In typical Eric Telger Racing fashion, the crew pulled up to the track at around 1:30am Friday morning. By the time we had filled the hauler with water, parked at the gate, and got settled into bed, it was approaching 2am. The gates opened at around 6:30am on Friday for the STT track day, so we rolled out of bed and pulled the hauler up to the upper level paddock and started to set up.

 

Friday was a rough day of practice, for no other reason than that Grattan CW is an extremely technical and physically demanding track. For the previous 2 rounds, we were able to do a track day, rest a day, and then go racing. However, we didn’t have that luxury this time, as this was a new track to us, and we were doing a double header, which meant a track day Friday, and racing on both Saturday and Sunday. It was important to me to learn the track as quickly as I could on Friday, but I just couldn’t seem to pick it up as quickly as I had hoped. By the end of the day, I believe my best lap time was in the 1:27.9 range.

 

Upon awaking Saturday, I quickly realized that my suspicions about this weekend being the most physically demanding weekend on the schedule were confirmed. I had worked very hard Friday trying to learn the track, but I was paying for it Saturday morning. After some stretching and loosening up, I jumped on the R6 for some practice laps. I felt ok, but not nearly as confident as I knew I was going to need to be for the races.

 

I improved in every race on Saturday. On one hand, I was very happy to see that progression, but on the other hand, I was frustrated that it was coming so slowly. The fast locals were not making it easy for me, and I knew that I had my work cut out for me the next day.

 

My first race of the weekend was CSS. It was a 2 wave start, and I started front row. I got an ok start, and after about 6 laps I was slotted comfortably in 4th place. However, what I didn’t realize was that there was a freight train coming from behind, the faster guys that started in the second wave came by me and before I knew it, I was back in 9th. On the last lap, I was challenged for my spot, but was able to take it back in a last lap hero pass that worked. I went from feeling like “maybe the weekend won’t be so bad” to “holy cow, how am I going to compete with this?” My fastest lap in this race was a 1:26.24.

 

My second and third races went pretty well, I got ok starts again on both (BSS and CSB) and placed 5th in both of those races. I had picked up a little speed, but still wasn’t able to hang with the lead pack of riders. My fastest lap in these two races was a 1:25.26, which was still 2 seconds a lap off the pace of the leaders.

 

My last race of the day was BSB. Again, I got an ok start, and was doing my best to hang with the lead group. I held onto them for a good number of laps, but I just wasn’t quite able to hang with them long enough to finish on the podium. Although I was disappointed that I couldn’t put in on the box, I did feel like I was making up some ground on the fast local guys.

 

Our hauler turned into the place to be in the paddock Saturday night. If you have read any of my previous race reports, or know my wife at all, you know that she is a heck of a host, but also a bit of a bad influence on others at times. I think someone at some point in the night may have said if they had drugs to sell, they would give them to her to sell them, she has a way of applying a good deal of peer pressure, haha :) Denise and Dianne (Denise’s mom) prepared an awesome dinner; Dave (Denise’s dad) brought some homemade cherry wine, and Rick Lind brought up some homemade Mead. Before I knew it, it was 10:30pm, there were 20 people huddled around our hauler, and there was no end in sight. I had a great night, and really wanted to hang out longer, but I just couldn’t do it; my mind and body were just exhausted. From what I hear, though, the party lasted for a good long time.

 

I slept in a bit later on Sunday, but even that wasn’t enough to get me going. I went out for a couple practice sessions and got into a bit of a groove, but I knew I was going to need to step up my game today.

 

My first race (CSS) went pretty well, I got a pretty good start and did my best to stay ahead of the pack. I made some pretty good passes, but was also passed by a few. At the end of the race, I found myself in 6th, which was an improvement over the 9th on Saturday. I also upped my pace and hit a 1:24.12, and found that I’m now only about a second a lap slower than the leaders.

 

My second and third races (BSS and CSB) were back to back today, so there was no time to mess around. I knew I needed to put down some good laps early and just stay relaxed because I had a lot of riding to do. I finished 4th in the first race, and my lovely wife met me at pit wall with a drink and wished me god luck as I rode off for the 2nd race. In the small amount of time between the 2 races, I was amazed at just how much my tires had cooled off, and I had to be really careful during the warm up lap and the first lap of the race. I got a good start in the 3rd race, but ultimately still couldn’t quite keep the front runner’s pace, and had to settle for another 4th place. However, I was able to finally put down a fast lap of 1:23.7, once I finally got around a competitor and had some clear track. If I had been able to get out ahead of him sooner, I would have been able to hold off the rider who ultimately took 3rd from me, but you win some and you lose some.

 

The last race of the weekend was BSB. It was a relatively small grid, and I knew that this was my opportunity to get out and run with the front pack. However, something went wrong on the start and I quickly found myself in last place going into turn 1. I’m not sure exactly what I did wrong, but it was by far the worst start of my career. However, that disappointment quickly went away as I found myself battling with Steve McGregor. I had passed him and slotted into 4th, and thought if I put my head down, I can make up the ground and get my podium spot. However, Steve had other plans, and passed me back going over the jump. The ensuing battle was something that I have never before experienced. I will need to watch the video, but we went back and forth probably more than a handful of times, and this was probably the most fun race I have ever been in. What made it even better was the fact that he had beaten me in a previous race, and later came by and we talked about how he did it. We were both aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we both knew exactly where the other was going to try to strike. It was an awesome game of chess, and ultimately I was able to hold him off just long enough and took 4th again. If we had had 1 more lap, I think we would have been battling for 3rd, instead of 4th, as we were gaining on that rider very quickly. Steve did a personal best in that race, and I was only .06 seconds slower than my personal best with a 1:23.76. It was good to end the weekend on a high note, even though I wasn’t able to break into a podium spot.

 

Just as an aside, I want to give some recognition to Ernie Miller for his achievements this weekend. Ernie competed in 6 races over the 2 days, and finished with 2 wins in ASS, and a win and a second place in both F1 and ASB, totaling 4 wins and 2 2nds for the weekend. Ernie’s fast lap for the weekend was about .7 slower than mine (I’m sure being the old slow guy has to be getting old), but he was able to rack up a significant number of points and has taken the points lead in all 3 of those classes.

 

Again, I want to thank all of my sponsors. Your contributions help me tremendously, but they also help this sport grow as a whole. I also want to thank my mother and father-in-law for making the trip up to Michigan to catch some great WERA racing action, and for helping with dinner and with getting people to have a good time. Ernie Miller deserves a lot of thanks, as he does a lot to make sure things go smoothly for me at the track when he’s not riding, and for helping push me to the fitness level and speed level that I’m at. Lastly, I want to again thank my amazing wife for all of her support. She’s a big part of Eric Telger Racing, and without her cooking/cocktail parties/general amazing level of support, I wouldn’t have the amount of fun with this as I am able to have.

 

Points Standings after Grattan CW:

 

Class                                                            Points                           Place

B Superbike:                                                  56                               3rd

B Superstock:                                               71                               3rd

C Superbike:                                                  54                               3rd

C Superstock:                                               49                               4th