IBR '07 Final Results

[UFO]

Warchild is probably busy, so I'll post up.

Congrats to all riders!  Look forward to following along in '09.

2007 Iron Butt Rally, The Finish
Friday, August 31, 2007

Marty Leir has won the 2007 Iron Butt Rally. He bagged a staggering 45 bonuses on the second leg to pull himself up from 6th place to 1st. Added to the 109,032 points on his first leg, his second leg score of 235,090 points gave him a total of 344,122 points. Marty was lucky enough to be riding one of the BMWs that did not suffer a catastrophic failure, an R1200GS-Adventure.

In 2nd place, 10,651 points behind Leir, was Jim Owen with 333,471 total points. The only significant problem Jim had with his R1200RT was multiple punctures in a rear tire. He had to drop several bonuses on his route plan to get an unscheduled tire change in Las Vegas. Jim estimates that the last minute routing change cost him approximately 20,000 points.

16,764 points behind Owen, was third place finisher Brett Donahue riding a Harley-Davidson Sportster. An amazing second leg ride pulled Brett up from 14th place at the end of Leg 1. His total score for both legs was 316,707 points.

Rounding out the top ten were the following riders:

4th place was Jeff Earls on a BMW K1200GT with 309,681 points.
5th place was Eric Jewell on a BMW R1150RT with 304,597 points.
6th place was Tom Melchild on a Yamaha FJR1300 with 299,729 points.
7th place was Greg Marbach on a Yamaha FJR1300 with 298,492 points.
8th place was Michael Evans on a Yamaha FJR1300 with 298,077 points.
9th place was Alan Barbic on a Yamaha FJR1300 with 294,561 points.
10th place was Peter Leap on a Honda ST1300 with 292,596 points.

The bonus locations visited by winner Marty Leir during his strong Leg 2 performance included Grand Canyon, AZ, Death Valley, CA (three), Gering, NE, Lick Observatory, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, CA, Mancos, CO, Bena, MN, Glacier Point, CA, Colombia, MO, Mono Hot Springs, CA, Wall, SD, Salt Lake City, UT, Grass Valley, CA (twice), Bayard, NE, Yosemite Village, CA, Olathe, KS, Big Sur, CA, Leadville, CO, Sacramento, CA, Livermore, CA, Santa Cruz, CA, Sequoia National Park, CA, Dinosaur Monument, UT, Two Harbors, MN, Mt. Rushmore, SD, Alliance, NE, Shiprock, NM, Jeffrey City, WY, Idaho Springs, CO, Powder River, WY, Wamego, KS, Paradise, NV, Casper, WY, Wendover, NV, Sioux Falls, SD, and Las Vegas, NV.

Jim Frens, the only rider to make it to Homer, Alaska, and back, finished in 11th place with 288,910 points. Jim had the highest mileage for the rally, logging 12,658 miles on his Honda GL1800. He arrived at the finish line with less than 5 minutes to make his way to the check-in table before the beginning of the penalty point period. After the points for his fuel log, call-in bonuses, rest bonus, and emergency card return, Jim had time for nothing other than the 28,230 point bonus at Watson Lake in the Yukon Territories. His Leg 2 total of 196,531 points was impressive, but exceeded by a number of riders who built their routes around the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California.

I'll post an epilog providing more details later. Listed below are the final results showing, position, rider name, motorcycle model, miles ridden, and total points scored. Gold Medal finishers are those with at least 240,000 points, Silver starts at 225,000 points, Bronze at 210,000, and the "finisher" level starts at 190,000 points. Please note that the 148,232 points shown for Alexander Schmitt reflect a 50% reduction in his score for changing motorcycles 140 miles from the finish. His unadjusted score of 296,464 points determines his medal level, which is solid gold. He would have been in the top ten without the bike change.

