CornerSpeedPhoto

Friday, March 12, 2010

Skip Salenius - Tankslappin' Blues

A CornerSpeedPhoto column by Skip Salenius

AMA Superbike racer Skip Salenius talks about his weekend at the AMA season opener of Daytona in his first CornerSpeedPhoto column. Be sure to check back here to follow Skip's progress as he contests a nearly full season in 2010 on the No. 63 Run 1 Racing Motorsports Team Yamaha R1.

Let me start off by saying that Daytona is not a very fun place on a tankslappin' 180mph GSX-R1000. That being said, I guess just making the grid at 107% was a feat in itself. I'm suppose to be on a new R1, which is actually in my garage right now. It's just not ready yet and I didn't get it in time for Daytona. So... not having a bike to ride wasn't an option. Thanks to a good friend of mine, Andy, for going out and picking up a streetbike for me to build for Daytona. I already had all the parts to bolt on the Gsxr. So, that was the quickest way to get a bike prepped in 3 to 4 weeks.

Wednesday morning's 30 minute practice was literally the first time I threw a leg over that GSX-R1000. Everything was off! Gearing, suspension, my head. I hadn't ridden a race bike in 3 months, only dirt. I had another 1 hour session later in the afternoon to try to figure a few things out. Not! Just as I was about to roll out of the garage, I put the bike in gear and... Nothing. Bike cut off. Realized it was some kind of a clutch issue. I had changed the gearing after the first session and while I had the clutch plate off the side of the countershaft sprocket, someone had grabbed my clutch lever and sent air down my hydraulic clutch. I ended up missing the only full session before qualifying. Bummed!

First qualifying was early Thursday morning, a 30 minute warm up. The bike was still not right. It was just shaking down every straightaway. Not fun. I managed to run a decent enough time, somehow, to put me in the show. With final qualifying still needing to be run at lunch, I knew I'd have to drop a little more time to make the show. The bike was still a mess. After trying more things with the bike, I went out for final qualifying. I made the show by the skin of my teeth. The race was ok for a couple laps. The way the bike was tankslapping in the draft, going down the straightaways, it was impossible to hold on to the throttle wide open so I lost the draft. The race was boring from there, I was just holding on. After the race I tore the bike completly apart. A frame and a motor.

Friday morning I got to the track and proceeded to rebuild my bike for the morning warmup at 11:45. I was really hoping I had addressed the problem. Not! I tried everything. My suspension guy, Lenny Albin, from Race Tech had done all kinds of stuff to try to accommodate my bike's handling woes. I thought it was my steering damper. I still think that was part of the issue. I had pretty much settled that race 2 on Friday afternoon, I was just gonna try to survive. Nothing I seemed to do could get my bike to go straight, very frustrating. I held onto the guys in the back for a minute, then proceeded to run off the track on lap 2 or 3 and lost touch. Another lonely race at the back which is somewhere I won't be again this season.

I'd really like to thank Monty Spears of Run 1 Racing for getting me to Daytona and VooDoo Racing for the bike. I'm ready to get on the R1! It's being prepped now and I should have it ready for Road Atlanta in April. See ya'll there!

Labels: AMA Superbike, Skip Salenius

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Skip Salenius Interview

Privateer extraordinaire Skip Salenius talks about making the AMA Superbike grid for the first time, the highs and lows of racing, being a dad, and a few choice words about DMG.

Dan Lo: How's it going Skip? Let's start off with a bit about your racing background

Skip Salenius: I got a late start in the game. I wasn't allowed to have a bike as a kid. I used to go to my friend's house and ride his Z50 and XR80's. I got a street bike when I was 20 (an FZR400) in 1990 from the insurance money I got after my car was stolen. I rode that bike as my only transportation for 2 1/2 years. Still, to this day, the most fun part of my life. I'd ridden street bikes since the early 90's but because I got so wrapped up in all the stupid stuff 20-some-year-olds get into I got sidetracked. I didn't start racing til I was 33. I started doing trackdays in 2002 on my 01 GSX-R 750 and that was it, I knew what I wanted to do. I got my race license with WERA in 2003 and did a couple races to get my feet wet. 2004 was my first full season racing as a novice.

