WMRRA Round 1 Race Report from Phil Melnyk

Words: Phil Melnyk
Photos: James Mellinger

Finally, the long dreary Pacific Northwest winter is over.  FINALLY!!!  No more waiting, no more doubting, no more time to procrastinate.  Racing season is here!

This past weekend the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association hosted their inaugural round of the 2019 season at Pacific Raceways.  The weather forecast for the weekend looked exceptionally promising and I was excited to finally get back on a bike after 6 months off!  I was also looking forward to testing out the new pavement that had just been laid down one month prior.  Triumph of Seattle has also stepped up in a big way again this year to support my efforts, thank you Garrett and crew!

This year, in addition to working on my own skill set, I also have the pleasure of mentoring a new novice, Mr James Mellinger, #934.  This is his first season of road racing, but James comes from a motocross background, so he is no stranger to a motorcycle.  Really looking forward to helping him out!

Practice
The practice was wet in the morning on Saturday for the first session.  Took it easy and went out in Formula Ultra qualifying.  I managed to put in a couple of clean laps and was happy to see that I was right back at my race pace from last year!  The bike felt good, I felt good, time to race!

600SS Saturday
The first race of the year and I am not going to lie, was having to calm myself, the heart was definitely racing! I was ready for a fight though, and I needed to be. Adam Robarts decided to come back to the 600 class this year, as well as Jeremy Coffey, Oliver Jervis, Ryan Sutton, and Dustin Walbon. Anyone of these guys could potentially win on any given day! Due to registration difficulties, I am gridded on the back row, along with Adam. Dustin faired better, with a front row start, but it wasn’t going to matter! The board goes up, the light goes out, and I get a decent start. Going into T2 I make an outside pass and slot into T2 but Dustin is already 10 bike lengths ahead and charging! I settle down and work to pull him back in, focused on hitting my marks and keeping a tight line. I can hear Robarts behind me every now and then, but for the first four laps, he stays quiet. Then I make a mistake going into T5, unsettling the bike. Going up the hill Adam shows me a wheel and pulls up on the inside going through T9. He tries for a pass in the bus stop, but I box him out, killing both of our drives. It takes me a couple more laps to try and catch Dustin, and as soon as I do, Adam passes me going up the hill in T8. We all get a good drive out of the bus stop and it is a drag race to the finish! Dustin crosses first, followed by Adam, and me in 3rd place.   0.3 seconds covered all three of us at the finish!  I also set a new PB with a best lap of a 1:25.9 and an average pace over the entire race of 1:26.4!  So awesome.  I should mention that this entire race I was trying to push the Pirelli rear to slide, and I could not get it to slide.  I guess I just need to go faster!

600SBK Saturday
Time for the second race of the day, 600SBK!  Oliver Jervis is bringing his Zlock Built Kawasaki ZX6-R Superbike out to play in this race so I knew it would be fun!  Adam, Oliver, and I all start in the back row again with Dustin starting on the front row.  By Turn 3 all four of us are up front fighting it out and the battle is on!  Adam manages to get past Oliver and then past Dustin, going on to set the fastest lap of the race.  I try to also pass Oli, but that Zlock Built superbike is fast!  I try to go around the outside in a couple corners, but end up crossing the line in 4th place not far behind, still a solid performance.

Formula 2 Sunday
Time for the big show! Ryan Sutton is also out in this race, so now we have a 5 way battle up front. Off the first start, things get a little crazy, and Dustin ends up going down in the bus stop on the opening lap. Dustin must have been cold, because then he lit his bike on fire, and the race had to be red flagged! On the restart, I slot into 4th place behind Oli determined to not let him beat me.  His bike seems like it pulls 10 bike lengths down the front straight and I am having to make it all up in the corners and on the brakes.  Coming into the bus stop on lap 3, I misjudge my angle of attack and clip the inside curb, instantly going down.  CRAP!  The bike is ok other than a broken rear set, and I am fine though, so chalk it up to a learning experience and move on to Round 2!

Overall, I had a blast and really enjoyed seeing my racing family again!  I really would not be here without the support of my sponsors, their efforts are continually appreciated and never taken for granted.

I would like to thank Garrett and Crew at Triumph of Seattle for their continued support and stepping up again as my title sponsor as well as being the title sponsor for Formula 2!  Dave Lanigan and SpeedDealer Motors for the little 3 season engine that could!  Don Beck and Superbike Underground for the last-minute dyno time, 122HP on pump gas on a tired old R6 is not bad!  Sage and CT Racing Northwest for the sticky Pirelli tires! Barry and April at KFG Motorsports for their continued support with parts and suspension!  Greg Canright and Canright Construction for both allowing me the time to pursue my passion, as well as being a life sponsor ;-).  The Premium Rush pits for being my pillars of support, and always being there for a good laugh.  The WMRRA family and staff for the kind words of encouragement and the hard work that goes into each and every round.  Mark with 2Fast Track Days for giving me the track time to work on my skill set.  I would also like to thank EBC Brakes, Woodcraft CFM, Vortex Racing, Flexiglass Bodywork, Motorex Fluids, OPRT Track Days, Carol and Troy at MotovVixens, Skagit Powersports, and everyone else that has helped me out so far this season.