https://forum.cmraracing.com/blog.php?1623-Paul-Coste Central Motorcycle RoadRacing Association Forum en Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:07:12 GMT vBulletin 60 https://forum.cmraracing.com/images/misc/rss.jpg https://forum.cmraracing.com/blog.php?1623-Paul-Coste https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?25-Privateer-Tools-takes-3rd-place-in-SBCE-at-TWS2 Wed, 09 Oct 2013 16:23:34 GMT Texas World Speedway is always a fun place to race. This weekend we enjoyed fantastic weather and great racing. We also had a chance to review our spare parts and test the maximum battery life of our power tools. Friday practice felt good as Olay and Sean worked all day to dial in our... Texas World Speedway is always a fun place to race. This weekend we enjoyed fantastic weather and great racing. We also had a chance to review our spare parts and test the maximum battery life of our power tools.

Friday practice felt good as Olay and Sean worked all day to dial in our suspension. We were confident our setup was good to go for all members of our team.

On the first lap of the Saturday practice a bike ahead of us blew an engine. Olay hit the oil slick and went down. Upon arriving back to the pits the team came together to repair the damage to our bike. We did so much drilling that we used up one of our battery packs. We finished up with enough time to for one shakedown lap before we grid up for the race.

Olay got us off to a good start and it appeared our repair job was holding together because he managed to put up a team best 1:51 lap time. We were in 5th place when he handed the bike off to Brad. Brad and Mike put together the next two hours of flawless consistent laps.

A few laps after I got on the bike my stint was cut short by a red flag. As I sat in the pits waiting for the restart it occurred to me that I had not started a single race this year. I was unfamiliar with the light system and I had never started an I4 600 under race conditions. Thanks to the fine work of my team, I was able to grid up in row 2.

As the lights went out and the race started, I realized that our R6 has considerably less torque at low RPMs than my Triumph. I watched the entire field pass me on the start as I waited for the engine to spin up into the correct operating range. Lesson learned, practice starting even if you aren't the starter for your team.

Sean took the bike from me with about an hour and ten minutes left in the race. We knew we didn't have enough gas to finish. After an hour of solid endurance ridging, Sean dropped the bike off to Olay for a splash and go. Olay brought us home in a comfortable 3rd in class and 4th place overall.

We are excited about the final race of the season in three weeks.




Privateer Tools would like to thank our sponsors: M4 Exhaust, USB Consulting ]]> Paul Coste https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?25-Privateer-Tools-takes-3rd-place-in-SBCE-at-TWS2 https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?21-Privateer-Tools-take-6th-at-NOLA-BBE-SBCE Fri, 28 Jun 2013 16:01:37 GMT So let me get this straight. A CMRA race in an awesome city at a world class facility? Count us in! Wow, what a fantastic facility! Loved the track, loved the locals, loved the crowd. In contrast to all of the positives, it seems that the racing gremlins decided it was our turn for a... So let me get this straight. A CMRA race in an awesome city at a world class facility? Count us in!

Wow, what a fantastic facility! Loved the track, loved the locals, loved the crowd.

In contrast to all of the positives, it seems that the racing gremlins decided it was our turn for a visit. We overcame many minor issues over the course of the race.

We started out the race with high hopes resting on Brad’s shoulders. He got us off to a great start before getting involved in a low speed racing incident. After sorting out a bent rotor and some off kilter controls, I got on the bike with the intention of clicking off some steady laps. The bike was pretty hard to turn, my hand was going numb, and my right knee kept feeling different every time I touched it down in a turn. I figured it was just my inexperience with the track. Later, I would find that my puck was not in good condition.



After an hour on the bike, I was ready to try out Olay’s new pit toy:




While I was cooling off, Olay took his first turn on the bike. Despite the fact that our clip-ons had been inadvertently adjusted to point in a solid right turn, Olay steadily had us climbing the leader board. Olay compared our clip on postion to a cruiser…so we made some adjustments and a tire change. We sent out Mike on fresh rubber ready to test out the “sport” mode of the clip ons.

As usual, Mike cranked off an hour of fast and steady lap times without incident, handing the bike off to Sean . Sean had some great battles with lap traffic before handing the bike off to Brad and Olay for our final “one-two” punch of the race. We are very happy with our final finish of 6^th in class and 11^th overall. Our team came together to recover from small problems the entire race.

