2012 MAcau Grand prix race report
The 2012 season has come to a close for us at one of the most prestigious and dramatic racing events in the world, the Macau Grand Prix. This race brings car racing and motorbike racing together for one international event that attracts spectators and coverage from all over the world. This was my first year to get the amazing opportunity to compete in this invitational event. Needless to say it was an experience I won't soon forget and one I intend to build upon, both in my performance and my continued effort to provide all of my sponsors more exposure and useable multimedia for marketing efforts. As soon as I arrived in Macau the nerves set in as reality set in about the task I was up against. Race with the best road racers in the world around one of the most challenging and unforgiving street courses in the world. The Macau GP Guia Circuit is a 3.7 mile course that snakes through the casino lined city of Macau with armco guiding the way. There is zero run-off and zero room for error. Call me crazy but for some reason this is the type of environment I thrive in and enjoy more than anything else. We arrived in Macau over a week prior to the start of the races as the organizers had put together a bike show for all the teams/competitors to attend. This allowed fans and spectators to get up close and personal with all the competitors and their race bikes in city center Macau before they battled it out on the Guia Circuit. I signed more than my fair share of autographs that day and the fans loved to get their picture taken with the HEL Performance CBR1000RR. I even wore my REV'IT! leathers and took my custom painted Bell Star helmet for the photo opportunity. Needless to say it was a hit and the organizers scored a home run with that new addition to the schedule. On Monday I had a prime opportunity to get a tour around the course with good friend and Isle of Man TT winner Gary "Gaz" Johnson. Without him giving me extremely detailed course notes for each turn I can guarantee I would not have been able to do it this year as a newcomer, I cannot thank him enough. After seeing the course first hand on the tour bus I realized one thing, this course is nuts! First practice came on Thursday morning bright and early at 7:30AM. I knew my bike was 100% ready for me as I had the best crew I could ask for at my debut Macau appearance. Craig "Huey" Stewart, who took me to my first Bronze Replica at the 2011 Isle of Man TT, would be acting as crew cheif and oversee the whole operation. Current/former endurance teammates here in the USA, Dennie Huff and Jimmy Vanderhaar also accepted my invitation to come along and help me. A trusted a group of friends that I cannot thank enough for their hard work and effort during this event. As I was about to set off for first practice I realized my nerves were pretty much equal to the first time I set off down Bray Hill in 2010 at the Isle of Man TT. My first few laps I was gripping the bars tighter than normal and holding my breath through more than a few turns. This place was narrow and blind! You literally cannot see through any of the turns so you must rely on course knowledge, gut instinct, and confidence in your abilities as a rider to navigate the Guia Circuit safely and of course, fast! I took it very cautiously my first session out since the track was still very green with little rubber layed down. My Dunlop USA Ntec's gave me the confidence I needed with even a green track. I couldn't wait to see what they could do when the track was better and I got up to speed more! Unfortunately the first session was mired with crashes as a handful of competitors went down. Two out of three of them were able to continue with the race meeting and the third was not too seriously injured, thankfully. First qualifying began Thursday evening. Unfortunately this would be the low point of the trip. Early in the session the it was red flagged due to a rider crashing at Fishermans Wharf which is a fairly quick 2/3rd gear right hand turn. Luis Carreira lost his life in this crash and it struck the whole paddock hard. Luis was a great TT and Macau competitor and a great guy outside of the paddock. He will be sorely missed. All racers accept the risk when they go out on track and we knew that the show must go on, as any racer would want it to be that way. Friday morning saw the renewal of a 2nd practice session with no times counting towards qualifying due to the previous days events. I was able to put in some better laps during this session and hook up with fellow TT competitor Davy Morgan who helped pull me down to some better times. I was with a large group of riders by the end of the session that were still about 2-3 seconds outside of qualifying so I felt pretty good about everything. Friday evening would be the first official and only real qualifying session. The days events with the cars saw it pushed back further than usual which meant daylight was quickly fading, we weren't sure if we would get our full 30 minute session in so I had to make it count. We threw on a set of the soft Dunlop USA Ntec's for this session so I could get the best possible advantage of this time. As hard as I tried while still riding in my comfort zone around the armco lined circuit I could not get the USA Ntec's to spin up! I was more than confident with my bike, the Ohlin's suspension working with ease around the tight and bumpy course. I was going faster and faster with each lap and my the end of the session I had a ran a 2:42.8 and then the session was red flagged due to