DL: This year marked the first time you qualified for the AMA Superbike grid. What was that like?

SS: Qualifying was a dream come true for me. I used to be the guy that hung on the fence and watched the bikes rip down the back straightaway at Road Atlanta and dream about being able to do that. All these cats that I'm on the track with now are people I've looked up to and idolized in some cases for years. I can't tell you how many posters from the late 80's and early 90's thru now that I've gotten autographed over the years. I'm a real fan, probably one of the biggest. So for me to be able to put a bike that I've basically built in my garage onto the grid of an AMA Superbike race is like being at fantasy camp for me. Very surreal to say the least.

DL: What would you say is the best moment of the season?

SS: My season highlight was definitely the last race in New Jersey. The track was new to everyone so the playing field was a little more level. I had an incredible race on Sunday with Ricky Corey, Shawn Higbee, Shane Narbonne, and Scott Jensen for 14th to 18th, nose to tail for the whole race. I was only 3.5 seconds off the fastest cat on the track that race, Josh Hayes. That was really cool to me. I'd say another highlight was my significant other (Danielle) giving birth to my first child, Max, in May. Talk about surreal. I love having him at the track. Really cool!

DL: And the worst?

SS: Worst! Well... I'm sure you remember Laguna Seca. My first time out there as a rider. I basically shipped my bike with a plastic tub of tools and parts, a spare set of wheels and that was it. Trying to learn that track in 2 sessions was pretty intense. I was completely off on setup initially so that pretty much set the scenerio for the weekend. In qualifying I got a flat tire and didn't qualify, and that was it. I went home very bummed out and mentally destroyed. I hate failing!

DL: Your helmet has been featured in Roadracing World's "Lidz: Custom Helmets of the Stars" column earlier this year. What can you tell us about that?

SS: My mad art skills son! Art is my natural tallent. I don't have to try to do that stuff. It just happens. I wish I could ride a motorcycle half as good as I draw. I do a little bit of art for some of my good friends in the pits here and there. I think it's really cool to see my art work on the track. That's my pride.

DL: So what's in store for your racing future?

SS: Next year... Is there gonna be a next year? It looks like DMG/AMA have really fu-... screwed our series up for 2010. It's really unbelievable how bad someone can just destroy a series. IN ONE YEAR! I'm gonna race, wherever there's racing, however much I can afford to race. Well, I can't really afford to race at all. The only way I'm able to do the ridiculously expensive addiction/sport is because of my sponsors. Run 1 Racing. Monty and Nate Spears helped me out completly this past season. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be doing this interview right now. Thanks guys! I really owe y'all. I can't forget to mention my shop, Marietta Motorsports. It's really cool that Huey lets me pretend I race motorcycles and gives me the time off to chase my dreams. There are very few jobs I know of that let you have time off for going and racing bikes. I like my job... fo sho! As for the future. I wanna ride/race forever. I ride dirtbikes quite a bit. That's a blast, great crosstraining! I can't wait til Max is old enough to go ride dirt with me. Only another 2 years or so.

DL: Anything you want to say to the fans out there?

SS: Fans? Do I actually have any of those? I tell you what, I love going to the track and being part of the show. I love to hand out posters and sign autographs for kids. That's the best. I know when I was a kid how exciting it was to actually meet the athletes and get their autographs. I still have all kinds of cool memorabilia from when I was a younger. I certainly hope something positive happens in the American roadracing series. It's a shame things are the way they are now. I hope they make the changes they need to make to keep our series alive and kicking. I love motorcycle racing. I want to be able to do it as long as I can. There's not a better high on the planet than being on a racebike at 110%. Damn, I wanna go ride now. See you at the track.