostly flat ground, we now have some serious hills coming up. We approach a big one that slows us down to golf cart speed and sucks exorbitant amounts of fuel out of our tank. This is not looking good. One-Eighth tank of gas left and there is no way in hell we are ever gonna make it to Kingman. More hills! We figure Wickiup is our only hope. Terry believes there will be nothing open there at this time of night. Mike doesn't seem to disagree. Nonetheless, we focus all our positive energies on the contrary. One thing is clear, none of us seem the least bit concerned about running out of gas. Idiots.

We spot the lights of Wickiup in the distance. There's just a little gas remaining. We are all crying hysterically and Terry is talking about star-date logs. From a few miles out, Terry is counting how many lights are on in town… "one… … two…" We make it to Wickiup on less than an eighth tank of gas. This is nice because we couldn't go any further and the gas station was open. We are all happy and the time is 10:50pm.

At 10:56pm we leave with a full tank of gas. We all have Zero bars. We figure the town will close in 4 minutes. We are in high spirits. Of course if Wickiup had been closed we probably would not have been racing on Saturday.

It's 11:40pm. We just hit Interstate-40 on the way to Kingman. The van is doing well, the trailer is doing well and Terry is sleeping. Dale is still driving and I'm just sitting here.

By midnight we hit Kingman. Mike elects himself relief driver for the remainder of the trip. No one objects. We top up the tanks at the gas station for safe measure. Don't want another fuel scare.

12:30am: Mike is now on his probationary driving stint. The trip will now be referred to as Fear and Loathing on the way to Las Vegas. Mike didn't inform us until we got under way that he's never driven with a trailer before. Terry, who is normally fearless and has testicles of steel, is shaking in his boots, possessing small BBs of copper. We hope Mike doesn't shift into first gear at highway speed again. Mike has noticed that the van will not rev quite as high as a TZ250. He calmly assures the passengers of this doomed ship that all is well, not to fear.

Mike doesn't seem to realize that he gets a raw deal, I got to ride his TZ in January, and he gets to drive the van in April. Terry discusses a road trip with a fellow Ducati owner. The plan is to trade bikes along the way. Terry figures he will drive his monster up to the twisties, then trade and ride the 748 through the twisties.

1:45am: Terry is complaining about being rousted; we're thinking his testicles have shrunk again. We've stopped at a police checkpoint just south of Hoover Dam. In a way I feel the whole thing is un-American. I tell the cops that I'm sorry it's necessary for them to have this job. The officers quickly look through the trailer and all is fine. We are on our way.

We pass a cop and Mike hopes we're not speeding, (apparently optimistic about the van's performance.) But the possibility was there: we were going down hill. Mike also notes that we look like a good candidate for terrorists, driving along in the dark of night in a rattle can black van with no windows pulling an enclosed white trailer over Hoover Dam. As we cross the dam, Terry tries his luck at convincing us that Hoover dam was named after a J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI. It fails. But we all get a bit of a chuckle out of the deal. We cross over the dam and enter Nevada. At this point, Mike asks if we can feel the "electricity" in the air, I liked his last pun better.

At 3:20am we finish touring the strip for Terry and head to the track. Navigation to the track between the three of us couldn't be described as "efficient" and Mike starts whining like a little girl. We have a great debate over an unidentified smell, I try convincing them its dogfood. I fail miserably. I even try saying that Terry is siding with Mike due to Terry's lack of testicles.

3:50am: We arrive at the track and all the gates seem to be locked. We ponder what to do. The lights of Nellis AFB are the only life in view. Dale suggests camping out here in the black of night, between Nellis AFB and the fence to the raceway property. Terry doesn't seem to care one way or another. Mike decides to drive around the area and explore the ins and outs of the track property. It's huge compared to the last time I was here, yet in a few minutes he finds a way in. Mike is proud of himself, as are the rest of us. We now get to enjoy about three hours of sleep.

