Race #2 - Infineon, April 22-23

April 22- Practice Day

 

Finally, a reprieve from all the rain California has been having! We had a DRY practice day and made the most of the track time save for 30 minutes when we were waiting for the 2nd ambulance to return after transporting a rider who crashed (the rules require that two ambulances be on site while the track is hot).

 

Sherwick’s first session was around 9am and the air and track temps were still cool. He had a lot to test:

  • a new exhaust (Leo Vince 57mm titanium full system) to replace the cracked one
  • a new wheel (Marchesini forged magnesium 16.5”) and tire (wider, 190mm Michelin slick) which was a full 5lbs lighter than stock (We were still waiting on the front from Italy!)
  • new brake pads (Vesrah racing) offering more “bite”
  • a new ride height (0.9cm taller due to the new Michelin tire) resulting in steeper geometry and quicker turn-in

 

New tire & wheel (notice the profile):

      Old tire & wheel:

 

These new parts, along with the fact that he had only half a track day at Infineon this year this year (the others were rained out), were cause for caution. Sherwick was given a #4 sticker during tech, indicating that he was in the 4th practice group out of 5 (with the 5th group being the fastest), but he was not certain that he could hold the pace of that group. However, within six laps, Sherwick’s average lap time of 1:53 was comparable to the same session during the last 2005 race weekend in October. So, cautious, or not, it’s fair to say he was “up to speed”, practice speed, that is.

 

He continued to drop his average time each session and just as importantly he was consistently within a few tenths of a second indicating that the pace he was riding was comfortable and in control. Settling within his comfort zone allowed him to stay out of trouble during practice but unfortunately would not yield the fast lap times in the race.

 

Since the Clubman races (a new division within AFM which allows novices to race on Saturday) were taking place in the afternoon, he only got three sessions in. While we didn’t have tires to change this time (having arrived at the track with a new tire), we did some problems to fix (as usual for a race weekend). There was first the issue of a small oil leak. An oil leak, no matter how small, can spell disaster on a motorcycle.  The oil was misting on the engine cases, pooling in the belly pan and even gathering on the swingarm – if this got on the rear tire it WOULD NOT BE GOOD! While we were cleaning up the mess in the belly pan, cases and swingarm, we noticed that the oil level was very high so we siphoned some out (Ducati’s, especially the newer generation ones, are very sensitive to oil level, which must be exactly between the high and low levels.

We then tightened the oil fill cap, checked all the safety wiring and closed her up. It wasn’t until later (at home the following week) that Sherwick discovered the leak was due to an oil cooler line coupling which had loosened.

Although there was safety wiring on the couplings, it was not routed correctly (one of them loosening would loosen the other one as well):

As for the rear axle, it had been over-torqued and all we had to do was loosen it. We borrowed a pit mate’s (expensive==accurate) Snap-On torque wrench and found that our (cheap==inaccurate) Home Depot Husky torque wrench was off by 13 foot-lbs! The difference in how easily the wheel rotated was very obvious which should translate into faster times!

 

 

April 23- Race Day

 

Sherwick’s first race, 750 Superbike, happened to be scheduled as the first race. This meant that we again would be rushed in prepping the bike, getting grid numbers, going to the racer meeting and getting ready to race. Luckily, this was Sherwick’s “B” race. He was gridded in the 6th row and managed to finish a few places higher up than he had at Buttonwillow. Again, his lap times were consistent with a fast lap of 1:51:331. For Open Twins, Sherwick was now gridded 18th, having been relegated to the 4th row due to his 16th place finish at Buttonwillow. His start was not as good as usual even though he was now used to the slipper clutch and he immediately lost a few places before the first turn! The taller rear tire combined with perhaps an overly tall rear sprocket may have lead to a rather slow launch (note to self). His lap times were very consistent with a fast lap of 1:51:372 – within hundredths of this fast lap in 750SB! Right in the beginning of the race, he had to avoid two crashes in the middle of turn 3A (a blind uphill right) – a bike was spinning one way and the high-sided rider (Patrick Blackburn) was sliding the other way! He didn’t even have time to see the other fallen rider (Eddy Gonzalez). Nevertheless, Sherwick did manage to pass a few riders back, ending up 17th, an improvement from his grid position. Interestingly, he was again 3 seconds off the pace from last year’s best, just like at Buttonwillow.

Team JaS needs to find some speed and we have a few things planned for the next race:

  • 3 days of flat tracking at Rich Oliver’s which should “loosen” Sherwick up to allow him to go beyond his comfort zone
  • new Marchesini 16.5” front wheel which will balance out the package
  • new (shorter) gearing which will help with starts and driving off corners

Before the next race we will also be able to watch the AMA pro racers demonstrate how it’s done when they race at Infineon on May 21st!

 

 

Enjoy the ride –- Team JaS

 

Special thanks to:

 

Motorex oil

 

Vortex Racing components

 

Stomp Design traction pads

 

Suomy helmets

 

Pump-X sports supplements

 

Motowheels performance parts

 

Michelin tires