waning light 10 minutes early. Qualifying time was a 2:42.2....shit. My last lap was my fastest and I knew I was just going to go faster as time went on and I gained more and more confidence. I was not the only rider outside of the qualifying cut off but I am not someone who likes to me given thing, I like to earn it. The organizers knew, due to circumstances and given our improvements every session, that I would be able to run the pace during the race so they allowed me to still start the race. I was happy but still disappointed in myself. I knew I had to study more and work extra hard to be sure I ran a qualifying lap time during the race. Saturday, race day, came about and the weather was not looking good. We were able to get Saturday morning warmup in and we tried a different gearing option that I was not fond of so we decided to go back to our original settings. Now it was time to wait... Race in the afternoon. Race time came and as we completed our sighting lap in began to drizzle...shit...again! They still brought us up to the grid, I think all the competitors knew this was not going to take place. The course is just entirely too dangerous to ride in the wet so they won't even have a race if there is any moisture on the track. The race was still going to happen and the red light went off! Here we go, mass start into a fast 3rd/4th gear left hand turn lined with armco, umm yea, as crazy as it sounds! I didn't get a great start but I didn't want to get tangled up with anyone so decided to take it steady. As I came out of turn 4 and started up San Francisco Hill I felt something give out in the rear of my bike, I pulled the clutch in and looked down, my chain was off. There goes my race I thought... I quickly leaned the bike against the armco and hopped off through an exit point. Then I saw a red flag come out. I wasn't sure if they red flagged it because of where I had to pull off. As the pace car came around they picked me up to take me back to the paddock garages. They also advised me the race was red flagged due to the drizzle. Thank god! Blessing in disguise for me as this meant I could restart the race tomorrow. The team worked feverishly on Saturday night and Sunday morning to ensure the bike was 100% mechanically sound and race ready for Sunday afternoon. Due to the days car racing events the motorcycle race would be shortened to 10 laps instead of 15. During lunch I began to feel a bit ill and feverish, there was a bug going around the paddock and I realized then they I was coming down with it. "Tough it out" I told myself. Race time came late in the day on Sunday. I was gearing up and taking pictures with fans in the hour before the event. I really enjoy this part of racing, the fans are the absolute best and you could tell they were so thankful to have us there and get pictures with us. 10 minutes before the start of the race, the team warms the bike up. I get all geared up and slip my Bell Star helmet on except I missing one thing, the last piece of gear I always put on, my REV'IT! gloves. The team and fellow garage mates all tear apart our shared garage to find them. No luck. Seems they were stolen sometime between Saturday evening and now. Go figure. Luckily I the real roads racers paddock is comprised of some of the best guys/gals in the world and some of the best friends a person could ask for. Fellow TT competitor, Dan Kneen, had an extra set of gloves that he let me borrow for the race. I was feeling more ill by now and I had to wear a set of unfamiliar gloves that were a bit too bit, not the best way to feel before one of the biggest opportunities of my life but I told myself one thing, "You came here for this, now do it!" The red light went off and off we went into the first turn, nearly 25 competitors all fighting for position in between the armco lined track. Makes your bum pucker a bit to say the least! I didn't get a good start, need to work on that for next time so I fell in behind the usual suspects I followed during practice and qualifying. They must have found something that day that I hadn't as they were pulling away from me after the first few laps. I realized soon that I was a bit off pace as they began to lose me so I started to concentrate more, "forget about your gloves, forget about feeling ill, ride hard and ride your best". I started to settle into a better rythym and by the end of the race I was clicking off my fastest lap time, which coincidentally was also a second faster than I needed to qualify for the race. I was ecstatic. I finished my first ever Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix and proved that I could ride around the world famous circuit with the best in the world. All I can say is that this has been a completely amazing experience that I am ever thankful for to the Macau organizers, my sponsors, and my friends who made it all possible. I am already looking forward to the 2013 Macau Grand Prix which is also the 60th anniversary event! Now the plans begin for my 2013 Isle of Man TT effort and I hope to bring everyone back on board for next season. Without sponsors and supporters like yourselves none of this would be possible. Thank you for all your help over the years and your continued support. If there is ever anything more you'd like to see out of our work together please do no hesitate to contact me and we can work it out. Stay tuned for plenty of photos from the 2012 Macau Grand Prix as well as a video compilation from the massive amounts of GoPro footage we were able to get both on the race track and off the track in Macau.
