Super long week it seemed like, lol. Especially when your a bit sore and stiff! Still cranking away on the mt.bike and setting sights on the Race of Champions at Daytona Intl Speedway. What we (all of us BMW riders) have fought for all season is the chance to grid up (by points) at the ROC. Each season all the regions top ten riders around the country are gridded by points from their respective regions for the start. Winning the the championship in your respective region of the coountry helps with this process of gridding, but winning at the ROC gives you a National Championship in that respective class won that weekend. That is the primary focus for Main Line BMW as we have raced hard all season to get there. Then the prestigous opportunity to race the innaugural Moto-ST 8 Hours of Daytona Oct 21st cannot be overshadowed.

From my first time ever really seeing a BMW motorcycle, yes literally, in 2003 and riding one a few times that year let me know "hey this is cool, where were these bikes this whole time..."
That was when I had first met Brian Parriot and was like WOW, that guy can ride and that BMW (R1100S) gets it done! I learned more than Brian knows sitting back and watching him work during the 2004 BMW Motorrad Boxer Cup series. Not knowing the tracks at all and with Brians 2003 experience in Europe, he was the man to watch. His 2004 season was far less supported than 2003 and his challenges of staying in the game were aparent, basically he succeeded and made it through the season and that says alot to me about him off the track, no one knows more what thats like than me. My first 3 seasons were that way and I did not know any different. The valuable lessons I learned about racing and life from the 2004 season, which I guess now I can openly talk about now, has afforded me the chance to type this today. Thank you friends and school loans for the priceless expereince!

In a nut shell, after being informed that my Boxer Cup race bike that was already in France from Daytona, could be ridden for the rest of the season at my own expense! Full time student and then this happens, lol. Hey, I would not be where I am without the help of countless people and GOD, put them in my life for a reason and vice versa. Not just to win, go fast, and keep to myself, but to share this gift and all the excitement it brings to ones life involved. This is a small window and to be able to share it down the road from now with as many people as are involved now, priceless.

So, my boss's (team owner) wedding is tomorrow and then off to Germany to see some cool stuff. Once back its all business. It pretty much stinks that our West coast friends and riders cannot make it nearly as easily as the East coasters, but this 2006 season finale will be ridden by myself and my teammates as if youse were there!

Really honored to be teammates this fall with another amazing racer and mentor, Stephane Mertens. Three time World Endurance Roadracing Champion from Brussels, Belgium.

Oh yeah, GO EBOZ (Eric Bostrom) at Mid Ohio this weekend for the AMA Formula Extreme finale! A win makes him the AMA FX champion!!!!!!

N8!

If could have posted Friday, all I would have said was "speechless". Cause and effect has taken over Friday. Apologees for being vague, but it is not the time and need to be tactful. I will say I dodged a bullet and GOD kept me safe with an incident that could have been avoided through awareness. 2 weeks ago when I VERY discouraged by the fact that I got in only 3 laps of pratice in WV before I was ordered off the track because of oil filling my belly from an oil filter 2 threads from falling off. Not having that oil filter properly attatched caused a catstrophic failure.

I learned a very hard way just how much damage can be done from loss of oil pressure. i wont drag this out, but put yourself in my helmet. 3rd gear, rev limiter, knee grinding the asphalt and completely flat out as far over as we can go, the motor through the whole connecting rod straight through the top of the motor into the gas tank. It locked up so fast that I was still in a riding position as the bike flipped out from under me at 105 mph, and proceeded to desintegrate as I took the 3rd most violent tumble of my career. It just happened so fast and as i was flipping I could see the amount of smoke coming from the exhaust... I knew tha bike broke bad.

FOUR times this season mechanical faliures and none from the assembly from the factory, all due to improper servicing. When you start running up front and pushing a BMW to its imits every other weekend, it takes a crew that I have acquired just recently to keep Main Line BMW's championship winning racebikes healthy.

SO the drama feels free to continue at this 2006 Championship winning weekend at VIR. I will say I ripped off a lap time in practice this morning that was .2 seconds off of the fastest I have ever gone around this track on a BMW Boxer. Off the launch of the GTLights race my mid pipe came apart and literally my rear end (butt) was being burnt. The mid pipe was shooting raw exhaust through the exhaust heat shield, melted the tail section, and burned the seat to the point it was catching the foam in the seat on fire. My left butt chek was so hot for the whole race, I was hanging off the right side of the bike all the way through 6th gear and down the whole front staraight away to cool it off, lol. Zach, the hands down best mechanic anyone could ask for was so amazing. The amount of carnage this exhaust burned through underneath the seat made me start thinking about pulling off the track during the race. I was having very disturbing quick flashbacks of the 100+ mile per hour get off the day before with no warning. The gauges were going nuts, the rpm tach was bouncing up and down so fast, the yellow trinagle warning, the red warning trinagle, the brake failure light, the fuel warning, speedo... you name it was all going ballistic underneath the windshieled. I shut one eye and pinned it down the straight past the pit in to exit the trck and realized that I just passed up my ne opportunity at that moment for the safe haven of pit ro and seeing what is wrong. No, I have great BMW riders from all ove rthis wekend, I am going to finish and ride on feel of the motor and no RPM tach or gear indicator.

