"Because It's There"

In March 1923 British Mountain Climber George Leigh Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest. To Mallory it was a dumb question. His simple reply, “Because it’s there” .

Why would a successful 52 year old British businessman want to risk all at the highest level in the AMA Super Sport race at Daytona? If you know Pat Mooney you would not have to ask—but if you did, his answer would probably be the same as Mallory’s- “Because it’s there”.

Veteran privateer Pat Mooney challenges the young guns of AMA Super Sport at Daytona 2013




Money #41 races with Jason DeSalvo # 40

March 4, 2013: This afternoon I caught up with Pat Mooney at Pat’s Auto Sales in Sorrento, FL. He is preparing the #54 Buell 1125R for Daytona.

Pat will run in the highly competitive AMA Pro Motorcycle-Super Store Super Sport Class. He is one of 60 entrants. He will also probably be the oldest guy in the race at 52; most of the competitors will be less than half his age. Qualifying is set for Thursday March 14 at 4:45 PM. The two races are scheduled for Friday 3/15 at 3 PM and Saturday morning 3/16 at 10 AM.

Pat told me the story behind his 2013 assault on the high banks and twisting infield of Daytona. “The 200 was a bucket list and I’ve run it 2 years in a row with good results. Then the 200 entry had become very expensive. $200 per person just for crew credentials. With the 200 I would have $1200 just for my 6 over the wall crew for tire changes and fuel.

The twin Super Sport 10 lap sprint races seemed the way to go. In the 200 I was on the track with seasoned veterans. Here I’ll race with many of the fearless young guns of AMA Road Racing. It will be a real challenge. I’m hoping for a top 20 finish, but that could be tough to achieve with 60  hard charging young guns. My Buell 1125 cc twin will be the most powerful bike in the race. Also the heaviest with terrible aero dynamics. I’ll have to make the most of the draft and make up ground through the road course. The competition is mostly 600 cc Japanese bikes, the Yamaha YZF R6, Suzuki GSX-R600, Kawasaki ZX-6R, and HondaCBR600RR. Others will include Triumph Daytona 675, and Ducati 848.

In the 200 last year I was 9 MPHslower than the top runners when drafting and 20 MPHslower on my own.

I have another English chap from Palm Bay, Paul Brown, a good mechanic as my crew chief. My long time friend and crew chief John Cronshaw had trouble with flight scheduling from the UK. He actually arrives Sunday after the race and we’re headed for New Orleans for AHRMA racing the next week end. I’m excited and ready to go. I am proud to carry the Union Jack at Daytona on the Eric Buell designed American motorcycle. Thanks to all my fans, supporters and sponsors Pats Auto Sales, Arai Helmets, Vanson Leathers, Dunlop, Classicbikebooks.com, Works Performance, R.C. Barker Engineering, L.P. Racing.”

photo Michael Rovnyak - www.MJRPHOTO.NET

SuperSport Facts

 

Engine Displacement: 600cc-675cc-848cc-1000cc-1125cc  -   Horsepower 110 hp to 130 hp

 

Minimum Weights: 4 cyl-335 lbs; 3 cyl-360 lbs; 2 cyl-375 lbs  -  Top Speed: 165 MPH  -  0-60 MPH: 3 seconds

 

1/4 Mile Acceleration: 10 seconds  -  Tires: Dunlop SportMax GPA Front (120/70R-17) Rear (190/55ZR-17)

Eligible Bikes: Aprilia RSV1000R/RSV1000R Factory; Buell 1125R; Ducati 848; Honda CBR 600RR ABS;

Kawasaki ZX-6R; KTM 990 SuperDuke; Suzuki GSX-R600; Triumph Daytona 675/675R; Yamaha YZF-R6

 

FRIDAY March 15 - 10 AM: Mooney runs with the leaders, qualifies 7th fastest of 60 entrants.

Thomas Puerta put his Yamah YZF-R6 on the pole with at time of 1:54.097-Pats time of 1:55:910 puts him in the 7th position on the starting grid. Look out Daytona, here comes Mr. Mooney!

