Friday, April 15, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Pat's Race Report
Well, the 2011 Daytona 200 was the most bizarre race I've ever been in!
After our first practice session my lap times were good enough to get me into the fast "A Group" for qualifying, this was good, now I could hopefully get hooked up with the quick guy's and learn from them.
In the first, very cold, A Group qualifying session on Friday morning I had three people crash directly in front of me in turn 2, the international horse shoe, and the chicane, and almost collect me each time. I almost got spat off my Buell 1125R in turn two where SIX people crashed in the one session, including Michael Barnes and Josh Herrin. I was happy to come back to the pit's in one piece.
Things were better in the afternoon qualifying with the warmer temperatures, my lap times were coming down nicely. We tried some different rear shock settings to try and make the bike work better with the new, harder compound spec rear Dunlop tire. I had the pleasure of having Danny Eslick come by me into turn one with both tires sliding, I could actually hear the tires howling loudly under protest. I ended up qualifying on the sixth row along side some very fast, young guy's and girl's! The sixth row included Huntley Nash, Mellissa Paris, Jason Farrell and myself.
I started preparing myself and my Buell 1125R months before the race, and I was looking forward to the hard challenge of a long 200 mile race. Luckily for me Mike Kirkpatrick, Crew Chief for James Gang Racing, had offered his services to act as our Crew Chief and technical advisor. Mike brought along Alex and B.J. De Jong to help with pit stops, I’d rounded up good friends John Cronshaw, Joe and Ralph Matera and Paul Brown for the rest of the guy’s that would be going over the wall. In our pit box behind the wall we had my young lady Lori, Pat JR and Misty to help with all the other duties. I met some very nice people during the Fanwalk that the AMA had put on. My Grandson Hayden was there to help me to sign lots of autographs too.
It was quickly time for the start of the race, I stayed out of trouble for the first couple of laps then worked hard to catch the group in front of me, when I got there it made my life much easier because I could use the ever important “Daytona Draft” I’d caught Russ Wikle, Tyler O’Hara, Ricky Orlando, Melissa Paris, David Sadowski JR and Jason Farrell. It was great fun drafting and passing with this group. On lap 18 I turned a quicker lap than I had in qualifying, so the pace was fast for me.
I had one very scary moment though, as I drafted past Sadowski JR in NASCAR turn four, I went round the outside of his Ducati, and when I hit the huge wind blast as I got past him, the front tire started to fold under the bike at 160+ mph! I lightened up on the ’bars and the bike luckily straightened its self up.
Mike then came on the radio to tell me it was already time to come in for the first pit stop for fuel and a rear tire. The pit stop went very quickly as everyone did their job’s so well, all the pit stop practices Mike had insisted on had paid off!
On lap 27 the AMA red flagged the race due to front tires overheating and a mandatory tire change to a harder compound tire was ordered. 2 hours later we got to restart the race!
During the down time Danny Eslick was telling me about how he completely lost the front end in NASCAR turn 4 and crashed at 160+ mph on his Suzuki, I told him how close I’d come to doing the same thing. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, it would now be a 15 lap sprint race, so all the preparation for a 200 mile endurance race was for nothing, no more pit stops for the boys to show what they could do, or for me to prove I was up to the 200 mile race, I was not happy.
We were told to take two warm up laps and then re-grid for the restart, so we all took off row by row, and came back on pit road after two laps for the start. I then see the front two or three rows are taking a third warm up lap! So as ¾ of the field sat on the start line for another 2 minutes, I watched my coolant temperature go up to 225 degrees! I got a great start as the 1125R wheelied away from the line into turn one, then I hear that horrible scrapping noise of a bike sliding on the ground, Russ Wikle had lost the front end, his bike then took out Jason Farrell and the bike was coming after me. I stood the Buell up and ran off the outside of turn one trying not to get taken out by the sliding bike, it missed me by a few inches. I then got the bike turned and accelerated into turn two to see Barrett Long’s Ducati pouring smoke and cart wheeling 10 feet in the air, I just barely missed all the bike trying to avoid the melee, another red flag.
Start number three saw us all cleanly through the infield, I got drafting with the exact same guys I was with during the very early laps! minus Russ Wikle. We were now battling for 18th place. The race was in much cooler conditions now, and after about 10 laps I was having trouble with a lack of rear grip from the hard Daytona tire. I was working hard to keep in the draft, ultimately I ended up at the back of our group and finished 22nd. I was glad to end the race in one piece after all of the things that had happened.
I can’t thank enough Mike Kirkpatrick, and all the crew for doing such a fantastic job, without all these guys offering up their help I never could have done this race.
I do feel cheated by the circumstances, I’d signed up for a 200 mile Endurance race, and got a 15 lap Sprint race, there’s always 2012.
Pat Mooney.
After our first practice session my lap times were good enough to get me into the fast "A Group" for qualifying, this was good, now I could hopefully get hooked up with the quick guy's and learn from them.