I won 2 races to day and great reat battles in the 600 class and 1000 class that resulted in two 4th place finshishes on our only R1200S now. This is a fast track and the BMW R1200S held its own and only lost ground on the straight aways!

Ok 3 races tomorrow and then we can ALL own a # 1 plate!!!!!!!!! again

Good night!

N8!

Soon I will be able to get to VIR and ride. As Main Line BMW's R1200S racebikes are being prepped and serviced, I am running laps in my head on how to improve the bikes stability for the high speed switch back (chicane) at Daytona. I think the bike was made to tall at Barber and has it a bit unstable on fast direction changes. VIR will be an important weekend to really listen to what the bike is telling me and make the correct adjustments. GMD Computrack of Atlanta has been an important part of the development process and is logging every adjustement and measurement.

I would have been able to get going earlier, but a major discovery in our final drive has set us back a day. It is well worth the wait! Main Line BMW has had a tremendous season and to miss something as serious as this could have been pretty unhealthy, lol We just received the updates also to the computer which seems to have way better throttle response.

Very anxious to finally wear some boots that dont require more maintenance than bikes! Sidi boots will be my new sponsor and Spidi gloves! Sad to say that I have blown out zippers in every pair of bo0ts I have worn this season from another manufacturer of race boots. We finally woke up when I realized that we should not be saftey wiring and or duct taping boots that are supposedly designed to withstand the torment of roadracing.

Some key ingredients to going fast consistantly and safely:

Vanson Leathers
Suomy Helmets
Remus Exhaust
Sidi boots
Spidi gloves
Pirelli tires (Trackside Racer Supply)
Spectro Oils

The additional track time teampromotion.com sponsors me with is also very imperative. I havenot been able to make it out toas many events while chasing multiple championships, but there is quality track time and people involved with TPM!


Finally I have tried the summer undershirt that BMW Motorrad offers in their aparel catalog. At first I thought from seeing it on display that it would be to loose underneath my leathers and bunch up, it does not. I also did not feel it it would allow me to move around freely in my suit, it does. It is really great to be able to finally stay cooler vs. wearing the typical under armour shirt that really does not allow the perferations in my Vanson suit to keep me cool.

There is some work to do this weekend and it is not all fun and games, lol There may be another great season for our riding community coming to a close, but progress and bettering our last race weekend does not stop!

Will be back tomorrow gang!

N8!

Cant sleep due to falling asleep earlier. Waiting for the AM to get the racebikes on the lift at BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta. While here in GA. I went and at esome Italian food and it just does not have that Philly flavor, lol. I will say though the South has some great BBQ and outside of Barber Motorsports Complex where I had an awesome outing with BMW riders, tehre is a motorcycle resort I have heard of for a bit, but finally made it. 29 Dreams motorcycle resort has the best ribs I have had in a long long time! It is the most motorcycle friendly place with all sorts of different bikes, groups, people, and the atmosphere is just relaxing and inviting. From old BMW's to new Harley' to BSA's... it's all there and it is a really clean place i recommend for anyone traveling in the area!

The BMW Motorcycle Club of Alabama is a great group! The racing aspect isa fun one and it brings out alot of riders, but to be able to relax and hangout in the evenings as an MOA member and just another BMW rider is cool. Cannot wait to ride Barber again!

VIR will play a big role in wrapping up the 2006 CCS Overall Championship in 2 regions. Once the weekend is over officialy just know that the # 1 plate is for all BMW motorcycle owner's to share. It would not taste as good or have the same substance if you could not enjoy backing up the off season small talk when someone questions a BMW's capabilities. Everyone's emails are getting me fired up for VIR and I am getting my sights more zeroed on on Daytona, but one weekend at a time!

Hope everyone has a great week and check in soon as we will be heading into the final weekend of the regular season!

N8!