 

FINAL RESULTS: AMA Super Sport at Daytona 2013

Pat can be proud of a great performance against all odds. When it came to race time some bad luck plagued Pat in the two races. On Friday he missed the sighting lap and rather than start at the rear of the 60 rider pack he did not run. Then in race 2 on Saturday he was running 4th when an oil pressure problem forced an early withdrawal.

 

In Pat's own words: "On Saturday at the start of the race, just before the lights went out for the start of the race I looked at the temp gauge to check engine temp, which was good BUT I saw the oil pressure light was on solid! Got through the first two turns and it was back on again...... So I had no choice but to pull off the track.

 

A weekend racing that had some big up's a down's I'm afraid. It was nice to see I could run with and ahead of some of the factory teams though."

 

Learn more about Pat Money racing at this site: http://patmooneyracing.blogspot.com/    

AHRMA at Daytona 2011 - Racing the way it should be, the old time way!

Most people have some interest in history, and like to know how the world of our fathers and grandfathers worked. If you fit that mold you have to attend an AHRMA (American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association) race meet. The racers of the past built and tuned their own bikes at home and went racing on the week ends. They loaded their bikes and tools in the back of their truck or on a trailer, picked up their buddy who served as pit crew and mechanic and headed for the races. They raced a circuit that included National Championships at places like Milwaukee, Springfield, Laconia, Langhorne and Dodge City. In between there were races every week end at local tracks and county fairs. Once a year, since 1937, there has been the big race at Daytona.  An AHRMA race is as close as you can get to those good old days of racing.

Daytona Beach, FL - October 2011: I have been attending the Daytona AHRMA races for over 10 years. I have a formula for having fun and catching the excitement of motorcycle racing the way it used to be. Just walk around, look, listen and above all talk to people. Talk to other spectators, officials, mechanics and riders. It is the people that make the sport.  Some observations gathered from walking around Daytona International Speedway on Oct. 15^th, 2011........

Nobby Clark: It was good to see the Nobby in the pits working on the bikes again. Illness caused him to miss several events this past year but he tells me he is feeling much better and back on the circuit now. Nobby is arguably the greatest motorcycle mechanic and tuner to ever turn a wrench. His bikes earned 13 world championships and 4 Daytona 200 victories. He has worked with the motorcycle legends of our time including Kenny Roberts, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and many others.

Dunlop Tires: I asked the Dunlop tire man “Can you comment on the Daytona 200 tire controversy?” Dunlop is the exclusive supplier of tires for the Daytona 200. Last March the race was plagued by widespread tire failures that caused serious crashes and resulted, long delays, a shortened race and a questionable winner. The delay enabled a racer with a blown engine to install a new engine and ultimately win the race.  “Multiple situations led to the less than satisfactory performance in the 200. Our scheduled December tire tests were set for 3 days but limited to one partial day due to rain. The tests were especially important because the track had been resurfaced. Also, to change from a night race to day resulted in an increase of 30+ degrees track temp.  We are working hard on the tires for Daytona. We will have it right for the 200 in March 2012.”

Pat Mooney: Pat is known as AHRMA’s Mr. Daytona for his multiple victories in several classes over 10+ years. Approaching Pat on Saturday morning, his comment “I haven’t won a race yet! But today will be a better day”. Pat went on to win the 500 Premier after a thrilling duel with Tim Joyce and Doug Polen. Mooney pulled away on the 11X Manx Norton after Joyce went wide into turn 1 and hard charging Polen and Canadian Nick Cole could not keep up. Pats son, Pat Jr also won his Battle of Twins Formula 3 race so it was indeed a better day for the Mooney family.  

Ron Hulloman of Titusville, FL racing his Suzuki GSX 100 in the Championship Cup Series: I asked, “How’s it going, Ron?”  All he could say was, “This thing is FAST, I’m having fun!”