2012 Isle of man tt race report
I have made it back safe and sound from another amazing experience at the 2012 Isle of Man TT. This year had its ups and downs and I learned many valuable lessons to take with me next year so I can come back bigger and better than ever to show what I can do on the infamous 37+ mile TT Mountain Course. Please click the link below to read the full story on my 2012 TT endeavor...
2012 Isle of Man TT Race Report
2012 Isle of Man TT Race Report
2012 isle of man tt race report
To all my sponsors, supporters, friends, and fans, this is the full race report and story behind my 2012 Isle of Man TT campaign. I am truly honored to have all of you be a part of my continued TT efforts and am happy to share with you another unforgettable TT experience.
In terms of support from my sponsors and the motorcycle community, this year was a smashing success. It started off a bit slow during the winter as I was working out all the details with everyone who wanted to come back onboard to be a part of my 2012 TT effort. By the time the TT rolled around I had many of the same sponsors from years prior and some really great new ones! Without the help of companies like these I would never be able to get over to an event like the TT to represent not only them but also my country and the many motorcycle enthusiasts around the world. I was really excited to have two companies step up and become the title sponsors of this year’s TT campaign. HEL Performance, UK based manufacturer of the best brake lines in the world stepped up again to work with me for the third year in a row. The “HEL bike” has become a recognizable staple at the TT over the past few years so it was only fitting to continue the trend. RevZilla.com, the US based online gear retailer, who is well known for their outstanding gear reviews that people make use of worldwide, also decided to take the plunge into sponsorship this year and they certainly picked the best race in the world do it! The end result would be the HEL Performance/RevZilla.com CBR1000RR entry into the Superstock, Superbike, and Senior classes at the 2012 Isle of Man TT.
Prior to my arrival at the TT I was lucky enough to have Ben Wylie, fellow TT competitor and mentor, sort out a mechanic for me to help me at the TT this year as my crew chief from 2011 was unable to make it. Irish Bike Magazine/Mark Hamilton Motorcycles supplied the CBR1000RR for 2012 and made sure it was to Ben after the Northwest 200 so it could get prepped and ready to go before the TT. My mechanic, Mark Standley, turned out to be a blessing, he worked his ass off for me during the TT fortnight and I could not have done any of it without him. Before I had arrived Mark installed all of the bits and bobs that my sponsors had supplied for me to help get the HEL Performance/RevZilla.com CBR1000RR in race ready condition. First up was the full Ohlins suspension, 30mil front cartridges and TTX shock, provided by Ohlins USA and built just for the TT but Lenny Albin at Superbike Chassis LLC. Follow all of this up with a GPR Stabilizer, GB Racing full crash protection kit from ANT Racing, EBC brakes, HEL brake lines, Thrust Company sprockets from Moto-heaven.com, Motul oil and brake fluid, and a custom Zero Gravity Corsa windscreen. To top the package off, another one of my largest sponsors for my endurance racing in the USA decided to come along for the TT this year. Continental Tires provided me with their latest road race tire, the Race Attack DOT. Mark had the bike ready to go in time for first practice on Monday May 28. All I had to do was apply all the decals supplied by Chris Kruzel at Drippinwet.com, I will admit though that I love doing the decal part of the bike prep and take a bit of pride in making it look the proper kit.
This brings us to practice week. Everything was shaping up nicely. Thanks to Lenny Albin at Superbike Chassis LLC we were able to start off the week with a decent baseline setting to go with and work our way from there. I always get very nervous my first night of practice since it had been a year since I last rode on the infamous TT course and I think it is only natural since it is such a daunting task. In terms of being prepared mentally and physically I was prepared since I had been doing a fair amount of cycling and strength training, in terms of actual riding I had just gone out a few weeks prior to work with Jason Pridmore at his STAR School at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in order to further prepare myself for the TT. I knew I looked the part on the first night after getting many compliments on my new REV’IT! leathers and Bell Star helmet, not to mention all my team apparel with all my sponsors logos for myself and my crew from Delicious Racewear. Even if I wasn’t fast on my first night of practice I knew I would still look good and catch everyone’s eye! My goal for the first night of practice was to mainly familiarize myself with the 37+ mile Mountain Course again and get used to the HEL Performance/RevZilla.com CBR1000RR. We quickly realized that our fuel tank on the CBR1000RR was not going to be big enough to go a full 2 laps after a few fellow competitors advised us of this before practice so we made the decision to pit after each lap to refuel and still try to get as many laps as possible on the first night. I was able to get fairly confident again with the bike on the first night of practice and posted a best lap of 110mph even though I only did 2 laps! There were a few spots I was still very hesitant on since this year would be my first time riding a 1000cc motorbike around the TT course. Needless to say, a liter bike makes everything happen much faster and the bike wheelies a lot more! It turned out to be quite the handful and I knew it would be a learning experience for sure.
