Rich Barnett #3 MotoList.com | Vance & Hines XR1200 Indy Race Report
 

What an amazing 10 days for this over-the-hill club racer! I packed up the XR1200 race bike and made the long drive from Montana to Indianapolis for the test day at the Speedway on Saturday, August 10. It was an incredible feeling unpacking and knowing that I would be on the track the next day, among just a handful of motorcycle racers to ever experience the magic of the most famous racing venue in the world.

I put in over 60 laps of practice during the day, sharing the track with 15 other XR1200 racers, and 2 MotoGP CRT bikes. The learning curve was steep, as I had just one race and a handful of practice sessions under my belt with this bike (at the Miller AMA round in May). I'm used to 250 four-strokes and two-strokes, so climbing around on top of a 525 LB street bike is very new to me. The Indy course is very tight and demanding, with only the long front straight offering a chance to rest for more than a few seconds. I ended the day ahead of a few other riders, so it was a success for me. AMA Pro Racing, Vance & Hines, Lenny from Ohlins and the Speedway personnel were all beyond professional. I spent the following week regaining my strength, and visiting the cool downtown of Indy.

Friday rolled around and I experienced a surprise shortage of my crew. A couple guys did not show, so I was in a tight spot for Saturday's race. Unluckily, Pete Cline crashed out of qualifying, and graciously offered his Wounded Warrior crew to assist me and my crew chief, Brian Mullins. The Wounded Warriors are a great group of guys and were on top of things right away. Their help was indispensable during the weekend. My lovely wife served as my umbrella girl on the grid before qualy sessions and the races.

Qualifying went well, and I rode well within my limits, wanting to survive the slippery track and race on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I took over 3 seconds off my test session times and qualified in the 27th position, out of 29 racers.

Saturday, Race 1:

I took a conservative start, and witnessed the first round of carnage in turn 2 of the first lap. Several guys went down, and there was dirt and grass strewn throughout the corner, right in the racing line. For some reason, it was never cleaned, so we had to race through it. On the 5th lap, PJ Jacobsen oiled the track and he and the top 4 other guys all went down. The race was red-flagged and called to an end due to the oil. PJ was eliminated from the results, but the other crashers were all credited with top 4 finishes, even though they didn't finish the race. I was credited with 21st position.

Sunday, Race 2:

I decided to be a bit more aggressive on the start, and passed 6-8 guys heading into turn 1. I was shocked to see all the marbles on the track, so I basically had to re-learn my lines during the race, as the marbles were in some places I was used to putting the bike. There was quite a bit of wrecking during the race, and I rode mostly alone. On the 8th lap I was braking for one of the corners and felt something in my right forearm tear. Turned out to be a tendon, but I was able to finish the race. On the penultimate lap, I looked back on the front straight and saw Ray Delaney catching me, so I put my head down to try to keep him behind me, but he drafted me at the line and beat me by a couple thousandths. I turned my fastest lap of the week on the last lap of the last race. I feel like I have an easy 3 seconds left in me, so I feel confident I can be mid-pack soon. I finished in 17th place in Race 2.

Overall, it was the weekend of a lifetime for me. For the past 25 years, I have been on the other side of the fence, spectating at F1, 500cc and MotoGP races, so to be on the grid, and having the benefit of the professionalism of the AMA and my fellow competitors is a tremendous experience. Thanks to my wife, MotoList.com, Vance & Hines, AMA Pro Racing, Ohlins, Dunlop, Tuna, and the Wounded Warriors for making the week possible :)

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Congrats! What fun. Glad it was a safe, successful run.

Very Cool - Congrats!

Thanks! Still coming off the high, but my right arm is reminding me that I'm still an old guy :)

I took the lap around Indy in the tour bus/van and loved it.

Well done, must have been a hoot.

Thax for the story Rickard...I was looking at some of the Indy races on TV, but didn't see the one you were in. Was it broadcast do you know?

Great job for your age, I gave up road racing at the ripe old age of 36...Been awhile......

Too Cool!


XR1200s are the ONLY HD bike I would own

with your life and toys..
it's great that something still makes you really happy..

congrats..

Rika

It was broadcast on Speed on Sunday at 6PM Eastern. Anyone have a copy they can send me on CD? I haven't been able to see it yet.

Getting this excited about something tends to take YEARS off of your life. Its all good :)

Very cool Rich!! :cool:

Awesome! Thanks for sharing... I'm envious. :)

That's awesome Richard. Those wounded warriors guys are definitely a great grouop of guys.

Big props. Very cool and thanks for sharing with us. I didn't realize that it was going to be on television, so bummed I missed it. Maybe it will be available somewhere in a speed on-line archive?

Does this check the box and now you're done or did this just whet the appetitie and you want to do more?

I recorded and watched it on the DVR, just because I knew you were in the mix. I'll check and see if I saved it. Track conditions looked horrible. Some nasty high sides in the other races.

I only expected to run in last place, but I'm discovering that if I push myself a bit, I can pick up quite a bit of time and start running mid-pack. I love the idea of beating younger, more experienced guys, so it gets me wound up just a wee bit :) Its mostly just a bucket list thing, but I'll be doing 4 rounds next year:

Daytona in March
Sears Point in April
Miller (WSBK) in May
Indy (MotoGP) in August

I'm going to look into a pro riding school to help with some of my really bad habits, so that should help quite a bit. The photo of me on the bike above shows extremely bad form. I can do a lot better. The wife loves participating, too. Its just such a great way to experience the race weekend :)

Thanks, Mike. Let me know if you have it. The track is a bit odd.... the corners are tight and awkward, and there are several different track surfaces. The corners before going onto the straights are so tight its just ridiculous. Its just the exact opposite of a flowing track like Miller.

Very entertaining Race 1 highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2x_66L4grU&feature=share&list=ULu2x_66L4g rU

Best thread on PPOT in awhile. Congrats!

Awesome story, Rich, just awesome. You're living the dream, man. That's just so freakin' cool...

Add a few more. Road America, Barber and Mid O are tracks to put on the bucket list too.


school
Go to the YCRS at Vegas or Miller and Ken and Nick will get you sorted out. Actually many very good racers come away from YCRS (same stuff as Freddies) and feel like they are starting over. A few friends have done several and then things click and they get fast, fast. I did a spencers private pro school a few years back and it was a humbling experience, feeling like I sucked at everything. I was in good company, I heard Larry Denning sucked there too and he made a nice living as a bounty hunter back in the days of big contingency checks. ( his level of suck and mine are not likely comparable :D )

I'll try to make it out to at least Indy next season. It was a drag seeing posts from so many friends having a ball and not being able to come out and play.

Anyway congrats on a awesome weekend!

Congrats

Awesome work !

Thanks!

I will probably do the YCRS at Miller, but dayummm, that $2300 sure would buy a nice little jaunt to a faraway place for a week. Does Spencer still do a school? I'd do that, just to be in the presence of greatness. I wouldn't even cared if I never learned anything :)

Considering the number of riders that went down at Indy, you done real good staying in the saddle.

Freddy is out and hopefully doing well. ( he had some personal issues ) I believed he showed up and helped out at Edwards boot camp a while back. Even back at Spencers school, Nick and Ken do/ did most of the instructing. Hanging with Scott Russel at YCRS should be great fun.

My brother and I are thinking of riding with Disalvo for a weekend. He was also part of freddies, so the techniques, theory and instruction should be much like YCRS.


And we might go to Edwards to have a blast and learn some stuff too.

Scott is a cool dude.... CEII's camp would be load of zaniness - do it!