Soggy day here in the Philly area. Not to crazy about the fact that the roof vent door on the race trailer was left open and the wind ripped it off, so now its kinda wet inside the trailer. Once I get down south I hope to have enough time to get a new vent cover on. After my entry here I need to make a to do list for tomorrow as I have found out that there are some parts needed to get ready for the Race of Champions at Daytona. Major thing is 2 R1200RT final drives just to be in the ball park for gearing, they are on back order. We have some time, not much.

Really glad to hear that my buddy Tyler is home now from the hospital and we apreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers. He is a trooper! The one day I have coming up to test is at Barber Motorsports Park this Sunday and try and see how some geometry changes height wise will effect clearances. From there its just putting in consistant times and really working on consistancy regardless tire wear. Daytona will be a great time in October and awesome opportunity to race at night. Before then I still need to focus on VIR the following weekend. It is the final round of the CCS Mid Atlantic and Southeast Overall Championship. I love that track!

With as much success as all of us have been able to show this past 2 season's on the BMW motorcycles, I want to share these final to rounds of 2006 with as many as possible to keep the nergy alive over the off season. I plan on making a West coast visit and hopefully the weather is not to bad and it would be great to do some riding with some folks out there and get in some seat time at the tracks out there too!

Enough rambling, now that I have re read it, lol just a bit tired.

- N8!

Another day coming to a close and without anything eventful. I will say that Im not happy to hear my buddy Tyler had to go back in for surgery to fix the rod that placed in his back to help with conditions due to Cerebral Palsy. He is tough and at times I question if I am nearly as tough as him? That kid has gone through a bit and let's us know where we stand...
This past race weekend was alot of fun and showed the rest of the competition that it is not just my abilties that put our new BMW R1200S out front with little development time on it, but the support of the BMW riding community that allows you to reach a bit deeper and actually focus better. It is gratifying to hear more and more voices from the crowd acknowledging that BMW is onto something in the motorcycle performnace world and not to be overlooked or misjudged, lol.
A funny story I was reminded of Sunday that happened last season at Summit Point Raceway was one of the most oblivious things I have done in my career that looked pre meditated, but far from it... I wear tear off's on my race helmet that allow me to pull a thin film of clear plastic off of my visor when it gets full of bugs at 100 plus mph. Well on the warm up lap I got splattered pretty good and rolling into my grid position on the front straight, I was undecided if it was enough that I couldnt see clearly and tear it off or keep it just in case. Well the 3 board was up and the rest of the field was filing into their spots on the grid and I guess I lost track of time, but I decided to go ahead and rip it off and for some odd reason I felt bad throwing it down on the straight?! Well Nate you j.a. that is the better than a turn where someone could fall because of it. So I decided to shake it violently in my right hand to the guy gridded next to me to throw it in the grass next to him. He already had his bike in gear and half heartedly looked at me like "What?" I just kept shaking it at him. He reached over and grabbed it in a confused way and I yelled "throw it in the grass!" I took a quick glance and saw that the one board was just turning sideways to start the race and I quick pulled in the clutch and gave it some gas in time to launch it at the shake of the flag while this poor guy is sitting there with his arm out holding my tear off tab still... man I felt bad.

Im looking forward to working with Zach again from BMW Atlanta and getting Main Line's new R1200S prepped thoroughly for the last two rounds of the season!

Til next time, ride smart gang!

N8!

What a weekend! Amazing support from BMWBMW.org and even online through emails from those on the left coast! I had exta energy seeing all of these BMW riders along turn 8 and it showed. It was alot of fun running the 600 and 1000 classes and showing the bike true potential. Winning the 3 races was fun, but not nearly as much as seeing the faces of litre bike (GSXR/R1/CBR1000...) riders on the cool down lap. I cant bleive I had a career first of jumping the start. That has never happened and I guess thats how bad I wanted it, i couldnt wait lol. I knew there was a stop and go penalty involved where I needed to enter pit lane (no speed limit :)), come to a complete stop (feet down), and then pull back onot the track. I knew it and i went ahrd on the first lap. I screamed down hot pit and went from first back to 14th. With 6 laps to go we ended up finishing 3rd.

From the parade laps at lunch for the BMW riders to the kids faces having fun, we could not ask for a better weekend. Im glad my buddy Tim Dennis is ok, he had a big crash in practice, also my buddy Greg who didnt have to get air lifted thank goodness. GOD has been good to all of us this season and we have so much to be thankful for. Im just beside myself right now. I dont want this dream to end!

VIR is coming up (9/23-24) and it is the final round of the CCS MA/SE Regional Pro Chamiponship. This is where I plan on wrapping up our # 1 plate for a consecutive season. It is for EVERY BMW rider to wear. The single digit saves a lot of weight having less vinyl, lol!
The evening of the 23rd maybe we can all head to Aunt Millie's just outsdie the track. Greatest little pizza place in a Civil War era little town/building.

