Infineon- AFM Round 2 Race Report

Round 2 started for me on the Monday before the race weekend. I went to Infineon to ride the Zoom Zoom trackday and see if I could get myself comfortable on my bike. Up until this point I have had nothing but problems with the R6. I’ve been unable to get any where near both mine or the bikes potential and I’ve been plagued with several crashes. I had to figure out how to make this bike work. I knew that part of the problem was me and part was my bike and I had to figure out a way to get both the bike and myself to a point where I was happy to be on it. My goal for both this trackday and the upcoming race weekend was very simple: DO NOT CRASH. My secondary goals were to ride comfortably and consistently but I had to achieve my primary goal at all costs, even if it meant coming in last place and three laps down in every race.

At the trackday I was able to talk with a few people who had a lot more experience and knowledge than me and they gave me some advice as far as where to start with making the bike work better. All advice that was given to me helped and by the end of the day the bike was doing what I wanted it to do. I decided that if I had a good plan for Saturday practice and followed it then I might be able to do reasonably well this weekend.

Saturday:

Saturday practice went well. I had a plan for each session with trying new things with the suspension to see if I could make it better for the race. I was still several seconds off my pace from last year but I was running consistently and with every change I made I could feel noticeable improvements in the way the bike handled.

Clubman Middleweight:
I was gridded fourth in the first row. Not a bad place to start at Infineon. The green flag was waved and I got a good launch that had me in second going into turn 1. I managed to get a good drive up the hill and was in first by by the time I made it to turn two. This was only the second time I’ve ever been in the lead of a race. Leading is difficult. It’s hard to figure out how hard you should ride. I spent the first few corners reminding myself to ride my own race and not ride out of control. I also had to remind myself not to look back. I set myself to a fast pace that didn’t make me feel like I was going to crash. The first three laps were pretty quiet. I didn’t see any one else or even hear a bike behind me. Everything was feeling pretty good except my braking for turns 9 and 11. I still hadn’t figured out how to get the rear wheel to stop chattering. Then on the fourth lap Giya Myshlyayev came by on the brakes going into turn 9. He ended up going too fast into 9 which caused him to slow way up and run really far to the outside of 9a. I managed to get a better drive and passed him back going into 10. Knowing he was behind my I tried to pick up the pace and hold him off. Going into the next lap he came by me again in the same spot but this time he didn’t screw up turn 9. I followed him for the next lap trying to figure out where I was faster than him and where he was making up time. I managed to stay pretty close to him until the exit of 7. Coming out of the turn I realized exactly where I was giving up a lot of time and why he was killing me into turn 9. My line out of 7 and into 8 was wrong. I was losing my drive into 8 and I watched him pull several bike lengths ahead of me through the turn 8 and into 9. He was also braking much later than me into 9. When we came around for lap 6 I pushed harder and tried to catch back up to him. I managed to close the gap and in doing so get the fastest lap of the race. Once I caught back up to him I realized that our pace was too close and the only way I was going to get back around him was if I tried something brave or if he made a mistake. Since my only goal of the weekend was to not crash I opted for hoping he made a mistake. I managed to stay right behind him until the last lap when we caught lap traffic. We caught up to Corey Clough going down the front straight and Giya managed to get ahead of him before turn 1. I wasn’t able to. I had to slow down considerably going into one and couldn’t get past Corey until after the corner. This gave Giya a comfortable gap and I did not have time to catch back up. I happily crossed the finish line in second place.

Clubman Heavyweight:
I knew that this was going to be a tough race with the majority of the grid riding 1000cc bikes. I was gridded in fourth again. The green flag waved and I managed to get another decent launch and was in third going into turn 1. Going up the hill I had a great drive and knew I was either next or ahead of everyone else and I had the inside. I went into turn two late and managed to be the first out. Once again, I’m in the lead and telling myself to calm down. This was shortlived as Blaine Bessler came inside of me going into turn 6 and Ian Oss managed to outbrake me into turn 9. The two of them seemed to be running neck and neck so I tried to hang on and keep them as close as possible. They were running a little faster than me and I only lost a couple bike lengths to them each lap until lap 5 when they both decided to pick up the pace and run a couple seconds a lap faster. From this point out it was a pretty quiet race and I finished in third without seeing another bike.

