There was a lot happening this year at the last race of the season at Barber. There were over 600 race entries, which meant a crowd as usual. There are two days of practice in order to allow all the racers to get plenty of track time.
The usual crew was there for thursday practice, Scott, David and John Sahl. The crew was able to coax Philip Vincent Day to join them for the long weekend, also. David went out to practice on Thursday and and despite having repaired his boots with a titanium toe guard, he thought all went well. The bike lurched at one point and although he looked around he could not see anything. He thought he might have run onto the curb while setting up for the next corner.
When David returned to the pits he was told that an Aermacchi had run into him. If you look at the photo above, you can note that just above the sparks you can see a tire mark on the plate and the exhaust has been bent out. The rider tumbled into the grass with the bike.
Unfortunately, David, having survived the gantlet of crazy riders, had to return home for an emergency. He told Scott to ask David Roper if he wanted to ride David's bike. I have mentioned Dave Roper many times before. He is the only American to win at the IOM Classic. Roper was happy to oblige. He took the bike out for 4 laps in practice on Friday. Scott asked if he wanted any more practice. "No". The race on Friday began with Roper leading into turn 1 first and from what I was told, Alex McLean on the Norton never got past Roper, although he was able to get close.
The Vincent does have some grunt.
The points plate on Alex's bike got wobbly in the last lap and that slowed Alex to a stop. Scott ran into some problems with his bike in the Saturday race, also. After 5 years the engine was beginning to let Scott know it needed attention. At Barber it started to grumble loudly at him in the Saturday. On Sunday Scott ran David's bike having consigned his to "rebuild" status for next season. Roper ran his Guzzi Dondolino.
In fact, Philip took a parade lap on David's bike, which was a great way to commemorate the event.
On the technical end, Roper was turning times around 1:54 and Alex was turning times around 1:55. It was a real treat to have Roper ride the bike because it was similar to a dyno test for the entire bike. David Tompkins did the fabrication on the bik, but I was able to get him some Works Performance shocks. He followed suit with the TTI Burman BAR gearbox and I made the brake shoes and the DD steering stem for the Girdraulic. I also supplied the engine which was ready to race. Thus, this past year has provided us with some very successful testing.
David
The usual crew was there for thursday practice, Scott, David and John Sahl. The crew was able to coax Philip Vincent Day to join them for the long weekend, also. David went out to practice on Thursday and and despite having repaired his boots with a titanium toe guard, he thought all went well. The bike lurched at one point and although he looked around he could not see anything. He thought he might have run onto the curb while setting up for the next corner.
When David returned to the pits he was told that an Aermacchi had run into him. If you look at the photo above, you can note that just above the sparks you can see a tire mark on the plate and the exhaust has been bent out. The rider tumbled into the grass with the bike.
Unfortunately, David, having survived the gantlet of crazy riders, had to return home for an emergency. He told Scott to ask David Roper if he wanted to ride David's bike. I have mentioned Dave Roper many times before. He is the only American to win at the IOM Classic. Roper was happy to oblige. He took the bike out for 4 laps in practice on Friday. Scott asked if he wanted any more practice. "No". The race on Friday began with Roper leading into turn 1 first and from what I was told, Alex McLean on the Norton never got past Roper, although he was able to get close.
The Vincent does have some grunt.
The points plate on Alex's bike got wobbly in the last lap and that slowed Alex to a stop. Scott ran into some problems with his bike in the Saturday race, also. After 5 years the engine was beginning to let Scott know it needed attention. At Barber it started to grumble loudly at him in the Saturday. On Sunday Scott ran David's bike having consigned his to "rebuild" status for next season. Roper ran his Guzzi Dondolino.
In fact, Philip took a parade lap on David's bike, which was a great way to commemorate the event.
On the technical end, Roper was turning times around 1:54 and Alex was turning times around 1:55. It was a real treat to have Roper ride the bike because it was similar to a dyno test for the entire bike. David Tompkins did the fabrication on the bik, but I was able to get him some Works Performance shocks. He followed suit with the TTI Burman BAR gearbox and I made the brake shoes and the DD steering stem for the Girdraulic. I also supplied the engine which was ready to race. Thus, this past year has provided us with some very successful testing.
David