Saturday’s race card included 3 races for me; Clubman Middle, 600 Production (Buttonwillow make up race) and Formula 40. I can’t say I’m much of an ironman like some of the expert racers so I choose to swap one of my practice sessions for the 600 Prod race. This gave me a chance to talk to Dave Moss about some of the handling problems I’ve been having and get some tire advice from Jeff Viets. The Bridgestone R10s have worked out great this season but as novice racer I need to learn how to handle different track conditions. The weather this weekend was much cooler than any other race I did this year and in practice I could feel the bike moving around a bit on braking and corner entry. The front never tucked but I could sense the tires were sliding just a bit and the wear pattern confirmed this. After a bit of testing I found that if I added a half pound of pressure in the front (32.5) it cleaned up the wear pattern and dropped my lap times a few 10ths on avaerage.
As I new racer it’s always good to try out other brands but I’m so pleased with the Bridgestones that I have no desire to experiment with the others.
The Saturday races were pretty much a blur but here’s what I can remember:
-
Clubman Middle Weight. Started 14th with a bad start but made back up for it in T2 (this would be a recurring theme on the weekend) and then up to P11 by lap 2. A couple mistakes saw me drop to 13th but back up a spot on the final lap for 12th of 26 at the line. Nothing too exciting but this put me in 15th out of 51 for the season after 4 races. I’m pretty stoked with that.
-
600 Production (Buttonwillow make up race) Gridded P22, my string of solid starts seems to have run out and I dropped a couple spots as I wheelied off the line. From there I found myself making up ground by T2 again. For the rest of the race I put my head down and made up some spots while at the same time dealing with a bike that had a light front end out of T5 and T9. Result; 17th out of 25.
-
Formula 40. Starting from P13 in the second wave, my launch was OK but on pace with the riders in front of me. Lap 1 proved to be interesting with some aggressive passing and hard contact between T10 and T11 from a rider attempting to block my pass. Bashing fairings is a lesson all racers need to experience and this was my first (luckily with zero consequences). I even managed to hold my line into T11 to take the spot. But that’s when my race fell apart as my bike refused to shift properly throughout the race resulting in my first finish behind my starting spot. 14th out of 24 starters. I still managed 15th out of 41 overall (and highest placing novice) in class for the season.
-
Sunday brought similar weather and I checked in with Dave Moss to get some suggestions to help solve my wheelie problems. The Bridgstone R10s were holding up great and I stuck with the same psi as the day before as the feel and wear patterns looked perfect. The shifting problem was something I would have to wait until after the weekend to fix.
-
600 Superbike was my first race of the day. Gridded 28th I caught a false neutral between gears 1-2 which sent the front wheel skyward as everyone passed me. Once I got the wheel on the ground I focused on hitting my marks and making up spots as I worked my way up through the back of the field. Luckily that was the only shift problem in that race but coupled with the problems from the day before I was starting to lose confidence in my bikes shifting performance all together. My efforts put me back up to 24th of 34 starters and 49 of 84 on the season.
-
600 Production. Last race of the season and keeping in line with shooting for a strong finish, I lined up on the grid P25 and focused on having a good time. Green flag waved and I launched the bike way too conservatively while trying to prevent any shifting disasters. Once again I went backwards but I think I was too tired to care and my bike felt the best it had all weekend. As long I didn’t miss any shifts I knew it’d be a great race as I moved back up the field to P16 by the beginning of lap 2. Each lap from there had me in a great battle with another rider and I had to really work hard to make my passes. Those battles really made for a great end of the season (and thanks to the riders for some fantastic racing) as I finished 13th! That put me in 30th out of 75 for the season.-
My first season of road racing has far exceeded my expectations in both results and enjoyment and I’m thankful for all the great people I’ve met along the way. Big thanks to Jeff Viets for all my parts, tire services and guidance, Dave Moss for suspension help (every change had me going forward) and the AFM for putting on such great events. Thanks to Michelle S., Micah L., Greg O.(Congratulations), PJ and all those who gave me a hand this year. And thanks to all the other racers for some great racing.
Footnote: The ATM at Thunderhill not only dispenses cash but also Zen Wisdom. It's even racing related but you'll have to look a little deeper to find it.
Footnote: The ATM at Thunderhill not only dispenses cash but also Zen Wisdom. It's even racing related but you'll have to look a little deeper to find it.
No comments:
Post a Comment