In the first, very cold, A Group qualifying session on Friday morning I had three people crash directly in front of me in turn 2, the international horse shoe, and the chicane, and almost collect me each time. I almost got spat off my Buell 1125R in turn two where SIX people crashed in the one session, including Michael Barnes and Josh Herrin. I was happy to come back to the pit's in one piece.
Things were better in the afternoon qualifying with the warmer temperatures, my lap times were coming down nicely. We tried some different rear shock settings to try and make the bike work better with the new, harder compound spec rear Dunlop tire. I had the pleasure of having Danny Eslick come by me into turn one with both tires sliding, I could actually hear the tires howling loudly under protest. I ended up qualifying on the sixth row along side some very fast, young guy's and girl's! The sixth row included Huntley Nash, Mellissa Paris, Jason Farrell and myself.
I started preparing myself and my Buell 1125R months before the race, and I was looking forward to the hard challenge of a long 200 mile race. Luckily for me Mike Kirkpatrick, Crew Chief for James Gang Racing, had offered his services to act as our Crew Chief and technical advisor. Mike brought along Alex and B.J. De Jong to help with pit stops, I’d rounded up good friends John Cronshaw, Joe and Ralph Matera and Paul Brown for the rest of the guy’s that would be going over the wall. In our pit box behind the wall we had my young lady Lori, Pat JR and Misty to help with all the other duties. I met some very nice people during the Fanwalk that the AMA had put on. My Grandson Hayden was there to help me to sign lots of autographs too.
It was quickly time for the start of the race, I stayed out of trouble for the first couple of laps then worked hard to catch the group in front of me, when I got there it made my life much easier because I could use the ever important “Daytona Draft” I’d caught Russ Wikle, Tyler O’Hara, Ricky Orlando, Melissa Paris, David Sadowski JR and Jason Farrell. It was great fun drafting and passing with this group. On lap 18 I turned a quicker lap than I had in qualifying, so the pace was fast for me.
I had one very scary moment though, as I drafted past Sadowski JR in NASCAR turn four, I went round the outside of his Ducati, and when I hit the huge wind blast as I got past him, the front tire started to fold under the bike at 160+ mph! I lightened up on the ’bars and the bike luckily straightened its self up.
Mike then came on the radio to tell me it was already time to come in for the first pit stop for fuel and a rear tire. The pit stop went very quickly as everyone did their job’s so well, all the pit stop practices Mike had insisted on had paid off!
On lap 27 the AMA red flagged the race due to front tires overheating and a mandatory tire change to a harder compound tire was ordered. 2 hours later we got to restart the race!
During the down time Danny Eslick was telling me about how he completely lost the front end in NASCAR turn 4 and crashed at 160+ mph on his Suzuki, I told him how close I’d come to doing the same thing. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, it would now be a 15 lap sprint race, so all the preparation for a 200 mile endurance race was for nothing, no more pit stops for the boys to show what they could do, or for me to prove I was up to the 200 mile race, I was not happy.
We were told to take two warm up laps and then re-grid for the restart, so we all took off row by row, and came back on pit road after two laps for the start. I then see the front two or three rows are taking a third warm up lap! So as ¾ of the field sat on the start line for another 2 minutes, I watched my coolant temperature go up to 225 degrees! I got a great start as the 1125R wheelied away from the line into turn one, then I hear that horrible scrapping noise of a bike sliding on the ground, Russ Wikle had lost the front end, his bike then took out Jason Farrell and the bike was coming after me. I stood the Buell up and ran off the outside of turn one trying not to get taken out by the sliding bike, it missed me by a few inches. I then got the bike turned and accelerated into turn two to see Barrett Long’s Ducati pouring smoke and cart wheeling 10 feet in the air, I just barely missed all the bike trying to avoid the melee, another red flag.
Start number three saw us all cleanly through the infield, I got drafting with the exact same guys I was with during the very early laps! minus Russ Wikle. We were now battling for 18th place. The race was in much cooler conditions now, and after about 10 laps I was having trouble with a lack of rear grip from the hard Daytona tire. I was working hard to keep in the draft, ultimately I ended up at the back of our group and finished 22nd. I was glad to end the race in one piece after all of the things that had happened.
I can’t thank enough Mike Kirkpatrick, and all the crew for doing such a fantastic job, without all these guys offering up their help I never could have done this race.
I do feel cheated by the circumstances, I’d signed up for a 200 mile Endurance race, and got a 15 lap Sprint race, there’s always 2012.
Pat Mooney.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Pat 22nd at the Daytona 200
Results indicate that Pat finished 22nd in the Daytona 200 Sportbike event, successfully exorcising his Daytona 200 demon! Congratulations on a good, safe and fast run Pat! Results: http://amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2011&eid=2011011105
Friday, March 11, 2011
Qualifying successfully competed
Pat ran in the "fast qualifying" session (there were two separate sessions, one for the faster half of the entry and the other for the not so fast) - maintained fairly consistent best lap time (1:55.836) in relation to the earlier qualifier and practice. Looks like he will grid somewhere in the middle of the pack - will post that when its available. Meanwhile, here's a link to the Qualifier results: http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2011&eid=2011011105&discipline=rr&class=DS&type=Q&rnum=3
Friday Qualifying session 1
Pat's hammered out 18 laps (more than most of the guys) and pulled in a respectable fastest lap time of 1:57.645 Full qualifying details here: http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/events/results.cfm?year=2011&eid=2011011105&discipline=rr&class=DS&type=Q&rnum=1
This was a preliminary qualifier - another one to do in the afternoon.