Tuesday May 29 consisted of my driving to the North end of the island to have my fuel tank expanded to hold 20L which would give us just enough to make 2 full laps. I had to make two trips and barely made it back in time for Tuesday night practice. Tuesday night went a bit better; I had some amazing support from Continental so we threw a new set of Race Attack DOT’s on so I could keep on pushing myself. I was only able to complete 3 laps Tuesday night due to practice being split with the Supertwins but still managed to go faster each lap and post a time of 113mph! I was extremely happy to be improving with each lap and getting closer to matching my lap time on my R6 from last year’s TT. My goal was a 120mph lap and at this pace of improvement I knew it was a realistic goal, especially since I had done nearly 117mph last year on a 600cc machine. Wednesday May 30 practice did not go quite as smoothly. The faster I went the more issues kept popping up with the bike both mechanically and setup wise. We had a minor transmission issue appear Wednesday night but we were able to figure out the problem and fix it right after practice, the bike kept popping out of 6th gear and into 5th or a false neutral. Not a good thing around the TT course! In terms of setup it was really just an unfortunate situation. Both I and my mechanic Mark Standley knew very little about suspension other than the basics. I know how to communicate what a bike is doing but know little about how to fix the issues. Mark came from car racing and is still learning the art of suspension tuning for motorbikes. It was a learning experience for both of us so we were constantly speaking with fellow riders and mechanics as well as making calls back home to Lenny Albin at Superbike Chassis LLC and my former crew chief, Craig “Huey” Stewart. Everyone was extremely helpful but without someone directly with me and the bike during the practice week it was an uphill battle but a valuable lesson learned. Even though Mark and I were struggling to get the bike setup to my liking I still improved my time to a 114mph lap so I was getting closer.
Thursday May 31 rolled around and we made some pretty drastic changes to the suspension which helped quite a bit and let me get a bit more confident with the bike in terms of making it turn in and finish turns a bit better with less effort. Even though the conditions were less than stellar I still posted my best time so far on my very first lap out, a 115mph lap. I was lacking a bit in practice time all week due to the introduction of the new Supertwins class which meant I had to split practice again with them and lose out on valuable track time. All in all practice week was going decently given my first time on a 1000cc bike, I knew it would be a steep learning curve and I was more than happy to take on the challenge. Friday June 1 would be the last practice before Saturday’s Superbike race and I was looking forward to going out for a good last session and hopefully matching my time on my R6 from 2011. This would not be the case however due to practice being cancelled! The sidecars went out before all the solo machines during this practice and one of them dumped oil on the course in a few spots which made it too unsafe to ride on and we were losing daylight too quickly in time for a cleanup. It was not meant to be but I was still ready for my first ever Superbike race around the TT Mountain Course and my first ever 6 consecutive laps! For those that do not know, 6 laps around the TT course is nearly 2 hours of riding a bike a ludicrous speed through towns, countryside, and over all manner of bumps and jumps!
I was fully prepared for my first ever 6 laps in the TT Superbike race on Saturday June 2. This was actually the first race at the TT that I wasn’t completely nervous for and was really looking forward to seeing what I could do. My main goals were to just relax, get myself into a rhythm, and hopefully beat my best 600 times from last year! The beginning of the race started well and I was able to post a 116mph lap on my second lap before my first pit stop. It didn’t quite match my time from 2011 but it was a step in the right direction. The pit stop went very well thanks to my mechanic Mark Standley as well as fellow competitors, Jimmy Vanderhaar and Chris Sarbora, who helped out with the pit stop duties. I have to praise Bell Helmets and the design of their helmets. The visor is amazingly easy to change which makes the pit stop at the TT much less daunting and one less thing to worry about. The third and fourth laps of the race I knew would be tough as I would be getting a little fatigued and no one likes the middle of a race, just the beginning and end as they’re the most exciting! Fast forward to the fourth lap and my TT would be brought to an unfortunate premature finale. I was on the mountain section of the course at the 27th Milestone, just before the mountain mile. I did not realize the leader of the Superbike race, John McGuinness was about to lap me at this point. He came on the inside of me into the left hander I was coming up to. I have to make it completely clear that he passed me completely fair and square and did nothing to cause my incident. As McGuinness passed me it spooked me a bit due to it being a bit unexpected, I just missed my turn in point for the blind 4th gear decreasing radius left hander. I made it through the turn but upon the exit I realized I was running out of road and quickly! I tried to correct it as much as possible and had I been about a foot to the left I would’ve been fine, but alas, that was not the case. My front tire slipped off the edge of the road hitting a bit of loose dirt and gravel which began my unpleasant and painful trip down the side of the mountain. Okay, it was more of a hillside than a mountain but saying mountain sounds so much more entertaining!
