Post by scotinexcile on Jul 12, 2010 21:08:04 GMT -8
Race Report #368 AFM RD5 THill July 10th and 11th 2010
We had some visitors with us this weekend. Our friends from North Carolina decided they wanted to watch a race weekend at the AFM.
Southwest kindly lost all their luggage so they had to spend a few hours at Wal-Mart getting the necessities for the weekend. Thanks to all the AFM family for welcoming our friends and treating them to the great hospitality we are all used to.
We rolled into THill about 7pm on Friday evening to find Vic and Colleen had kept us a great RV spot right beside them just South of the main building. We quickly unpacked and got setup. That left us plenty of time to chat with a lot of friends around the pits before heading to bed early for Saturday.
After reading a few race reports from this weekend already it is amazing the range of emotions that are on display. Some were new and nervous, others planned change for the better, others exploded in ways only they could understand. The last 2 rounds I have not practiced on Saturday, I feel more relaxed and it leaves me a little time to prepare for announcing as well as racing. The morning was spent chatting to other racers; I like to talk, in case you have not noticed that. *LOL* As lunch rolled by I made sure I had my grid position for Formula 40 lightweight and that everything was in order for the Tag Team event.
I got into my leathers and made my way up to the announcer’s area to help out with the first couple of races. I was in Race 3 so announced Race 1. It was good to see Greg Olson #911 running so well and all his hard work paying off. Race 2 was Formula Afemme and Clubman Lightweight Rory Kamper and Brad Gyger were both running in this and I was rooting for them. I waited as long as I could before heading down to get ready for my race.
We never heard the Final call so I was late getting to the hot pits so missed my warm up lap, stupid, especially after seeing other riders doing it from the announcers perch!!! I rolled up and down the hot pits with Rob Campbell then headed out the end and on tp the straight and into my grid position. We were in the third wave; I was in Row 12 position 48 on the right nearest the wall. Two rows ahead of me was Tommy Dorsey so I looked for him to drag me around. I was mad at myself that this was going to be my first lap ALL DAY!!! I really should have done an earlier hot lap, would have, should have, and could have.
The green flag went and I got decent start, I closed in on Tommy and watched him shake his head as he was being passed by other bikes. I got boxed in at the first corner and dropped nearly all the way to the back. I really need to work on racing my race and not following others. I need more experience in setting up passes in places that maximize my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. I managed to go from 11th up to 7th with pretty average lap times. In all honesty I was disappointed in my performance and will have to reevaluate the whole no Saturday practice strategy.
Next up was the Tag Team event, my partner Brad had a good Clubman race and was primed and ready to go. There were only 4 teams in Lightweight tag team so finishing was the main priority. Brad got the running duties again and had a good session doing steady laps. He was riding "against" Scott and Jay so it was not really a "fair" contest *grin*. I gave Brad the 2 laps to go signal and got my gear on. He came in right on time and as I headed out I saw Scott go past the start finish which put us just over a lap behind.
Brad looking FAST!!!!!
I put my head down and tried to get settled in in had a slow first couple of laps and Scott was gaping me. I knew he would have to pit soon and Dave Sapsis would be out hunting me. Dave is one of the nicest guys in the pits and he is fast! As I passed start finish Dave came out of the hot pits just behind me, he was still almost a lap in front so I really put my head down to try and make a decent gap. No chance!!! Dave spent a couple of laps sizing me up then passed me with ease. I got a little bit of "red mist" and put in a close pass into 3 that, I found out later, caused Dave to sit up and run into the grass. SORRY.
Chasing the rabbit
I had no idea how close or how far Dave was away but I started pushing as hard as I could. At the same time I started to relax and pushed my braking markers as deep as I could. I was really enjoying the open track and carried on right until the checkered flag. As I climbed of the bike and checked my lap times I saw a 2:01:07, must be a mistake!!!! Nope confirmed by AMB at a 2:01:09 big thanks to Dave Sapsis for the tow around. Brad and I ended up in 3rd place which was a place better than last time.
Beer Time
A couple of beers then tidy up the hot pits and try to get tech done before they closed for the Saturday Night festivities.
Sunday was a nice lazy start to the day with tech already taken care of it was a great breakfast and time to check on grid positions for race 3, 7 and 10.
650 prod was first and it was a GREAT race and I rue my missed chance at a podium!!!! I had a good start and was in 3rd place for the first 2 laps coming across start finish. There were lots of passes in between those times. I was in 4th for the rest of the race and my lap times were down into the 2:02 as the battle went on. Robin Geenen #605 was just plain faster than I was. I tried setting up for a pass draughting up the straight to the flag but he just got away from me. Great race and I can’t wait until the next round.