SATURDAY MORNING PRACTICE: Initial reactions by Dale
Turn 1: Braking isn't too bad, entering in first gear, feels too slow, but second feels like too fast. Installing the tall first gear may be the answer. That will help on the run from turn 1 to 2. Seems I could easily overcook turn one and visit the dirt, there is no foliage within miles. Turn 1 tightens up a bit at the end.
Turn 2: I could use a bit taller gearing here as well.
Turn 3: There's a bit of a bump that lifts the front wheel at the time of a steering change and shortly before I use the brakes. It's a bit busier than I like. I pledge to pay better attention and keep the bike under better control.
Turn 4: Entry isn't bad but corner speed is pitiful. Not looking far enough ahead. I don't seem to know what gear I'm in at any given spot and not keeping track. I'm riding reactively instead of using reference points and having a plan. I don't even know where I am on the track.
Turn 5: Not the same as it was last time I was here 7 years ago. Feels like hit the brake, pitch it over, hit the apex, and drill it.
Don't know what gear I'm in on the back straight. (Used to be front straight) Water temp 140.
Turn 6: Downshift 2 gears, I think that's excessive. I should probably downshift one gear.
Turn 7: I need to look further ahead and find out what the hell I am doing. I think a taller first would help here as well, Looks like I will be changing a tranny.
Turn 8: Feels like 180+ degrees… again a lack of reference points. First gear is too low second too tall here as well.
Turn 9: Casual. I'm not generating a lot of speed here and sometimes the bike lifts the front wheel upon exit. The problem is it lifts when I need to turn left, taller first will help here as well.

I don't know what gear I am in on any straight, no reference point or shift points.

Plan: Get reference points, shift points, pay better attention, ride a bit looser and chill a bit, look around, I am not going as fast as I would like.

First Practice Laptimes: 1:41.69, 1:39.79, 1:38.04, 1:37.23 and 1:35.56, which is pitiful. My lap timer only shows 6 laps. I need to start working. The power is breaking up a bit at 13000rpm while at full throttle, but lower throttle opening is OK. It sounds like a secondary voltage problem so I'll put some plug caps in it.

TERRY'S TURN: Dale's Commentary on Terry's first practice session.
Terry and Mike changed out the wheels (new Bridgestones) on Terry's FZR 400 after cutting the front preload spacers down to get a bit more sag out of the forks. He only had about 10 mm.

Terry heads out… some guys in front of him pull away but to my surprise he closes back up. It's only a sighting lap but a bit uncharacteristic of Terry. A guy on a dirtbike looks like he's been here before and passes Terry on the front straight with a good amount of speed. Another rider is following Terry around the track. The front runners are checking out, but Terry is leaving the follower bike behind. The guy on the dirt bike is gone.

First Practice Lap Times: 2:04, 1:57.93. Looks like the bike broke on the back straight. Terry comes to a stop. Let's hope it can be fixed.

DALE'S SECOND PRACTICE: Terry's Commentary.
First lap of practice and Dale is about 12th, still a sighting lap, He's already cornering faster than the guys around him, so we'll see what happens. Dale wastes no time getting around a slower bike. A nice TZ-style mid-corner move. Looks like he's reeling in another guy on the drive and blows by him easily. Suck up another one going into the corner on the outside, gravy, gapping everybody in his path. Up the front straight he's passed everybody except the top 6 or 7 riders. He has alot of guys on his heels though. Looks like he's beginning to get away.

Just got caught by an R6 from about mid straight to the entrance of the turn. About equal on the drive. Closing a little mid-corner, not a big difference. The R6 gets around entering turn 1 and keeps an even gap driving out, pretty close. Seems like the TZ has a little more room to play. First 5 or 6 starting to really check out. On the front straight looks like the R6 got away a little bit but they both dropped everybody else chasing, The R6 is starting to check out. Number 1x, Brian Long, is on his tip now, but he's on his GSXR, not his SV, and he's having a little trouble with Dale. That might be a real good sign for the GP race tomorrow. Another R6 goes by. Dale is getting some pressure from behind. Coming down into 1, Dale and a GSXR are dead even.

Probably 5 or 6 guys really have this place figured out. Dale is pretty much running further up than I've ever seen him in the big bike practice. I think he'll be mixing it up a bit in GTU.