I tumbled and rolled and finally came to a stop about 10 feet from a fence. I have had serious injuries before so I knew within a few seconds that I was relatively OK. My REV’IT! leathers and Bell Star Helmet did an AMAZING job at protecting me and I firmly believe that had I not had on good gear it would have been a different story. The TT marshals quickly came to my aid. I had a bit of pain in my upper back and ribs so they called in the helicopter to air lift me to Nobles Hospital. I had never ridden in a helicopter before and I suppose I could’ve just paid for a helicopter ride rather than wreck off the side of a mountain but people that know me would agree I like to do things my way! Once I arrived at Nobles the staff quickly got my gear off and had me in for x-rays to make sure I didn’t have any serious injuries stemming from my upper back pain. The pain turned out to be nothing too serious, just three ribs with hairline fractures, which only meant it would hurt to sneeze and laugh for a few weeks!
I would say the most painful part of the whole incident was that I did not finish my first Superbike race on a 1000cc motorbike around the TT course and I knew I would most likely be unfit to compete in my last two races, the Superstock and the Senior. We worked hard to get the bike ready again for Wednesday evening practice so I could at least get back out and do one lap to see how I felt. Needless to say riding around the TT course with 3 broken ribs and pretty banged up body is not the best option and I knew I would not be able to race in the Senior on Friday. Strangely enough, for the first time ever, the Senior TT would be delayed until Saturday June 9 and then canceled altogether due to inclement weather and less than stellar track conditions. So all in all I only actually missed one race. This year was not a complete disaster though, as a good friend always tells me, any situation is exactly what you make of it, so I am finding the positives or the “silver lining” of my 2012 TT endeavor. I had proven what I am capable of on a less than stellar bike during the 2011 TT being the first new American competitor since Jeremy Toye to earn a Bronze Replica so I know the TT organizers believe I can do it the job and be a solid long term addition to the TT rider rostrum. I have to repeat myself and say that the best thing to come out of this year’s TT was the amazing support of all my sponsors, fans, friends, and family. Without all of these people this would truly not be possible. I am a fairly normal guy with a normal job who scrapes by to be part of the greatest race in the world, the Isle of Man TT. I consider myself extremely lucky to be one of the few riders in the world that gets the opportunity to ride on the infamous TT Mountain Course and it chokes me up when I think about all the amazing companies and people that support me.
I am already looking ahead to 2013 and making plans to come back bigger and better than ever to show everyone and most importantly, myself, what we can accomplish at the Isle of Man TT. It is truly the greatest race in the world and the greatest show on Earth. I hope everyone who is reading this will be back with me again next year in some way shape or form so we can tackle the course together and come back proud of what we have accomplished for a fourth straight year!
In terms of support from my sponsors and the motorcycle community, this year was a smashing success. It started off a bit slow during the winter as I was working out all the details with everyone who wanted to come back onboard to be a part of my 2012 TT effort. By the time the TT rolled around I had many of the same sponsors from years prior and some really great new ones! Without the help of companies like these I would never be able to get over to an event like the TT to represent not only them but also my country and the many motorcycle enthusiasts around the world. I was really excited to have two companies step up and become the title sponsors of this year’s TT campaign. HEL Performance, UK based manufacturer of the best brake lines in the world stepped up again to work with me for the third year in a row. The “HEL bike” has become a recognizable staple at the TT over the past few years so it was only fitting to continue the trend. RevZilla.com, the US based online gear retailer, who is well known for their outstanding gear reviews that people make use of worldwide, also decided to take the plunge into sponsorship this year and they certainly picked the best race in the world do it! The end result would be the HEL Performance/RevZilla.com CBR1000RR entry into the Superstock, Superbike, and Senior classes at the 2012 Isle of Man TT.
