Intentional Destruction of Laboriously Engineered Artifacts
Part 1

by Sam Q. Fleming

Endurance racing, like many forms of motorcycle roadracing in the US, seemed to hit a bottom in 2016.   The WERA National Endurance series, which had boasted six classes and full grids from 2000-2006, watched helplessly as the tide withdrew with the global financial crisis in 2008. As motorcycle sales plummeted, particularly sport bike sales, so did the contingency programs, sponsorship and race teams.

Although officially Army Of Darkness decided to hang up our quick fill can and air wrenches in 2005, events conspired against letting the trailer brakes oxidize in peace and we built two BMW S1000RR race bikes in 2013. We won the Heavyweight championship in 2014 , adding it to our seven previous championships, but the last race of the season only had four bikes, and our competition for the championship crashed during the race, so the trophy was a tad Pyrrhic.

Intentional Destruction of Laboriously Engineered Artifacts
Part 2

by Sam Q. Fleming

 

New Jersey Motorsports Park, October 6

In a fortuitous manifestation of ‘reversion to the mean,’ our 24-hour drives to CMRA rounds were finally averaged out by our short 3-hour drive to New Jersey. In another manifestation of statistical probabilities, the weather was typical for coastal Mid-Atlantic in October: cold and damp. We spent the day ribbing our competition Brandon Cretu and sliding around on the slimiest greasiest track I’ve even experienced. No matter what I did I couldn’t get temperature into the front tire, which punished me by constantly tucking. Chris Peris just pushed through to get the front tire hot and working and was, once again, the fastest rider around the track.

Despite the excrement we were serving Cretu in the pits, his Yamaha team had come to New Jersey and practiced on Monday and they were turning intimidatingly fast times.  It looked to be a good race. Rain once again curtailed on-track practice day activities prematurely.