Richard Chambers always gives a stellar performance as the PA announcer who is everywhere at once! Think that is impossible, you have to see and hear it to believe. A former racer who knows and loves the sport, Richard covers the action and interviews the participants with his portable mike and a Vino 125 scooter. It would be difficult to replace his one man show with 5 others.

David Aschenbrener, David & Mike Carter at the International Horseshoe

Infield: A great place to watch the races and hang out with old friends and make some new ones. I watched several great races with David & Mike Carter of the legendary Carter Brothers Garage, custom tank fabricator David Aschenbrener. Jacksonville publisher Sam Taylor provided lunch, bratwurst on the grill, chips & dip, cookies and beer.

There are always the crashes, that's why you can't go racing without CORNER WORKERS!

That's the way it was, October 15, 2011 AHRMA & CCS racing at Daytona.

Learn more about AHRMA at their web site: http://dev.ahrma.org/

The Daytona 200- Great Day for The Italians at Daytona!

The Daytona 200- Great Day for The Italians at Daytona

 March 12. 2011

The 70^th edition of America’s most historic motorcycle race has gone into the history books with a spectacular finish seeing 6 riders in competition for 1^st place on the final lap. Two of those riders crashed (uninjured) at the finish line as Jason DiSalvo rode the Ducati 848 to a first ever victory for the Italian manufacturer. All this with a light breeze, temperature in the 70s and a sunny Florida sky. Sounds great, doesn’t it. Well it could have been had it not been for the promoters, AMA Pro Sports & Daytona Motorsports Group who managed a great race to mediocrity.

1. Competitors were provided (sold) tires that were unreliable and unpredictable under race conditions. This after live tire tests, one in January and another “secret test” in February.

2. At about 18 laps, the first of 2 pit stops, front tires showed excessive wear and began to fail. The seriousness of the situation was emphasized when Danny Eslick crashed due to a front tire failure on lap 25 of the scheduled 57 lap race.

3. AMA & Dunlop got together and decided to stop the race (red flag) for a mandatory front tire change for all riders. (can’t argue this from the standpoint of rider safety, but, it should not have been necessary, see # 1)

4. Mounting and changing a front tire should take a maximum of 15 minutes.   Teams that I talked to said they were ready to go in 30 minutes. However the red flag lingered for almost 2 hours. Then the controlling AMA people shortened the race to 142 miles because they did not have enough tires to go the 200 miles, particularly considering the questionable tire reliability.  

5. The long delay allowed for the eventual winning Ducati/DiSalvo team to replace the engine that blew out on the final green lap before the race was stopped.

6. The delay resulted in SPEED TV abandoning the race leaving viewers to a tape delay late night continuation.

Summary: Some great riding and racing overshadowed by poor race management resulted in the Great American Motorcycle Race being relegated to a 15 lap sprint with no live TV coverage. The winner required 2 engines to run for 142 miles. They should have had a DNF/blown engine instead of the winner’s trophy. 

Daytona 200

The Daytona 200 is the most historic and arguably the most prestigious motorcycle race in America. This years race at Daytona International Speedway will be the 70th running of the event that began in 1937 when Ed Kretz averaged 73.34 mph aboard his Indian Sport Scout to outrun a field of 86 on a race course that combined the sand of the beach and the asphalt paved highway A1A.

With any major sporting event there is always the story, and the many stories within the story.  Often the story within can outshine the story itself.  One of this years stories will be Sorrento, Fl racer Pat Mooney's Daytona campaign.

I will follow the Daytona 200 again this year as I have for many years, and I'll follow the Mooney Campaign with in depth coverage as it all plays out from beginning to the checkered flag on the afternoon of March 12, 2011.

Watch the slide show of privateer Pat Mooney at Daytona. Finished 22^nd, the British rider on the American bike. Through the speed traps in excess of 165 MPH! A salute to the little guy in the big race.

visit the Pat Mooney Racing page: http://patmooneyracing.blogspot.com/

e-mail Tom Rose at: tomrose43@gmail.com