Prior to my arrival at the TT I was lucky enough to have Ben Wylie, fellow TT competitor and mentor, sort out a mechanic for me to help me at the TT this year as my crew chief from 2011 was unable to make it. Irish Bike Magazine/Mark Hamilton Motorcycles supplied the CBR1000RR for 2012 and made sure it was to Ben after the Northwest 200 so it could get prepped and ready to go before the TT. My mechanic, Mark Standley, turned out to be a blessing, he worked his ass off for me during the TT fortnight and I could not have done any of it without him. Before I had arrived Mark installed all of the bits and bobs that my sponsors had supplied for me to help get the HEL Performance/RevZilla.com CBR1000RR in race ready condition. First up was the full Ohlins suspension, 30mil front cartridges and TTX shock, provided by Ohlins USA and built just for the TT but Lenny Albin at Superbike Chassis LLC. Follow all of this up with a GPR Stabilizer, GB Racing full crash protection kit from ANT Racing, EBC brakes, HEL brake lines, Thrust Company sprockets from Moto-heaven.com, Motul oil and brake fluid, and a custom Zero Gravity Corsa windscreen. To top the package off, another one of my largest sponsors for my endurance racing in the USA decided to come along for the TT this year. Continental Tires provided me with their latest road race tire, the Race Attack DOT. Mark had the bike ready to go in time for first practice on Monday May 28. All I had to do was apply all the decals supplied by Chris Kruzel at Drippinwet.com, I will admit though that I love doing the decal part of the bike prep and take a bit of pride in making it look the proper kit.
This brings us to practice week. Everything was shaping up nicely. Thanks to Lenny Albin at Superbike Chassis LLC we were able to start off the week with a decent baseline setting to go with and work our way from there. I always get very nervous my first night of practice since it had been a year since I last rode on the infamous TT course and I think it is only natural since it is such a daunting task. In terms of being prepared mentally and physically I was prepared since I had been doing a fair amount of cycling and strength training, in terms of actual riding I had just gone out a few weeks prior to work with Jason Pridmore at his STAR School at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in order to further prepare myself for the TT. I knew I looked the part on the first night after getting many compliments on my new REV’IT! leathers and Bell Star helmet, not to mention all my team apparel with all my sponsors logos for myself and my crew from Delicious Racewear. Even if I wasn’t fast on my first night of practice I knew I would still look good and catch everyone’s eye! My goal for the first night of practice was to mainly familiarize myself with the 37+ mile Mountain Course again and get used to the HEL Performance/RevZilla.com CBR1000RR. We quickly realized that our fuel tank on the CBR1000RR was not going to be big enough to go a full 2 laps after a few fellow competitors advised us of this before practice so we made the decision to pit after each lap to refuel and still try to get as many laps as possible on the first night. I was able to get fairly confident again with the bike on the first night of practice and posted a best lap of 110mph even though I only did 2 laps! There were a few spots I was still very hesitant on since this year would be my first time riding a 1000cc motorbike around the TT course. Needless to say, a liter bike makes everything happen much faster and the bike wheelies a lot more! It turned out to be quite the handful and I knew it would be a learning experience for sure.
Tuesday May 29 consisted of my driving to the North end of the island to have my fuel tank expanded to hold 20L which would give us just enough to make 2 full laps. I had to make two trips and barely made it back in time for Tuesday night practice. Tuesday night went a bit better; I had some amazing support from Continental so we threw a new set of Race Attack DOT’s on so I could keep on pushing myself. I was only able to complete 3 laps Tuesday night due to practice being split with the Supertwins but still managed to go faster each lap and post a time of 113mph! I was extremely happy to be improving with each lap and getting closer to matching my lap time on my R6 from last year’s TT. My goal was a 120mph lap and at this pace of improvement I knew it was a realistic goal, especially since I had done nearly 117mph last year on a 600cc machine. Wednesday May 30 practice did not go quite as smoothly. The faster I went the more issues kept popping up with the bike both mechanically and setup wise. We had a minor transmission issue appear Wednesday night but we were able to figure out the problem and fix it right after practice, the bike kept popping out of 6th gear and into 5th or a false neutral. Not a good thing around the TT course! In terms of setup it was really just an unfortunate situation. Both I and my mechanic Mark Standley knew very little about suspension other than the basics. I know how to communicate what a bike is doing but know little about how to fix the issues. Mark came from car racing and is still learning the art of suspension tuning for motorbikes. It was a learning experience for both of us so we were constantly speaking with fellow riders and mechanics as well as making calls back home to Lenny Albin at Superbike Chassis LLC and my former crew chief, Craig “Huey” Stewart. Everyone was extremely helpful but without someone directly with me and the bike during the practice week it was an uphill battle but a valuable lesson learned. Even though Mark and I were struggling to get the bike setup to my liking I still improved my time to a 114mph lap so I was getting closer.