1 Martin Leir, BMW R1200GSA, 12,460, 344,122
2 Jim Owen, BMW R1200RT, 11,137, 333,471
3 Brett Donahue, H-D XLH1200R, 11,283, 316,707
4 Jeff Earls, BMW K1200GT, 11,059, 309,681
5 Eric Jewell, BMW R1150RT, 10,873, 304,597
6 Tom Melchild, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,025, 299,729
7 Greg Marbach, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,323, 298,492
8 Michael Evans, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,921, 298,077
9 Alan Barbic, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,832, 294,561
10 Peter Leap, Honda ST1300, 10,910, 292,596
11 Jim Frens, Honda GL1800, 12,658, 288,910
12 John Tomasovitch, BMW K1200RS, 10,874, 285,875
13 Curt Gran, Honda ST1300, 11,090, 285,512
14 Vicki Johnston, BMW F650GS, 9,868, 284,724
15 Andrew Mills, Victory Vision, 10,552, 283,621
16 John Langan, Honda GL1800, 10,096, 279,770
17 Matt Watkins, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,857, 272,054
18 Paul Peloquin, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,001, 270,097
19 Gregg Burger, BMW R1150GSA, 10,626, 261,475
20 Brian Roberts, Suzuki DL1000, 9,758, 253,273
21 Dick Peek, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,531, 251,924
22 Michael Boge, BMW R1200RT, 8,924, 250,985
23 Reiner & Lisa Kappenberger, Honda GL1800, 9,849, 250,236
24 Carl Stark, Honda GL1800, 8,644, 246,335
25 Art Garvin, Honda GL1800, 8,826, 245,768
26 Mike Langford, BMW K1200LT, 9,349, 242,524
27 Rick Miller, Honda GL1800 9,026, 242,060
28 Vance Keeney, BMW K1200GT, 9,392, 239,863
29 Terry & Lynda Lahman, Honda GL1800, 9,397, 235,736
30 Jack B. Shoalmire, BMW R1200RT, 9,306, 235,156
31 Jim and Donna Phillips, Honda GL1800, 10,022, 233,202
32 Richard Buber, BMW R1150RT, 10,180, 228,077
33 Kendall J. Anderson, Suzuki DL1000, 9,522, 227,164
34 Tom Skemp, Honda GL1500, 8,669, 225,515
35 Kevin J. Healey, Triumph Trophy 1200, 9,407, 225,439
36 Jim Bain, BMW K1200LT, 8,899, 223,659
37 Steve Branner, BMW R1200RT, 9,723, 223,595
38 Rebecca Vaughn, BMW R1100RS, 9,998, 222,607
39 Jim Winterer, Suzuki DL650, 10,209, 219,488
40 Mike Senty, BMW BMW R1150RT, 10,121, 218,975
41 Bill Watt, Honda GL1800, 10,603, 217,078
42 Doug Bailey, BMW R1150GS, 10,353, 215,467
43 Paul Allison, Honda GL1800, 10,207, 214,733
44 Dennis Powell, Honda GL1800, 8,624, 213,250
45 Ken Morton, Honda GL1800, 10,271, 213,101
46 Tony DeLorenzo, BMW R1200GS-ADV, 8,521 208,659
47 Tom and Rosie Sperry, BMW K1200LT, 9,603 206,879
48 Charles "Tobie" Stevens, Yamaha FJR1300, 8,711 206,332
49 Lisa Stevens, Yamaha FJR1300, 8,719, 206,332
50 Don Catterton, BMW K1200GT, 10,218, 205,393
51 Bill Thweatt, Honda ST1300, 9,999, 205,319
52 Stephan Bolduc, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,897, 203,572
53 Chris Cimino, Kawasaki Concours 14, 7,915, 203,427
54 Karol Patzer, BMW K75C, 8,386, 201,741,
55 Rick Neeley, BMW R1200GSA, 9,354, 200,120
56 Peter Murray, BMW K1200LT, 10,255, 199,693
57 Bob Mueller, Suzuki DL1000, 10,272, 199,263
58 Richard Keegan, Honda GL1800, 8,906, 194,071
59 Fred Droegemueller, Honda GL1800, 10,124, 193,096
60 Dick Fish, Buell Ulysses, 9,900, 191,546
61 Joe DeRyke, Suzuki DL650, 10,095, 191,346
62 Rick Martin, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,595, 191,040
63 Robert & Sylvie Torter, BMW K1200GT, 9,318, 190,964
64 David Bourdeaux, Honda GL1800, 8,570, 187,222
65 Jim Simonet, BMW K1200LT, 10,987, 187,035
66 Chris McGaffin, Kawasaki Concours, 8,690, 176,784
67 Joel Rappoport, BMW R60/6, 8,885, 175,945
68 Bob Collin, BMW R1200RT, 9,050, 157,920
69 Jim Mulcahy, BMW K1200RS, 8,833, 150,023
70 Alexander Schmitt, Honda ST1100, 10,584, 148,232
71 Mark W. Collins, H-D Electra Glide, 7,869, 147,905
72 Maura Gatensby, Honda ST1300, 9,117, 147,868
DNF Glenn K. Pancoast, BMW R1200GSA, 8,981 173,779
DNF David Derrick, BMW R1100RT, 5,399, 112,249
DNF Chris Sakala, BMW R1150GS-ADV, 4,874, 108,861
DNF Mike Hutsal, BMW K1200GT, 4,501, 100,160
DNF Rob Nye, BMW R1200RTP, 4,492, 100,100
DNF Homer L. Krout, BMW R1200GS, 4,278, 83,758
DNF George Barnes, BMW K1200LT, 5,198, 79,131
DNF Gerhard Memmen-Krueger, BMW R1200GSA, 3,995, 77,872
DNF Doug Chapman, Yamaha FJR1300, 4,007, 76,026
DNF Norm Grills, BMW K1100LT, 3,852, 75,998
DNF Donald A. Jones, Honda GL1000, 3,475, 75,782
DNF Robert Joers, Honda GL1800, 3,758, 63,261
DNF Mike Getzendanner, Honda GL1500, 3,884, 60,489
DNF Steve Broadhead, Honda ST1300, 3,337, 60,123
DNF Alan Bennett, Kawasaki Ninja 250, 2,919, 53,225
DNF Arlen Brunsvold, Jr., H-D Road Glide, 4,202, 52,669
DNF Arlen Brunsvold, Sr., BMW R1200RT, 3,849, 51,155
DNF Don Kulwicki, Honda GL1800, 3,462, 50,691
DNF David Hinks, Yamaha FJR1300, 3,594, 45,903
DNF Hans Karlsson, Honda GL1800, 0, 0
DNF Don Wescott, BMW K1200GT, 0, 0
DNF Robert St.George, Yamaha FJR1300, 0, 0
DNF Charles "Chip" Hyde, Honda GL1800, 0, 0
DNF Bill Wade, BMW R1200RT, 0, 0
DNF Tom Loftus, Honda ST1300, 0, 0