This was a preliminary qualifier - another one to do in the afternoon.
Thursday Practice - Good Speeds in Practice 1
Pat has logged good mid-pack times in the first Practice for the Pro SportBike class. His fastest lap was 1:57.570 . Click here for the full listing: http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/rr/2011/01-daytona/dsp1ovr.pdf
Qualifying sessions for Saturday's race will be held today (Friday) - minor details available here: http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?lnk=rss&article=43633
Qualifying sessions for Saturday's race will be held today (Friday) - minor details available here: http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?lnk=rss&article=43633
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
My Racing Bio!
Road Racing Bio
- 1979 I Started my motorcycle racing career at Brands Hatch on a 500cc Triton ( Norton Featherbed chassis, Triumph engine)
- 1981 I won my first Championship racing a 250 Yamaha LC with the British Motorcycle Racing Club (BMCRC) racing for Stan Stephens Motorcycles alongside Gary Noel and Kenny Irons.
- 1982 I started racing sidecars.
- 1983 campaigned a Windle TZ 750 Yamaha sidecar in select British National races. One podium finish at Brands Hatch.
- 1984 had a serious accident at Snetterton, England on the sidecar, ending with a doctor recomendation of a lower leg amputation. Thanks to my brother, Paul, this was avoided. I temporarily stopped racing due to injuries.
- 1988 moved from England to Florida, looking for a warmer climate for my injuries.
- 1990 I joined AHRMA and started racing a 750 Triton.
- 1991-1995 Raced with AHRMA, won 2 National Championships on a 750 Triumph, raced Ducati singles and Weslake twins for George Rockett, with multiple wins at Daytona and other race tracks.
- 1996 raced a Kawasaki ZX6R in CCS South East Championship, multiple wins, and finished second in 600 Super Sport Championship.
- I raced AMA Pro 600 Supersport at Daytona, finished 28th.
- 1997 I started racing a genuine 500cc Norton Manx for Bob Barker in select AHRMA events, finished 4th in Classic 60's National Championship.
- 1997-1999 I raced select CCS events on a Yamaha TZ250, Suzuki GSXR 600 and 750 with multiple wins/podium finishes.
- 1999 I raced a Bimota DB2R in AMA Pro Thunder. 3rd place in the heat race at Rd Atlanta.
- 2000 I raced AMA Pro Thunder on a Ducati 748, I got my first AMA Pro podium finish with a 3rd place at Daytona.
- 2001 I became CCS National Champion on a GSXR750.
- 2000-2006 I won 4 National Championships with AHRMA in their Premier 500 class and won 9 consecutive Premier 500 races at Daytona on my own 500cc Petty Norton Manx with help from Bob Barker.
- 2003 I got my AMA Superbike license and raced the Daytona 200 on a Suzuki GSXR1000, qualified in the first half of the field, ran just outside the top 20 and had a front tire de-laminate during the race, causing a crash in turn 1.
- 2007-2010 I raced select AHRMA events on my Petty Norton Manx.
- 2009 I raced an ex-Agostini MV Agusta 500cc 3 cylinder Grand Prix bike at Goodwood, England with John Cronshaw as team mate.
- 2010 I raced a Buell 1125R in AHRMA's Sound of Thunder and Battle of the Twins Formula 1 classes and won two National Championships, also won 22 races from 22 starts.
- 2011 I raced in my second Daytona 200 on my Buell 1125R and finished 22nd. I also won AHRMA's Sound of Thunder and Battle of the Twins Formula 1 National Championships on the same Buell 1125R.
- 2012 I raced my third Daytona 200 and finished 27th on my Buell 1125R and also raced a few select AHRMA events.
- 2013 I qualified on the second row at Daytona in the AMA Pro Supersport class on my Buell 1125R, my best qualifying performance to date in a pro level event. I also won AHRMA's Sound of Thunder and Battle of the Twins Formula 1 National Championships on the same Buell 1125R.
- 2014 I raced a few select AHRMA events on my Buell 1125R
- 2015 I won AHRMA's Sound of Thunder and Formula Thunder National Championships on the new EBR1190RX.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Interview from Grattan 2010
Interview from the WERA Bridgestone Endurance race at Grattan, 2010.
http://www.motoroadracing.com/display-video.aspx?vid=348
http://www.motoroadracing.com/display-video.aspx?vid=348
2011 Daytona Tyre Test
from http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/multimedia/photo.cfm?gid=6015&pid=317887#photo
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