In front of Scott for the first time ever
Quickly parked the bike and put gas in it then up the stairs to announce the races up until lunchtime. Great racing by everyone. When I was racing in the morning Vic Anderson took over the announcing but we were both going to be racing in race 7 so we needed to strong arm someone else into helping out. Mike Solis made the mistake of showing his face and was immediately press ganged into helping out. Big thanks to Mike for stepping up to the plate.
"I'm given her all she's got Captain"
650 Twins I got a horrible start again and was way in the back by the time we got around turn 1 I was back in 17th got stuck there. My times were average I was dicing with John Forman and again pulled a pass in Turn 3 which was too close for Johns comfort, we talked after the race and fixed things. I ended up in 15th place after John drafted me to the line to teach me a lesson for the bad pass.
The Monkeys
Back up to the announcers booth for one and a half races then get ready for Formula 4, Race number 10. This turned out to be my worst experience of the day!! I started well and was up in 13th by the third lap. I was following Bill Wickersham as we climbed the hill towards 9 and tipped in. Bill missed a gear change and I charged past as fast as I could. I wrung the neck of the SV as I headed towards 10. Braked a little and clicked down a gear as I let out the clutch, OH SHIT, no engine brake. False neutral, too fast to make the corner, stand the bike up and head straight. Dirt under the front wheel, Supermoto training kicks in, stay OFF the front brake. I clicked the gear leaver up at the same time as applying rear brake, and then let the clutch out as smoothly as I could. Heading thru the gap in the wall in T10. Change down a gear, still applying rear brake as the bike comes under some kind of control. Jink left thru the gap on to the drifting area and finally manage to get on the front brake and stop the bike. Take a second to pull me seat out of my ass then turn the bike around and head back out on to the track. Phew that was close!!!!
Pupil in front of teacher = no good :rofl
I take a few corners to clean the tires up then start to get back up to pace. I spot a solitary bike about 1/2 lap in front of me and that is all I need. I get the times back to 2:03 as I chase the bike in front. As I get closer I see the bike is 630 my Tag Team Partner Brad. We are on the last lap and I close on him into 14 and 15. I take a tight line and try to out drive him on to the straight to get a draft. I taught him to well *LOL* he gets a great drive out of 15 and out motors me to the line. I finish in 18th and gratified that I remembered to NOT touch the front brake on the dirt.
Parked the bike and back up to the Announcers booth to help out with the rest of the races.
Thanks to my wonderful wife Beth, great friends Alan and Carrie. Vick and Colleen are two of the nicest people on the planet.
Next time things will be just as good
Laurel and Hardy!!!!!:Party
How I got so many pics this weekend
We had some visitors with us this weekend. Our friends from North Carolina decided they wanted to watch a race weekend at the AFM.
Southwest kindly lost all their luggage so they had to spend a few hours at Wal-Mart getting the necessities for the weekend. Thanks to all the AFM family for welcoming our friends and treating them to the great hospitality we are all used to.
We rolled into THill about 7pm on Friday evening to find Vic and Colleen had kept us a great RV spot right beside them just South of the main building. We quickly unpacked and got setup. That left us plenty of time to chat with a lot of friends around the pits before heading to bed early for Saturday.
After reading a few race reports from this weekend already it is amazing the range of emotions that are on display. Some were new and nervous, others planned change for the better, others exploded in ways only they could understand. The last 2 rounds I have not practiced on Saturday, I feel more relaxed and it leaves me a little time to prepare for announcing as well as racing. The morning was spent chatting to other racers; I like to talk, in case you have not noticed that. *LOL* As lunch rolled by I made sure I had my grid position for Formula 40 lightweight and that everything was in order for the Tag Team event.
I got into my leathers and made my way up to the announcer’s area to help out with the first couple of races. I was in Race 3 so announced Race 1. It was good to see Greg Olson #911 running so well and all his hard work paying off. Race 2 was Formula Afemme and Clubman Lightweight Rory Kamper and Brad Gyger were both running in this and I was rooting for them. I waited as long as I could before heading down to get ready for my race.
We never heard the Final call so I was late getting to the hot pits so missed my warm up lap, stupid, especially after seeing other riders doing it from the announcers perch!!! I rolled up and down the hot pits with Rob Campbell then headed out the end and on tp the straight and into my grid position. We were in the third wave; I was in Row 12 position 48 on the right nearest the wall. Two rows ahead of me was Tommy Dorsey so I looked for him to drag me around. I was mad at myself that this was going to be my first lap ALL DAY!!! I really should have done an earlier hot lap, would have, should have, and could have.
The green flag went and I got decent start, I closed in on Tommy and watched him shake his head as he was being passed by other bikes. I got boxed in at the first corner and dropped nearly all the way to the back. I really need to work on racing my race and not following others. I need more experience in setting up passes in places that maximize my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. I managed to go from 11th up to 7th with pretty average lap times. In all honesty I was disappointed in my performance and will have to reevaluate the whole no Saturday practice strategy.