Thursday May 31 rolled around and we made some pretty drastic changes to the suspension which helped quite a bit and let me get a bit more confident with the bike in terms of making it turn in and finish turns a bit better with less effort. Even though the conditions were less than stellar I still posted my best time so far on my very first lap out, a 115mph lap. I was lacking a bit in practice time all week due to the introduction of the new Supertwins class which meant I had to split practice again with them and lose out on valuable track time. All in all practice week was going decently given my first time on a 1000cc bike, I knew it would be a steep learning curve and I was more than happy to take on the challenge. Friday June 1 would be the last practice before Saturday’s Superbike race and I was looking forward to going out for a good last session and hopefully matching my time on my R6 from 2011. This would not be the case however due to practice being cancelled! The sidecars went out before all the solo machines during this practice and one of them dumped oil on the course in a few spots which made it too unsafe to ride on and we were losing daylight too quickly in time for a cleanup. It was not meant to be but I was still ready for my first ever Superbike race around the TT Mountain Course and my first ever 6 consecutive laps! For those that do not know, 6 laps around the TT course is nearly 2 hours of riding a bike a ludicrous speed through towns, countryside, and over all manner of bumps and jumps!
I was fully prepared for my first ever 6 laps in the TT Superbike race on Saturday June 2. This was actually the first race at the TT that I wasn’t completely nervous for and was really looking forward to seeing what I could do. My main goals were to just relax, get myself into a rhythm, and hopefully beat my best 600 times from last year! The beginning of the race started well and I was able to post a 116mph lap on my second lap before my first pit stop. It didn’t quite match my time from 2011 but it was a step in the right direction. The pit stop went very well thanks to my mechanic Mark Standley as well as fellow competitors, Jimmy Vanderhaar and Chris Sarbora, who helped out with the pit stop duties. I have to praise Bell Helmets and the design of their helmets. The visor is amazingly easy to change which makes the pit stop at the TT much less daunting and one less thing to worry about. The third and fourth laps of the race I knew would be tough as I would be getting a little fatigued and no one likes the middle of a race, just the beginning and end as they’re the most exciting! Fast forward to the fourth lap and my TT would be brought to an unfortunate premature finale. I was on the mountain section of the course at the 27th Milestone, just before the mountain mile. I did not realize the leader of the Superbike race, John McGuinness was about to lap me at this point. He came on the inside of me into the left hander I was coming up to. I have to make it completely clear that he passed me completely fair and square and did nothing to cause my incident. As McGuinness passed me it spooked me a bit due to it being a bit unexpected, I just missed my turn in point for the blind 4th gear decreasing radius left hander. I made it through the turn but upon the exit I realized I was running out of road and quickly! I tried to correct it as much as possible and had I been about a foot to the left I would’ve been fine, but alas, that was not the case. My front tire slipped off the edge of the road hitting a bit of loose dirt and gravel which began my unpleasant and painful trip down the side of the mountain. Okay, it was more of a hillside than a mountain but saying mountain sounds so much more entertaining!
I tumbled and rolled and finally came to a stop about 10 feet from a fence. I have had serious injuries before so I knew within a few seconds that I was relatively OK. My REV’IT! leathers and Bell Star Helmet did an AMAZING job at protecting me and I firmly believe that had I not had on good gear it would have been a different story. The TT marshals quickly came to my aid. I had a bit of pain in my upper back and ribs so they called in the helicopter to air lift me to Nobles Hospital. I had never ridden in a helicopter before and I suppose I could’ve just paid for a helicopter ride rather than wreck off the side of a mountain but people that know me would agree I like to do things my way! Once I arrived at Nobles the staff quickly got my gear off and had me in for x-rays to make sure I didn’t have any serious injuries stemming from my upper back pain. The pain turned out to be nothing too serious, just three ribs with hairline fractures, which only meant it would hurt to sneeze and laugh for a few weeks!