Tom Austin
August 31, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Iron Butt Rally, Inc., Chicago, IL

[greench440]

Wow.  6th - 1st on the second leg, congrats to Marty.     Maybe 2009 will be Jim's year.

[Orson]

Jim Frens, the only rider to make it to Homer, Alaska, and back, finished in 11th place with 288,910 points. Jim had the highest mileage for the rally, logging 12,658 miles on his Honda GL1800.

Am I wrong in thinking the scoring is awry when the highest mileage guy doesn't even make the top 10?  

12,658 miles is awesome.  

[Hulked Up]

Look forward to following along next year.

We could only wish; we've got to wait until 2009 for more of this insanity.  

[Nodaclu]

Man, there's just something really heartwarming about seeing that 2005 Sportster in 3rd place.  

Overall, the American V-Twin bikes had a very respectable showing (the Victory Vision also had a trouble free run, finishing 15th, and the 1972 Electra Glide avoided mechanical failures and finished the race - though a little short on points).

I can't wait to see if the "events" of this years rally changes the overall makeup of bikes in the 09 run.

[UFO]

We could only wish; we've got to wait until 2009 for more of this insanity.  

Doh, you're right.

[jude]

15th for the Vision and 53rd for the Connie?  That Vision pilot must be a friggin' monster of a rider!  Not a bad showing for the Connie, either.

 

[DogBoy]

Great to see ST.Ner and Cal24 RallyMaster Tom Melchild in 6th.  



Congratulations to all the competitors.  

[Lawn Dart]

I can't wait to see if the "events" of this years rally changes the overall makeup of bikes in the 09 run.