After the races I decided I needed to figure out a way to get the bike to slow down better. The rear wheel chatter into 9 and 11 was frustrating. I spoke with Greg McCullough and he gave me some advice as to modify my slipper clutch. I made the modifications, had a great dinner thanks to Josie, and went to bed hoping that tomorrow would be as good as today.

Sunday:

Sunday practice started out well. I wasn’t running very fast but I was comfortable and the clutch seemed to be working better. My times were also very consistent and I was happy with that.

750 Superbike:
750 Superbike was race 2. I’ve never been a big fan of the earlier races as I always sluggish in the morning. I’ve never been able to get myself up to speed in the morning. I was gridded in the fifth row in the 19th spot. I bogged the bike a bit on the start and didn’t get a really good drive into turn one. I lost a couple spots on the start and then again going into turn 2. I managed to get a couple positions back in the first half of the lap and ended up behind David Benjamin. I chased him for a lap trying to find a place to get around him and finally managed a pass in turn 6. After I got around him there was no one in sight. Around lap 4 Christy Cooley and I followed her until lap 7 when David tried to pass me going into turn 7. He went into the corner a little too hot and ended up going wide. This let me go right back by him. When we came around the next lap he tried the same pass in 7 but this time was able to make it stick. I knew it was the last lap and I tried pick up the pace in hopes that I might be able to pass him back before the finish line. I ended up carrying too much speed into turn 9 and when I went wide on the exit Giya came around the outside of me just like I had done to him in the middleweight race. I finished the race right behind Giya in 20th. I came into the pits frustrated but I was happy to see that my lap times were about the same as I had done the day before.

600 Superbike:
Right after lunch I gridded up on the fourth row in the 16th spot. I managed to get a decent start but lost a couple spots when I was stuck on the inside in turn 2. After everyone started to spread out I set myself to what felt like a fast pace until lap 3 when C.J. Weaver passed me going into 9. I followed him for a lap and the tried to make a pass into 7. I went into the corner a little too hot and ended up giving the position back to C.J. The next lap I tried for the same pass and was able to make it stick. I decided that I didn’t want this race to end like the 750 Superbike race where I was passed back in the last lap and concentrated on going fast enough to not give up any positions. On the last lap of the race I caught sight of Kenyon Kluge and tried to close the gap but was unable to. I ended up finishing 19th and was the top novice.

600 Production:
This was the Sunday race I was most looking forward to. Because of my points last year I was gridded on row 3 in the 12th position. I really enjoy starting towards the front. Even though I am nowhere near being able to keep up with the front runners of a Sunday race being able to see open track at the start of a race is an exciting feeling. I usually start better and ride faster the closer to the front I start, especially when I can see the track in front of the front row. The green flag waved and I thought I had a great start until halfway up the hill between turns 1 and 2 both Oscar Fernandez and Joey Pascarella passed me like I was standing still. I still managed to pick up a couple places and came out of turn 2 in a better position than where I started. I then remembered the one bad thing about starting towards the front and getting a decent start with all the fast guys in the class: the only direction you go is backwards. I spent the next lap and a half being passed by all the fast guys that didn’t get the grid position I did or didn’t start as well as me. I did manage to catch and pass Kenyon Kluge on the fifth lap and spent the rest of the race following David Raff and Oscar Fernandez. I ended up finishing 15th and top novice.

Overall this weekend couldn’t have gone better. I managed to achieve my goal of bring the bike back in the same condition and was able to comfortably run consistent, fast lap times. I’m getting comfortable on the R6 and now feel that I can start working on going faster.

I’d like to thank my sponsors Cycle Sector, Shift, and CT Racing for all of their support. Without them I wouldn’t have had the parts, gear and tires to run this weekend.

I’d also like to thank Lisa Wallace, Josie Gomez, Sam Richards, and Mike Canfield for all their help in getting me and the bike successfully through this weekend.