What a great weekend with fantastic memories. Many of our family members made it down for the race. I’m starting to feel spoiled because we have so many “extended pit crew” members that I feel like a pro. I get help with my leathers, drinks, food as well as encouragement and assistance packing up at the end of the day. We thank our families for not only supporting us, but for enjoying this great club along side us.




Privateer Tools would like to thank their sponsors: M4 Exhaust, USB Consulting ]]> Paul Coste https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?21-Privateer-Tools-take-6th-at-NOLA-BBE-SBCE https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?16-Privateer-Tools-take-second-in-SBCE-at-Texas-World-8-hour-endurance Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:32:03 GMT I now understand the meaning of the word “endurance”. I am amazed at the ability of the Yamaha YZF-R6 to take that kind of abuse. When we put this team together our experienced endurance riders pointed to the eight hour race on the schedule and talked about tire changes, rider order, fatigue,... I now understand the meaning of the word “endurance”. I am amazed at the ability of the Yamaha YZF-R6 to take that kind of abuse.

When we put this team together our experienced endurance riders pointed to the eight hour race on the schedule and talked about tire changes, rider order, fatigue, and bike maintenance. Talking about an eight hour race and competing in an eight hour race are two very different things.


In preparation, we worked with Shandra Crawford to design a logo and banner. No matter what the eight hours would bring, we were going out in style.



Brad Kelly set up the team with a great start and quick pace. We had a flawless pit as the bike was handed off to Olay Bayramoglu. Olay went out and laid down fast and consistent laps. The first two hours went by relatively quickly for those of us not riding.


Mike Humphries was our next rider on deck. Unfortunately for me, he is also our normal fuel tower operator. I found out first hand exactly how hard it is to get the dump can in place when the pressure is on. When Mike completed his turn and handed the bike off to Sean Gurevich I was still fumbling around with the dump can…..this looks so easy, why does it take me 10 seconds to make the pieces go together?


As Sean’s ride came to an end, I suited up to wait for my turn. At the halfway point of the race I was excited about position and lap times. We were running with the top five in our class and top ten overall. I was happy with the performance of the new Fast Frank quick change system we purchased as I watched my team change the rear tire. The “dollar per second” gains instantly became apparent as I watched the axle zip in before mounting the bike.


I handed the bike off to Brad for his second stint and staggered exhausted back to the wall. I watched Brad pulling away and wondered out loud how anyone had enough energy to do two shifts. Olay just laughed as he suited up awaiting his turn to take us home.


Olay’s second turn on the bike is where the race got interesting. LSTD was out with blown fork seals, Locomotion dropped with bike issues, and we watched DTO remove their lower as we climbed by them. As we stood cheering with rest of the teams standing on the wall, Olay brought us home safely for a fantastic finish: second in class and fourth overall.


I am truly blessed to be able to race in this awesome club with such fantastic (and “in shape”) teammates and wonderful competition. I hope to see the grids full again at NOLA.




Privateer Tools would like to thank their sponsors: M4 Exhaust, USB Consulting


]]> Paul Coste https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?16-Privateer-Tools-take-second-in-SBCE-at-Texas-World-8-hour-endurance https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?11-Privateer-Tools-MSRH-Race-Report Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:37:32 GMT The Privateer Tools endurance team opened the 2013 Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association endurance season by taking 5th in the highly contested C Superbike class at MSR Houston. The opening weekend for CMRA racing was also the inaugural season for the team and their Yamaha R6 race bike. ... The Privateer Tools endurance team opened the 2013 Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association endurance season by taking 5th in the highly contested C Superbike class at MSR Houston. The opening weekend for CMRA racing was also the inaugural season for the team and their Yamaha R6 race bike.


Team captain Olay Bayramoglu worked hard in the off season to build the team and deliver a race ready motorcycle. In addition to talking Brad Kelly out of retirement, Olay pulled together Mike Humphries, Sean Gurevich and team owner Paul Coste.


"The team goal going into this weekend was to have fun while getting comfortable on the new bike. We are up against strong competition in this class and the team is very happy with our results", stated Paul Coste. The Privateer Tools team finished fifth in class and ninth overall in the four hour race.


Privateer Tools would like to thank their sponsors - M4 Exhaust, USB Consulting.

]]> Paul Coste https://forum.cmraracing.com/entry.php?11-Privateer-Tools-MSRH-Race-Report