Next up was the Tag Team event, my partner Brad had a good Clubman race and was primed and ready to go. There were only 4 teams in Lightweight tag team so finishing was the main priority. Brad got the running duties again and had a good session doing steady laps. He was riding "against" Scott and Jay so it was not really a "fair" contest *grin*. I gave Brad the 2 laps to go signal and got my gear on. He came in right on time and as I headed out I saw Scott go past the start finish which put us just over a lap behind.
Brad looking FAST!!!!!
I put my head down and tried to get settled in in had a slow first couple of laps and Scott was gaping me. I knew he would have to pit soon and Dave Sapsis would be out hunting me. Dave is one of the nicest guys in the pits and he is fast! As I passed start finish Dave came out of the hot pits just behind me, he was still almost a lap in front so I really put my head down to try and make a decent gap. No chance!!! Dave spent a couple of laps sizing me up then passed me with ease. I got a little bit of "red mist" and put in a close pass into 3 that, I found out later, caused Dave to sit up and run into the grass. SORRY.
Chasing the rabbit
I had no idea how close or how far Dave was away but I started pushing as hard as I could. At the same time I started to relax and pushed my braking markers as deep as I could. I was really enjoying the open track and carried on right until the checkered flag. As I climbed of the bike and checked my lap times I saw a 2:01:07, must be a mistake!!!! Nope confirmed by AMB at a 2:01:09 big thanks to Dave Sapsis for the tow around. Brad and I ended up in 3rd place which was a place better than last time.
Beer Time
A couple of beers then tidy up the hot pits and try to get tech done before they closed for the Saturday Night festivities.
Sunday was a nice lazy start to the day with tech already taken care of it was a great breakfast and time to check on grid positions for race 3, 7 and 10.
650 prod was first and it was a GREAT race and I rue my missed chance at a podium!!!! I had a good start and was in 3rd place for the first 2 laps coming across start finish. There were lots of passes in between those times. I was in 4th for the rest of the race and my lap times were down into the 2:02 as the battle went on. Robin Geenen #605 was just plain faster than I was. I tried setting up for a pass draughting up the straight to the flag but he just got away from me. Great race and I can’t wait until the next round.
In front of Scott for the first time ever
Quickly parked the bike and put gas in it then up the stairs to announce the races up until lunchtime. Great racing by everyone. When I was racing in the morning Vic Anderson took over the announcing but we were both going to be racing in race 7 so we needed to strong arm someone else into helping out. Mike Solis made the mistake of showing his face and was immediately press ganged into helping out. Big thanks to Mike for stepping up to the plate.
"I'm given her all she's got Captain"
650 Twins I got a horrible start again and was way in the back by the time we got around turn 1 I was back in 17th got stuck there. My times were average I was dicing with John Forman and again pulled a pass in Turn 3 which was too close for Johns comfort, we talked after the race and fixed things. I ended up in 15th place after John drafted me to the line to teach me a lesson for the bad pass.
The Monkeys
Back up to the announcers booth for one and a half races then get ready for Formula 4, Race number 10. This turned out to be my worst experience of the day!! I started well and was up in 13th by the third lap. I was following Bill Wickersham as we climbed the hill towards 9 and tipped in. Bill missed a gear change and I charged past as fast as I could. I wrung the neck of the SV as I headed towards 10. Braked a little and clicked down a gear as I let out the clutch, OH SHIT, no engine brake. False neutral, too fast to make the corner, stand the bike up and head straight. Dirt under the front wheel, Supermoto training kicks in, stay OFF the front brake. I clicked the gear leaver up at the same time as applying rear brake, and then let the clutch out as smoothly as I could. Heading thru the gap in the wall in T10. Change down a gear, still applying rear brake as the bike comes under some kind of control. Jink left thru the gap on to the drifting area and finally manage to get on the front brake and stop the bike. Take a second to pull me seat out of my ass then turn the bike around and head back out on to the track. Phew that was close!!!!
Pupil in front of teacher = no good :rofl
I take a few corners to clean the tires up then start to get back up to pace. I spot a solitary bike about 1/2 lap in front of me and that is all I need. I get the times back to 2:03 as I chase the bike in front. As I get closer I see the bike is 630 my Tag Team Partner Brad. We are on the last lap and I close on him into 14 and 15. I take a tight line and try to out drive him on to the straight to get a draft. I taught him to well *LOL* he gets a great drive out of 15 and out motors me to the line. I finish in 18th and gratified that I remembered to NOT touch the front brake on the dirt.
Parked the bike and back up to the Announcers booth to help out with the rest of the races.
Thanks to my wonderful wife Beth, great friends Alan and Carrie. Vick and Colleen are two of the nicest people on the planet.
Next time things will be just as good
Laurel and Hardy!!!!!:Party
How I got so many pics this weekend