DALE'S VIEW: Second Practice
Turn 1: Downshift 3 gears carrying second through the turn. As long as I'm leaned over it works.
Turn 2: I can finally carry second out of the turn. It makes a big difference.
Turn 3: Bike still gets flighty.
Turn 4: Weak entrance to a decreasing radius. Motor is revving hard in first. Definitely need a taller first gear.
Turn 5: Feels like I'm overcooking it a little going in, then going too slow on the exit. Exiting in first and ofcourse first could be taller. Maybe I could take second but I don't know yet.
Turn 6: Dropping down one gear, I can now carry alot more speed. Weighting the foot pegs, looking for a line that doesn't bump me on the way to turn 7.
Turn 7: I'm running in alot deeper now and things are much more comfortable. I need that taller first gear there also, as I'm too high in the revs to make it pull really hard on the exit. When I shift to second it just doesn't feel like it has all the authority it should.
Turn 8: When I drop it back down into first I feel like I am revving really hard. I need to figure out what to do with 8. I feel bad on the exit. If I carry too much speed it tightens up too much and pushes me wide. I need to change a line maybe, or just slow it down. Changing a line might be better. Maybe apex a little later
Turn 9: Feels like it's working pretty good, but the revs are so high it feels like it's wheezing a bit. Once again, a taller first gear would be better. It doesn't have the real torque authority on exit. Ok, I'm pretty sure I'll be swapping in a taller first sometime today.

REFERENCE POINTS: Dale's Second Practice Notes.
I'm now looking ahead a little bit better and turning in a little more decisively. Feels like I'm leaning with the bike, but I need more reference points. [RP's] I'm picking up a few but I need a turn-in point for 6 and 7.

I'm picking up a few RP's in 8, mostly entrance and midway through. The last part is pure seat of the pants. In turn 9 I'm looking far enough ahead and not using any RP's, but don't seem to need any. Turn 1 is weak on RP's and the bike squirms a bit when I toss it into the turn. Feels like I'm in sensory overload. As soon as I calm down I go a ton faster.

Water temp 145F. The top end miss is gone. Although it still doesn't have a whole lot of authority up there, it still feels pretty good and comes out of the turns pretty well. The suspension feels good. Only problem is with turn 6. Midway through I keep hitting the wrong line and bumping around. Remaining travel up front looks about right. Front tire wear is minimal, so I'm really not throwing the bike in very hard. The rear suspension travel looks about right.

Second Practice Lap Times: 2:26.22, 1:35.54, 1:31.56, 1:32.52. (What did I do? Have my head up my ass?) 1:31.98, 1:31.59, 1:30.68. OK, the lap times are coming down a little, but it's time to get serious and drop them more!

DALE'S DECISION TIME
The riders meeting starts at 10:40am. The races start at 11:30am followed by a 25 minute GTLights Race, Riders School and Formula-40. That's 8 laps each at 1.5 minutes x 2 races. This equals 8x3, which is 24 minutes, plus the GTLights. 50 minutes; looks like I have plenty of time to change some gears.

DALE'S TZ ADJUSTMENTS:
First gear 2, second gear 1, third gear1, fourth gear none, fifth gear 1, sixth gear 2. I need to order a new mainshaft slider gear as it has a chipped tooth.

TERRY'S PRACTICE: Dale's Commentary.
Terry seems to be braking way early. Turn-ins look smooth and he's leaning a bit more, which is good. There's a TZ behind him. I'm surprised that Terry gets a better drive and holds it from 2 to 3. The TZ is rolling up on him with a little speed and will probably drill him on this straight. Terry holds him off! His bike isn't too bad. On the old front straight, however, the TZ leaves.

Terry's braking has become weak, especially in the back section of the track. From 2 to 5 he's doing better. 1:56.36. It's good to see him drop some time. Terry seems to slow a bit when he finds himself alone. He's slowing down alot in 6 and got drilled again going into 7. Terry needs to work on 6 and 7 the most, as they're the fastest turns on the track.

It now looks like Terry is having problems in 7 and 8 just like I am. Turn 9 looks good, but he's still braking early for turn 1. Good turn in, but got passed on the outside of 2. Lap time of 1:54. Terry seems rather tentative entering into 4, but his exit isn't too bad.

He's braking a bit deeper entering 5, but his apex speed is low. Not bad in 9, but the dirtbike passes Terry again on the front straight. Passed again on the outside of turn 2. The drive from 3 to 4 looks good, but a couple of bikes close on the entry. Terry doesn't seem to be using enough track. Turn 6 entry is better.

