Loopy claims podium, misses another by tenths at OMRRA

Its Thursday afternoon. WMRRA racer Duane ‘Loopy’ Scholz is sitting in his home in Spokane, Washington . He’s trying to register for a trackday before he leaves for Portland. Unfortunately, the trackday company’s website isn’t working properly. Scholz decides forego the day of practice and leave early Friday. After all, the track hasn’t been reconfigured and Scholz is pretty sure he remembers which way it goes. The forecast had called for rain just days before. With a three way tie for the 750 superbike senior class championship and Loopy’s love for the rain, this is exactly what he needed. However, as Scholz comes out of the trailer Saturday morning one this is very clear: there is no rain coming today.

Its been a month and a half since Loopy was on a bike. Morning practice is spent towing Donny Schultz around and loosening up. Times are slow and grip is low. As a poor college student, he is trying to keep racing as cheap as possible. It is clear the rear tire is starting to fade fast, but it should last long enough. With rain forecasted for Sunday and 2011’s tire situation undecided, it isn’t worth the money to buy a new rear tire. 600 Superbike Senior comes up. This race is more of a pregame for the upcoming 750 superbike senior race, it isn’t the focus of the weekend. The grids are larger than they have been all season so there will be battles…that much is sure. Loopy goes into turn 1 in third place. He passes a few people, a few people pass him. On the second to last lap Eric Iversen shows a wheel going into turn one. Its just enough to make Loopy realize he needs to put the hammer down. He out brakes Iversen into turn one and maintains his lead for the remainder of the lap. Iversen blows by him on his supersport built r6 on the straight. Exiting turn 3 the gap is about 5 bike lengths, but Loopy knows if Iversen is in front on the back straight its game over. He makes a lunge into turn 4 and the pass sticks. In the end, Scholz beats Iversen to the line by a mere .086 seconds! When talking to Scholz, Iversen said “your back tire was lighting up everywhere…you were leaving blackies out of 3, 4, and 9”. Scholz said “the rear tire was spinning out of almost every corner. I had a real issue getting power down and almost shot myself to the moon coming out of turn three once I knew Eric was there. It felt good to have the bike really on rails”. On his severely underpowered bike Scholz posted a best time of 1:15.6
The real question in Loopy’s pit is what to do about the rear tire. Its obvious the tire is done, but a new tire for one race is a bit difficult to justify. Its decided to flip the tire and hope for the best in 750 superbike senior. The tire is wiggling a lot as expected. Even on his sub 100 horsepower bike he can’t lay the power down. Racing up a class, this will obviously create some serious problems. But the issue isn’t corner exit, it’s the straights. Every single lap Scholz is gapped by Aaron Miles on his 2005 GSX-R 750 and Eric Iversen on his R6 by about two seconds. This gap is promptly closed in the corners, only to lead onto the back straight where he is again gapped. Occasionally Scholz makes a move. His efforts are futile, as they hit the front straight the pair he is battling disappears into the horizon. Scholz analyzes the situation and realizes he is out of luck. With the lack of rear grip there is no way he can open a gap, even if he were to be ahead into turn 1. However, he has realized he can beat the pair to the line if he is in front coming out of the final turn. It’s the second half of the straight were he loses most of the time. He moves on Iversen. Then he waits for the white flag. On the last lap, Scholz passes Miles into turn 9. As Loopy twists his right hand the back end steps out more than expected. This results in less of a drive than previous and Miles passes him before the line. He puts .4 seconds into Loopy in the short distance. A frustrated Scholz said “It was a hard fought battle, but when you’re fighting an uphill battle there is only so much you can do. I really wish the bike had more in it because the videos from the last few rounds show where each rider is strong. The difference in top speed is phenomenal, Im on the brakes for turn one and they’re already past the second apex. By turn 4 I’m having a look almost every lap. So no, 4th doesn’t feel too good.” Scholz currently sits 3rd in the class. He didn’t race on Sunday because of mixed conditions

For the final round, if it is dry Scholz is planning on racing the ZX6 in just 750 Superbike Senior. He will then race next year’s 2006 GSX-R 600 in the normal premier classes. If able to get seat time before the race Loopy is hoping to be into the :12’s next round. On his expectations he said “I believe it is VERY possible to do. As of now Im running :15’s with thrashed tires. The bike has 8 full race seasons on the engine, and it is extremely slow. With the added power and ease of riding a couple of seconds should be easy to shed. Its been a good year being on the podium 5 times already, but more is possible...”. If it is wet Scholz will race all senior classes.


Scholz and Iversen separated by the blink of an eye over the line



Scholz would like to thank all of his 2011 sponsors for their support:
Darren Beatty Photography
Amsoil
Spy Optics
Vortex
KFG Dunlop
His dad and brother for all their help


And if anyone wants to loan out a 750 for the final round, it would be MUCH appreciated!

 

Thats the plan :mrgreen:

 

it wasn't a 'take off' it was new, but had a couple weekends on it already. i was hoping to squeeze what i needed, but oh well. i knew what i was dealing with:roll:

thanks for your support this year darren