Even with all the FD failures on BMW's, my prediction is that there won't be any significant changes in ride ownership.  BMW owners are a very loyal bunch - just as the guys who ride the FJR's are.  

On other notes:

GREAT showing Tom!  I hope you realize we all want to hear a blow-by-blow account of your journey!

Bummer for Jim Owens.  Poor guy was a nail magnet for the ride.  What, three or four plugs in that rear tire?  Horrible to come in second, but BEST to come in safely!  Good call to change that tire despite the end result.  

While special congratulations are in order for Marty Leir, a HUGE kudos must be given to ALL who rode!  Great job everyone!  Just plain showing up on the first day is a victory in my book.  Finishing the damned thing is simply frosting on a great cake.

Now comes the big suck - waiting two more years for more of this priceless insanity!

[photomd]

67 Joel Rappoport, BMW R60/6, 8,885, 175,945
68 Bob Collin, BMW R1200RT, 9,050, 157,920
69 Jim Mulcahy, BMW K1200RS, 8,833, 150,023
70 Alexander Schmitt, Honda ST1100, 10,584, 148,232
71 Mark W. Collins, H-D Electra Glide, 7,869, 147,905

This is just amazing. Read what these two did with their 30+ year old bikes. WOW!  

Although he has competed in several 24-hour rallies, Mark Collins qualifies as a Hopeless Class entry by virtue of the motorcycle he is riding. Mark will be aboard a 1972 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, a bike he has owned since 1979. It has 199,000 miles on the clock. The engine has been rebuilt twice; once at 80,000 miles and again at 150,000 miles. The transmission has also been through two rebuilds. Mark has upgraded the Glide with dual plug heads, an electronic ignition, an H4 headlight, and a Russell saddle. But, in keeping with the vintage of his ride, he is one of the only riders in the Rally that won't be using a GPS. He is also one of the few riders not running auxiliary fuel. Mark's bike was already safely tucked away in the parking lot this afternoon. It's out there on its side stand right now, leaking oil, so it's apparently running just like when it was new.

Although some would consider any motorcycle more than 30 years old to be in the Hopeless Class, Joel Rappoport would disagree. He will be riding the BMW R60/6 that he purchased new 31 years ago. It's the only motorcycle he has owned since then. When it crosses the starting line, it will have over 435,000 miles on it, but it's fresh from a rebuild of the engine, transmission, and rear end at 430,000 miles. Joel has also upgraded the bike from the original drum brakes to double disks up front. He has upgraded the charging system to 400 watts, which allows him to run extra lights and heated gear. The stock H-4 headlight bulb has been replaced with an HID low-beam. A long since discontinued Windjammer III fairing will keep him out of the wind. Two pair of HID auxiliary lights have also been added. He's not expecting to have any mechanical problems and he considers his bike "the most comfortable place on Earth." It's possible that the motorcycle is better prepared for the Rally than Joel, who has never before competed in an endurance rally.

[Hulked Up]

I had the pleasure of meeting Mark at a rally in 2006.  Super nice guy, loves talking about his Harley and absolutely loves to ride long distances.  I'm very glad to see he was a finisher.

[bizarro]

[gman97216]

3rd place on a Sportster!!!

[Hulked Up]

The results make the BMW final drive discussion a little more interesting:  3 of the top 4 finishers were on BMW's, in what appear to be some of the same models that suffered catastrophic failures.  

12 of the 42 starting BMW's did not finish, for an attrition rate of about 29%.  Does anyone know how many were due to mechanical failure and how many to rider withdrawal?  Only 2 of the BMW riders scored no points.

As a comparison, 8 of the 27 Honda's DNF for a 30% attrition rate

3 of 14 FJRs did not finish for a 21% attrition rate

[badger]

The results make the BMW final drive discussion a little more interesting:  3 of the top 4 finishers were on BMW's, in what appear to be some of the same models that suffered catastrophic failures.  

12 of the 42 starting BMW's did not finish, for an attrition rate of about 29%.  Does anyone know how many were due to mechanical failure and how many to rider withdrawal?  Only 2 of the BMW riders scored no points.