TERRY'S RACE: Dale's Commentary
Terry is getting passed by many bikes but doesn't seem to be giving up. In turn 6 Terry lost a lot of ground… tons! Lap Time 1:53.82. There's a big gap on the guy behind Terry. Next lap 1:51.41. Turn 1 looks a bit better and 5 is looking better. Next lap is a 1:52.79. Looks like a lack of reference points. Terry seems to hit the brake way early and soft, dragging them for a long time. Terry gets lapped in turn 5 but the apex speeds seem comparable. The key looks like turn 6 and 7. Remaining lap times: 1:53, 1:52.29, 1:54.03 and 1:52.88.

As the day wound down, we contemplated what to do for entertainment and food. Mike elected to treat us all to dinner at the Outback on Flamingo. This is by far the better of the two Outback Steakhouses in Vegas. We leave the trailer at the track with Mike driving the van in a very roundabout semi-exploratory route to dinner. Eventually he does find his destination, but it's anyone's guess how.

 

MIKE'S IMPRESSIONS OF TOURISM
Dale suggests we visit the Guggenheim after dinner to see the Art of Motorcycle exhibit. The Guggenheim Las Vegas is located within the Venetian Resort. We all think this is a great idea. The exhibit is nothing short of breathtaking. 150 motorcycles in showroom condition from 1905 to present. We all felt like kids in a toy store. Pretty neat.

 

SUNDAY
It's the morning after the great dinner that Mike treated us to at Outback Steakhouse, we all had the same thing. The Outback Special, not a bad steak! To Terry and Mike's amazement, Dale had never been to the Outback. (Jeez Dale, come out from under your rock every now and then!)

We start the van and go into the pits to find the EZ-Up on top of the trailer, nothing new there. Gotta love those Las Vegas winds. I go down to the bathroom and wash up a bit. It said hot water, but it wasn't, I feel better anyway. Dale's best lap in the race Saturday was a 1:28.6.

DALE WALKS THE TRACK: BUILDING A MAP
Turn 9 has some camber that helps, I never noticed that before. Turn 8 has a banked entrance with a flat exit and decreasing radius. I've been entering in second, then dropping to first, I guess that explains why. The exit of 7 is banked and the entrance has modest banking. Turn 5 has banking that diminishes on exit along with an elevation drop as you exit. The increasing radius takes a lot of the difficulty out of this turn. The exit is a bit negative in camber.

Looks like the time is nearing for morning practice. Time to get our feet off the track.

SUNDAY MORNING PRACTICE: Dale's Lap Times
1:35.51, 1:32.95, 1:35.03, 1:32.19, 1:33.60, 1:32.29.

DALE REVIEWS HIS MORNING PRACTICE
I'm braking soft entering turn 1. Entering 4 is a little better. I'm braking softer into turn 5, but going slow through 6, only catching fifth on the straight, still experimenting with lines in 6. A wide line is not bad, but bumps can be found out there. I got passed on the brakes a few times entering 7. Wide line through the mid part of 8 seems OK.

TERRY REPORTS: DALE'S PRACTICE
Dale looses a little ground between 1 and 2 and a GSXR goes by exiting out of 2. There's a huge speed difference exiting 4 and good speed through 6 and 7. Mark Ledesma closes fast between 1 and 2 passing easily on the exit of turn 2. Dale looks good through turn 4 and the entry into 5 looks good as well. Down the straight and through turn 6, Dale closes the gap behind a fast 600. A little time lost exiting turn 2, but regained entering 4. Some time lost exiting turn 4. Dale got outbraked hard entering into turn 5, but the exit looks good. Overall Dale is picking up some speed between turns 1 and 2.

TROUBLE IN THE GARDEN OF ASPHALT: Dale's Notes
I spotted an oil leak in the area of the clutch. It was noticeable enough to possibly cause problems in a race. After removing the sidecase cover we discovered that the leak is from a deteriorating clutch seal. I don't have a spare. I head off to the Jupiter-8 pits and talk to Dave. He doesn't have one either. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't place any bets last night in Vegas.

The bike only leaked out about 50cc of fluid since it started and I first noticed something after the GTU Race I ran yesterday. So I do something stupid and fill the seal with red death. (Mike silently doubts this will work, as silicone seal fixes have never worked for him in his automotive McGyvering). After letting it set for too short a time, we put it all back together just in time for first call, Lightweight GP. Mike devises a back-up plan incase the seal fails, constructing a "diaper" to put in the lowers to theoretically catch any dripping fluids. We wonder whether it will catch on fire. No time to wonder, second call just went out.

