Glad to report wife is doing better and should be back to normal soon.
After a long hard work week, time for a bit of relaxation and downtime. Adding a few more tweaks to the bike, custom seat cover, black with red side striping, Ohlins Steering Damper, Scorpio Alarm with proximity detector (will need it for sure), rear tank bag, carbon fiber gas cap cover, flush turn signals (front). Will be ordering some really cool decals soon too. Let's move on to racing with the Isle of Mann competitors in Ulster, Ireland two months later, August 2010.
Consider this:
http://www.ulstergrandprix.net/inde...d-prixs-130-club&catid=41:ugp-news&Itemid=61".
The usual cast of characters were there, 5 time in one season Isle of Mann winner Ian Hutchinson, Bruce Anstey, Keith Amor (on a Superbike BMW 1000RR and a superstock version of the same bike), 15 time winner of the Isle of Mann, John McGuiness, and Guy Martin (who has never won the race, but has a number of podium finishes), who luckily survived a horrific crash during the Senior TT this year.
First things first, Guy Martin who crashed at 160+ mph on the Isle of Mann course less than two months before, in June, the Ulster Races are held the second week in August. He was pretty torn up, broken ribs, pelvis, ankles, etc... add major pain. He competed in the races at Ulster, nothing short of amazing, at least to me. Here are the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Ulster_Grand_Prix" for 2010. Notice how Martin was slow on the first day of practice, then picked up the pace and even nursing his injuries, was just off a podium spot for most of the races, remarkable, the heart of a true racer to be sure. He finished 4th in the first Superbike race and just 1.32 seconds behind Keith Amor on the BMW 1000RR, way to go Keith ! Martin scored another 4th place in the second Super sport race, a little over 9 seconds off the pace of Michael Dunlop, another tough competitor.
The usual cast of characters were there, first ever 5 time Isle of Mann winner Ian Hutchinson, Bruce Anstey, Keith Amor (on a Super bike BMW 1000RR and a Super stock version of the same bike), 15 time winner of the Isle of Mann, John McGuiness, Kiwi Cameron Donald, Ryan Farquar, and Michael Dunlop, son of the brother of famous road racer Robert Dunlop, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Dunlop" who was killed in Tallinn, Estonia in 2000 during a racing in set conditions. His father, Robert was killed on 15 May 2008 while practicing in the 250cc class at Ulster. The incident occurred as he was approaching Mather's Cross during the 125/250/400cc practice session. It is understood his bike seized and Robert was thrown over his handlebars at approximately 160 mph. Fellow rider Darren Burns was following immediately behind and collided with Robert, suffering a broken leg and suspected concussion. Robert suffered severe chest injuries and died in hospital shortly afterward.
Here is a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Wxn998B5U" another great racer in the Dunlop bloodline. What a shame tragedy struck twice in the same family, and so close together.
Lets have a look at the SuperBike and SuperStock races. If you have watched the Isle of Mann races, the course is over 37 miles, whereas the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NorthWestCircuitMap2009.jpg" is around 9 miles and for the most part is flowing and flat out. Here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUDKqafT3E&feature=related"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80BJbSOZSxw&feature=related"
Superstock Race 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syCEcBbXWRc&feature=related"
If you look closely during the first Super stock video, you can see spectators less than 5 to 10 feet away by the side of the road as the bikes fly pass at very high speed. A testimony to the riders skill is that Keith Amor on the BMW has head and shoulders power (15+ more hp) than all of the other riders in these races and he finishes almost all of his races in the top five places or better. However on any given day in any race there are more intangible things going on that make the difference between finishing in the top three. Tire choice, soft, medium, or hard, front and rear, tire pressure, suspension settings, gearing, steering geometry, engine fueling which creates more or less torque/hp depending on the maps chosen for the race. Add to this a riders desire to win/prove a point, settle an old grudge. You can quickly see how the outcome of any race is anything but predetermined. Add to this position on the course, being dragged or slowed by other riders in front. At the end of the day, luck plays a role as well as bike prep and mental focus of the rider. I hope you enjoy this brief, somewhat fragmented commentary and the video links, it allows me to relax and unwind just a bit.
Rhody...
P.S. Nismara and Turbo... hope you like them... I know the answer to that already.