As a comparison, 8 of the 27 Honda's DNF for a 30% attrition rate

3 of 14 FJRs did not finish for a 21% attrition rate

Based on the numbers per category, there is no significant difference in DNF rates for BMW, Honda and Yamaha FJRs.

You're right though, reason for DNF would be very interesting to see.

[Cal24Master]

Even with all the FD failures on BMW's, my prediction is that there won't be any significant changes in ride ownership.  BMW owners are a very loyal bunch - just as the guys who ride the FJR's are.  

On other notes:

GREAT showing Tom!  I hope you realize we all want to hear a blow-by-blow account of your journey!

Bummer for Jim Owens.  Poor guy was a nail magnet for the ride.  What, three or four plugs in that rear tire?  Horrible to come in second, but BEST to come in safely!  Good call to change that tire despite the end result.  

While special congratulations are in order for Marty Leir, a HUGE kudos must be given to ALL who rode!  Great job everyone!  Just plain showing up on the first day is a victory in my book.  Finishing the damned thing is simply frosting on a great cake.

Now comes the big suck - waiting two more years for more of this priceless insanity!

Thank all of you for your words of support!  I just got home at about 2:30AM.  I will be decompressing for the next couple days and will post a detailed report.

Thanks again!

Tom

[Andrew]

Way to go Tom

I look forward to reading your accounts of the rally

[Warchild]

This is just amazing. Read what these two did with their 30+ year old bikes. WOW!  

What may not be clear is that neither of these two 30+ year-old bikes obtained enough points to earn "Finisher" status. Riders had to obtain a minimum of 190,000 points to be considered an "IBR Finisher".

As a comparison, 8 of the 27 Honda's DNF for a 30% attrition rate

3 of 14 FJRs did not finish for a 21% attrition rate

Putting together simplistic stats like this can be fairly misleading. IIRC, none of the Hondas and FJRs DNF'd  due to a pure mechanical issue on the part of the bike. For the most part, they did not finish either due to the rider electing to retire, or they crashed, or had some negative outside intervention.

One FJR had his Iron Butt Rally ruined by his dealer, who did a piss-poor job installing his aftermarket stator, and the system fired itself. One ST rider DNF'd due to a split front rim encountered during a little off-road excursion. Another GL1800 crashed on Leg One going down a road he should not have tried, and still several other Wingabagos elected to halt when it became apparent the event was too much for them.

There is always a story behind the number.....

[mike goodwin]

What may not be clear is that neither of these two 30+ year-old bikes obtained enough points to earn "Finisher" status. Riders had to obtain a minimum of 190,000 points to be considered an "IBR Finisher".



Putting together simplistic stats like this can be fairly misleading. IIRC, none of the Hondas and FJRs DNF'd  due to a pure mechanical issue on the part of the bike. For the most part, they did not finish either due to the rider electing to retire, or they crashed, or had some negative outside intervention.

One FJR had his Iron Butt Rally ruined by his dealer, who did a piss-poor job installing his aftermarket stator, and the system fired itself. One ST rider DNF'd due to a split front rim encountered during a little off-road excursion. Another GL1800 crashed on Leg One going down a road he should not have tried, and still several other Wingabagos elected to halt when it became apparent the event was too much for them.

There is always a story behind the number.....

Warchild,something i have been curious about the new point system of this years rally.
Did the riders know at a certain point during the rally or before the rally began how many points they would need to qualify as a finisher??
I was really rooting for the Ninja 250 guy who flamed out way early and the R 60 rider.
Shame the guy could ride a 400,000 plus mile motorcycle through the entire rally and still not be called an official finisher.
That would kill me.

[photomd]

What may not be clear is that neither of these two 30+ year-old bikes obtained enough points to earn "Finisher" status. Riders had to obtain a minimum of 190,000 points to be considered an "IBR Finisher".

My perspective is not one of competition. Life is more about the experience...IMHO. I also love wrenching on my bikes and making them work: all three of 'em. From that perspective, I could care less if they "finished". I think it's cool that they participated and rode more miles in 11 days than I probably ever will on more modern machinery. I admire their efforts and hope they had a blast.