TERRY REPORTS: LIGHTWEIGHT GP
First turn and Dale is tenth. He's holding even entering turn 3 and passes a bike exiting 4. Back on the brakes entering turn 5. Dale closes on a bike entering turn 6 and easily passes. Another bike is reeled in by turn 7 but the gap holds steady. Entering turn 1 Dale is in eighth place with pressure from behind. Midway through lap 2 Dale starts to checkout from eighth with good speed in turn six. Dale now seems to be closing on sixth and seventh position.

On the next lap Dale closes on the battle for 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th place. The gap is roughly 4 to 6 seconds. The battle ahead has broken into 2 groups. Within 2 laps Dale takes 7th position entering turn three. 6th and 5th place bikes are dead ahead and Dale closes up big entering turn 5. Reeling them in nicely, Dale is showing a little motor on the straight. It appears we may have a little something for these guys in turn 6. Lap times keep coming down.

Starting lap 5 Dale moves up to 6th on the front straight and looses no ground between 1 and 2, closing in by the entrance to turn 3. Dale passes on the front straight and another bike closes up a bit in 6 but Dale drops him in 7. Dale starts to leave. Third and fourth are ahead with a 4 to 5 second gap. Final lap and 3rd and 4th run into some traffic entering turn 1. Lap times are down to the 27 range. Alot of traffic. Still solidly in 5th.

That's it. A 5th place finish. Not too bad, given the competition and track.

ANOTHER TRIP HOME
So far the coolest thing we've seen on the way home is the view of Lake Mead as you come over the hill. It's a windy day surrounded by desolate mountains, a pretty incredible site - sailboats on the water - it looks good. We've been talking about muscle cars. It appears that Dale's life is destined to learn about muscle cars whether he likes it or not.

The trip from the Arizona border to Kingman has got to be one of the most bleak and desolate stretches of highway around. It's as if someone sucked all the oxygen out of the area and all life, plant or animal, died. Dale is motoring along at a respectable 75mph. At this rate we should be back in Phoenix earlier than planned.

It's 4:35pm and we're in Kingman, Arizona. We got some gas and food, pretty uneventful. But hey, it's Kingman.

It's now 7:46pm and we're going about 40 mph. We sensed something was up with a strange vibration and decided to investigate. Our discovery was that the right side trailer tire had begun to disintegrate. Dale seemed to have noticed this through the left side tire. Dale refuses to believe our statements that nothing is wrong with the left tire. However, we have discovered several suspicious bubbles of the Klingon nature on both tires, which leads us to believe we got very lucky.

There were several moments of genius during the tire change, lead by Mike's idea to transfer air from the bad inflated tire to the air tank so we could fill the underinflated spare tire, thus achieving a stochiometric 50 psi.

Estimated time of arrival to Phoenix has changed from 9:00pm to 9:00am. Fortunately, Dale and Terry don't have to be at work until 6:30am. Gotta love that!

Mike and Dale refuse to believe Terry's attempts at convincing them that the tires are fine, even though Terry is a highly regarded tire instructor… even though these are not motorcycle tires and Terry does not teach trailer tires at MMI. This leads us all to discuss the merits and primary causes of tire failure. Mike has given us a Mustang tire story involving belt separation and sidewall failure. The overall debate so far has been limited to whether or not tire speed has an effect on tire heat to any discernable degree vs. tire friction and the fact that the trailer tires are not subject to any acceleration or braking loads. Terry is going with the tire teacher to be correct on this one. 7:48pm and Mike refuses to abandon the heat as the culprit theory.

We now discuss everybody's favorite bike from our visit to the Guggenheim exhibit in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Mike chooses the Honda 250cc 6 cylinder, actually close to 300cc. Dale can't decide between the little Honda six, and the Britten. Terry likes the Ducati 750 Supersport as the most beautiful and the coolest, but says it's tough to call and thinks Dale might have a point with the Britten. We agree that the Bimota Tesi was nice.

10:35pm: We've dropped Terry off and are heading home on surface streets to keep the speed down on the tires which seem to be doing ok.
11:45pm: About a mile from Dale's house, looks like the end of another adventure barring any late catastrophes.

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