Thank you again BMWBMW.org for your choice of this race weekend to have your annual picnic and a huge thank you to Erick Schnorbusch a fellow racer who has been taking time out of his own race weekends to help make sure my wheels are on right, justto go out and beat his Milles (Aprilia's)!

N8!

Fun day today. I entered the 600 class (Middleweight Grand Prix), which was one of the first races of the day and I wanted to see right away about our gearing during race pace. Practice was tough to get a clean lap. The final drive out of the R1200S GS was just right for this track. The stock R1200S final drive last time here was just in between gears to many times each lap.

The 600 class always brings out the best and worst in people. The best is when it makes beleivers of the BMW motorcycle and the worst when 600 riders happen to finsh behind the BMW and all of sudden Im cheating or now Im the bad guy... its a shame. I finshed 5th on the 600 class and it was alot of fun each lap. The GTLights 30 min. race, we won by a bit.

It was great to see Main Line BMW customers at the track and run up front. Tomorrow is a rather big day and the oportunity to also give BMW motorcycle owners a peice of the pie.

I hope to also solve a potential problem. I think we may have bad fuel, hopefully its just that. The bike was sputtering a bit towards the end of the race today and I think it is just when I hit heavy lap traffic that the rpm's were a bit lower than they usually are and that put me in a flat spot in the rev range due to not having any mapping yet.

ok gang, be good and see youse tomorrow!

N8!

West Virgina... uh yeah, well not exactly Jersey... lol I cant even begin to tell you the day I had. I get to the track early to get in some seat time and loosen up. 3 total laps inot the day the session ends (got out there late, by myself all day). Besides the track looking and feeling like I am racing in Baghdad (day before the cIA was doing its anti terrorism driving course on the track). Mud everywhere dried up, on the line, in the apexes... Regardless there was an announcement made over the loudspeaker about oil on the track. i didnt think much of it cause the last peoepl to touch my bike was BMW Atlanta, so I thought. Back at the shop I do remember asking for at least an oil change on the "A" bike... As it turns out it was my bike that was leaving oil, again... Oil filter loose and my right boot covered in oil glistening in the sun due to the right valve cover gasket not on properly.

After those 3 laps I just loaded the bike up and took it to get repaired. I got back to the track and set out to set up my pit area. Thanks to a great friend, Erick Schnorbusch, that is at pretty much every weekend I am, unloading the trailer and awning was not to bad. Until i split my finger nail getting it caught in the lever for the generator, trying to get it out, unbearable pain for a bit, lol Then foot slipping off stock rubber foot peg that was wet trying to show another raceer who was asking questions about body position on the bike, which I slammed my shin into the cylinder head and the tri prong oil fill cap put a whole down to the bone, crazy amounts of blood. Ok well, either way, I didnt eat all day except for waht i had for breakfast and that has alot to do with the loopy brainfarts I was having and banging myself up. Had a good dinner and tomorrow is a new day and I will get back to racing and not piddling!

Special thanks to Erick, mark, and Wayne for helping unload the trailer!

N8!

Thursday and I will be leaving for the 2nd to last round of the CCS Mid Atlantic regional Pro series. I look forward to this weekend due to the fact that BMWBMW.org has made this weekend their annual picnic at the race track Sunday the 10th. With many BMw riders there, it will be even more gratifying to stay up front.

I spent the other evening at the shooting range and finally brought back that focus I feel I have been missing with all the un needed drama this season has brought me off the track in regards to my team. Since Barber ASRA weekend, I have found that my results that weekend were the same as other weekends, running up front, but my "cup" was full! I felt complete having a team around me and a mechanic that shares the exact same agenda, winning!

From Mandy at the BMW MOA and Ray Zimmerman of the MOA to the MOA members, to all the BMW riders, we have amomentum I knew would be here through all of your support. After this weekend is the final round of the CCS Mid Atlantic/Southeast 2006 Regional Pro series. Nothing feels better than to give our community another # 1 plate consecutively. Also an oportunity i know BMW riders have mentioned to prove during the off season to all the nay sayers they have run into, not a one season wonder! lol

From here there Daytona ROC (Race Of Champions) This is where the countries top 10 regional racers come together for National championship honors. To be # 1 in the country in that class. Last ROC I finshed runner up in 3 national classes... not this year.

There is also an extra twist to the season at this final race weekend. The details are not finalized, but I am beyond proud to to be associated with this endeavor...

Im looking forward to seing those who can make it and riding hard for those who could not make this weekend!

N8! Kern