WMRRA 2019 Round 2 Race Report from Phil Melnyk

Words: Phil Melnyk
Photos: Doug Lyon

Wait, didn’t we just do this like 10 days ago?  Well I guess we will do it again!   Round 2 came right after round 1 this year, barely leaving us with time to breathe!  This time we were out at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, WA.  The weather forecast looked great and the grids were full!

Friday, I got some valuable track time with Carol and Troy and the rest of the MotoVixens Crew, thanks guys!  Always a pleasure to ride with such a great group of people.

Saturday Practice
Practice on Saturday went ok, but I was having trouble feeling comfortable on the bike and getting a good feeling from the front.  It felt vague and kept me from being able to relax.  Still managed to get into the 1:45s in practice which was acceptable-ish.

600SS Saturday
The first race of the weekend was 600 Supersport. I gridded up next to Adam Robarts #89 on the front row, ready to go. Unfortunately for me, Adam was more ready. So ready in fact that by the end of lap one he had gapped me 3 seconds, and by the end of the race, he was a solid straight or two in front of me running a 1:41.xx as the fastest lap. I road a lonely race in 2nd place, feeling frustrated and a bit down.  I tried to find time, but I was way off the pace, and could not fix the issue.  Finished the race with a best lap of a 1:44.xx and an average of a 1:46.

600SBK Saturday
the second race of the weekend was 600 Superbike. Again, I gridded up with Adam on the front row. The race starts and is a photocopy of the first race, except this time Adam decides to wait for me! He seems to be playing it smart and maintaining the gap. It also helps me keep my pace up, and I manage to do a few more 1:44s and less 1:46s. Another 2nd place, points in the bag.

After the Race day is over, I chat with Barry of KFG Motorsports and Don with Superbike Underground.  Barry recommends a few suspension tweaks, and Don looks at my trap speeds, noting that they are way down from where a fast 600 should be.  Both pieces of information turn out to be great advice which I discover in practice the following morning.

Sunday Practice
I go out for practice on Sunday morning with Barry’s little tweaks and a focus on working on my drive out of T15.  The front end feels better, and after looking at my data I have gained 5mph in my trap speed, success!  Feeling much more comfortable, I wait and get ready for the big race Formula 2.

Formula 2 Sunday
Right after lunch, we grid up, this time Ryan Sutton joins Adam and me on the front row. I can feel the tension as the revs come up and the light goes out, this is going to be a battle! I feel much more confident and relaxed as we go into T1 and T2, Ryan in 1st with Adam on his rear wheel and myself half a bike behind Adam.   As the three of us enter T6 it really looks like Adam is trying to get by Ryan in a hurry.  I stay calm and smooth, 10 ft behind the two of them.  We exit T8 and drive up the hill, over the top and get hard on the brakes into T11.  I am there, I am right there!  Then Adam tucks the front at the apex of T11 and all hell breaks loose, my bike jumping Adams bike, and my head bouncing off the ground, DING!  Luckily, we are both okay, although I am a bit dazed and they red flag the race.  And that’s it!  That was the end of my weekend.  Lots of work to get ready for Round 3!

Thank you to everyone who makes this possible, and picks me and my bike up when I make a mistake.  I love you all.

My wonderful sponsors:

• Triumph of Seattle
• Pirelli Tires and CT Racing NW
• SpeedDealer Motors
• Superbike Underground
• KFG Motorsports
• Skagit Powersports
• Canright Construction
• Melnyk Renovation and Design
• 2Fast Track Days
• Motovixens
• OPRT
• Vortex
• EBC
• WoodCraft
• Motorex