I would say the most painful part of the whole incident was that I did not finish my first Superbike race on a 1000cc motorbike around the TT course and I knew I would most likely be unfit to compete in my last two races, the Superstock and the Senior. We worked hard to get the bike ready again for Wednesday evening practice so I could at least get back out and do one lap to see how I felt. Needless to say riding around the TT course with 3 broken ribs and pretty banged up body is not the best option and I knew I would not be able to race in the Senior on Friday. Strangely enough, for the first time ever, the Senior TT would be delayed until Saturday June 9 and then canceled altogether due to inclement weather and less than stellar track conditions. So all in all I only actually missed one race. This year was not a complete disaster though, as a good friend always tells me, any situation is exactly what you make of it, so I am finding the positives or the “silver lining” of my 2012 TT endeavor. I had proven what I am capable of on a less than stellar bike during the 2011 TT being the first new American competitor since Jeremy Toye to earn a Bronze Replica so I know the TT organizers believe I can do it the job and be a solid long term addition to the TT rider rostrum. I have to repeat myself and say that the best thing to come out of this year’s TT was the amazing support of all my sponsors, fans, friends, and family. Without all of these people this would truly not be possible. I am a fairly normal guy with a normal job who scrapes by to be part of the greatest race in the world, the Isle of Man TT. I consider myself extremely lucky to be one of the few riders in the world that gets the opportunity to ride on the infamous TT Mountain Course and it chokes me up when I think about all the amazing companies and people that support me.
I am already looking ahead to 2013 and making plans to come back bigger and better than ever to show everyone and most importantly, myself, what we can accomplish at the Isle of Man TT. It is truly the greatest race in the world and the greatest show on Earth. I hope everyone who is reading this will be back with me again next year in some way shape or form so we can tackle the course together and come back proud of what we have accomplished for a fourth straight year!
final press release before leaving for the tt!
I have the pleasure to announce more sponsors to sign on to support me for my 2012 Isle of Man TT campaign!
Read the full press release at the link below...http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=48366
Read the full press release at the link below...http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=48366
www.iomtt.com front page!
Well I made the front page of the www.iomtt.com website when I issued my official press release this past week. It was an honor to have my story on the home page of their internationally trafficked website. Click the link below to read the full press releasehttp://www.iomtt.com/News/2012/04/12/American-racer-Brandon-Cretu-targets-improvements-at-2012-Isle-of-Man-TT.aspx
More sponsors sign on for brandon's 2012 tt campaign!!!
I am excited today to announce that HEL Performance will once again be a title sponsor for my TT endeavor this year along with Bell Helmets signing on to provide me with a protection for my noggin! Read the full press release here....http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=47737
help brandon go back to the tt for a chance to win big!!!!!
Well, it's that time again... I have decided to make it a third year to compete at the prestigious Isle of Man TT races. Read the full press release here... http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=47335
In 2011 I developed a fundraiser along with my sponsor, REV'IT!, to help me raise the funds to compete at the Isle of Man TT for my second year. Without the generous outpouring of support from the race community my return trip to the 2011 Isle of Man TT would not have been possible!
2012 will again bring a new fundraiser but with two grand prizes this time around from two of my long time supporters, REV'IT! and Jason Pridmore's STAR School.
Please visit my DONATE page or click HERE to see the details and get your chance to win one of the prizes!
In 2011 I developed a fundraiser along with my sponsor, REV'IT!, to help me raise the funds to compete at the Isle of Man TT for my second year. Without the generous outpouring of support from the race community my return trip to the 2011 Isle of Man TT would not have been possible!
2012 will again bring a new fundraiser but with two grand prizes this time around from two of my long time supporters, REV'IT! and Jason Pridmore's STAR School.
Please visit my DONATE page or click HERE to see the details and get your chance to win one of the prizes!
Brandon to ride for c & h racing in asra team challenge series
After winning the 2011 ASRA Team Challenge GTL National title together, teammate Dennie Huff and I have decided to partner again for 2012 to compete in the series. This year however we will step up to the GTO class aboard a 2008 Honda CBR1000RR.
Read the full press release here... http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=47363
Follow the team this season here... http://www.cretu-huffracing.com
Read the full press release here... http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=47363
Follow the team this season here... http://www.cretu-huffracing.com
