Race #5 - Thunderhill, July 15-16
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July 15- Saturday Practice Day |
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The temperature was pleasant- for
Thunderhill at least- up through Recall that he was getting severe
headshake on both front and back straights as well as a tendency for the
front end to tuck when tipping into all
the fast corners here at Thunderhill. We ended up raising the front 10mm and
lowering the rear 5mm in order to “flatten” the geometry. That seemed to cure
most of the problems. But now that he was going faster, the bike started to
again exhibit some mild headshake on the front straight and instability near
the apexes, pogo-ing through turns 2, 3, 8 and 10. The instability was
readily cured by slowing down the rebound damping in the front and rear by a
couple of clicks. Straight away in the second session, Sherwick dropped his
lap times down to the |
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Here is a plot of speed vs. time as
ridden by Andy Carman AFM# 6. You can see the fastest parts of the track are
before T1 (front straight), T10 and T14 (back straight). |
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In session 3, Sherwick started to
push a bit harder. After the adjustment to the rebound, the only problem
areas were turn 8, one of the faster corners on the track taken at around
100mph, and the front straight. After discussing it with Michael Lohmeyer, one of our
pit mates who is the defending AFM 450 Superbike Champion, he decided to go a
little wider at T8 to avoid the bump at the apex. As for the front straight,
we stiffened the steering damper 2 clicks and concentrated on holding the
bars even looser (at those speeds- 155mph or more- I can see why one might be
holding onto the bars too tightly!). Even so, he achieved 3 straight laps in
the Unfortunately, this streak didn’t
continue into the afternoon. We made a couple more adjustments before session
4 to prevent the front end from diving too much during hard braking (such as
into T14, which would help in the race) by increasing the fork compression
damping a few clicks. Even though Sherwick felt more “comfortable”, the
resulting time was 1.6 seconds slower, leaving us puzzled. Maybe Sherwick felt too comfortable!?!? We made one final adjustment before
session 5 by increasing the front preload a quarter turn to allow the forks
to ride slightly higher for stability and saw minor improvement, but
improvement nonetheless! It’s possible that the track temperatures played a
part in the slower lap times. The air temp had reached 104° F but the track
temperature was an amazing 155° F! We would have to wait until Sunday
morning’s practice to know whether temperature was indeed a factor. |
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July 16- Sunday Race Day |
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Practice Session- With a new softer rear tire at the suggestion
of Mike, Sherwick set out for the one and only Sunday practice session and
the faster lap times started to roll. He scrubbed in the rear with a slow
out-lap of Race #1- Open Twins- Sherwick had little drama compared
to the last race where was he plagued by headshake. But now, he was feeling
front-end “chatter” in turn 1! It’s so interesting that new sensations emerge
once the pace quickens. Sherwick is well accustomed to the bike moving around
at speed which is part of the package of going fast. He finished 12th- and
gained some much needed series points. Although this finish was the same as
last year at this round, his time was 3 seconds faster (89.0mph vs. 87.1mph
average speed). In all the times were much faster as a result of the
increased depth of competition in Open Twins. Race #2- 750 SuperBike This race was his “B” race and was
at the end of the day when temps were hottest. He started in row 4, position
18 out of 30, closest to the outside wall. Once again, he had a good start
with a low, 6” wheelie off the start. It’s always hard to tell how well he enters
turn 1 since from my vantage point, the riders look identical from a
distance. Once he exits the turn, which is a left hander that gives viewers a
profile view of the riders, I can separate him from the others by our
distinctive Team JaS colors. He was
approximately mid-pack, which meant he had already made up a few positions
since the start! Sherwick was very smooth through
turn 5 (the Cyclone), but a few riders behind him starting gaining ground on
him at the top of the turn. They eventually got past, but Sherwick kept in
contact. He maintained position but could not get by a rider who was strong
in the fast sections but weak in the slow sections. This allowed Eric Arnold,
a seasoned racer who instructs for Keigwins@theTrack to get by Sherwick. However,
unlike in Round 4 where he managed to pull away from Sherwick (he was just
behind Sherwick during the 750 Superbike highside),
he also was held up by the same rider. Now both of them were being slowed
down. This allowed another rider behind Sherwick to pass and get in between
the two of them. This was looking like a repeat of Round 4 but Sherwick had
other ideas. He found his
opportunity on the last lap in the penultimate corner before the start/finish
straight by outbraking the rider going into turn 14 (that adjustment
helped!). He then held a defensive line through turn 15 and got a great
drive, outpowering the rider to the finish line by half a second! Sherwick,
consequently gained another position and finished 13th, improving
on his grid position. Times were a bit slower in the afternoon, probably due
to the heat. It was a
highly successful weekend for the first time this season- finally! Sherwick maintained
his persistent attitude and made incremental adjustments until he got the
bike, his riding, and his mind all in tune. The next round is at Infineon
Raceway. The last time at that track, his engine blew and he did not start (DNS).
Now, with a new engine and bike set up, not to mention a trip to Rich
Oliver’s Mystery School before the next race weekend (which always lends to
improved riding), we look forward to the success that lies ahead. |
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Enjoy the ride –- Team JaS Special thanks to: |
