Race #6 - Infineon, August 11-13

August 11- Friday, Track Day

Tires would become the theme for the weekend. We signed up for a Club Desmo trackday given that we hadn’t raced on this track since April – recall that the engine had blown before the Infineon race in May. We needed to get in some practice and test out the new suspension and geometry set-up on this shorter and more technical track.

The weekend did not start off well as we experienced a blown tire on our trailer at 5:30am - so much for getting to the track early! It was no real drama since we were able to pull off the highway immediately after hearing the loud “thump-thump” noise. Since we are still renting a Uhaul trailer (until we can get an enclosed trailer and truck), we were at their mercy and on their timeline. We waited a full two hours before a tow truck finally arrived. After changing our tire, the tow truck operator slyly told us that Uhaul had made him wait because it would save them money if he came out after 7am!

Even with the delay, we were able to set up in time to catch the 2^nd session of the day. Sherwick came in from this session complaining about the rear tire. It was a bit chewed up from just the previous race at Thunderhill, but we had figured that we could get two more practice days out of it since Infineon was a much smoother track that ran clockwise with mostly right turns instead of counter-clockwise like Thunderhill. Now we were thinking maybe not. Sherwick also noticed some oil on the rear shock and immediately went to consult Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction Suspension Tuning (who attends most trackday events in the area). Dave determined that the loss in traction was due to “hot tearing” and the leaking shock was not part of the problem (but would need to be addressed). He suggested that we increase the pressure by EXACTLY 2 psi after taking a baseline with tire warmers. He further mentioned that the tire would only “smooth” out if Sherwick sacrificed a session and rode at a slower pace. What? Slow down? Instead, we decided to gain some valuable experience on “greasy tires”. So in the first session of the day, Sherwick went on to record an unofficial 1:48.7 (as measured by my watch), which was not only a practice PR but also only a couple tenths off his best race lap to-date!

August 12- Practice Day

Before the first practice session of the day, we quickly learned that tires would be only one of our many concerns for the weekend. Now the bike would not start. The battery (only a year old) always had a tough time turning over the big twin cylinders and now the newly lightened flywheel (one of the modifications from the engine rebuild to help the engine spin up quicker while running) provided even less inertia than the original, heavier flywheel. Since we were successful last year bump starting the bike, we decided to give it a go. We gathered up a couple of our pit mates, Mike Lohmeyer and Chris McGrail, who pushed Sherwick down the small hill leading to the hot pits. Sherwick tried several times to bump start it but to no avail. We finally realized that the slipper clutch which was newly added this year would not allow it to bump start! A slipper clutch is designed to slip on corner entry to prevent rear wheel chatter (again while running) instead trying to turn over the engine. As a last ditch effort, Sherwick decided to try again with the key. It hesitated for a moment and then fired to life just in time for session I!

At the suggestion of Dave Moss, we took the tire pressure as soon as Sherwick came off the track to compare “hot” to “cold” pressures. The recommended range was 10-15% and our measurements indicated a 24% increase! We removed a couple clicks of rebound damping with the aim of reducing the rear tire temperatures - removing rebound would allow the rear of the bike to rise instead of forcing the tire into the ground causing heat. This also had the positive effect of allowing Sherwick to “finish off” the corners instead of going wide since the rear of the bike was higher and the resulting geometry steeper. This change led to more consistent lines and an improved average lap time of 1.5 seconds for session II.

By session III, his “official” best lap time (via transmitter) had improved, but his average was worse off by 6/10 of a second due to traffic. Come race day, this weakness in traffic would hurt our results. After this session we noticed some oil dripping from the clutch cover. Ducati’s run dry clutches so this was definitely a leak. The oil had been flung through the open clutch cover by the spinning clutch, onto the rear brake lever and even a little onto the foot peg which was not good! To assist us with this dilemma, we decided to seek the help of Scott Jenkins of Desmoto Sport who had rebuilt our engine. Jenkins, who used to be a pro race mechanic for an AMA Pro Thunder race team, is always willing to go out of his way for racers. He determined that the biggest (out of three) clutch housing seals was bad and needed replacing. He would have to go back to the shop and bring one the next morning to install.

Since there was nothing more we could do about the leak, we moved onto changing both tires. Every race weekend, I have this false belief that we will be able to finish tire changes easier and faster, but my hopes are always dashed when I look at my watch! This was also the first time during a race weekend that we changed front tires on the smaller diameter 16.5” wheel which made removing the brake calipers much more difficult. Finally by 6pm, we were out of the track after another long, hard day’s work!

August 13- Sunday Race Day

Practice Session-

By 7:30am Scott Jenkins had replaced the clutch housing seal and we were good to go. It was business as usual as Sherwick immediately got up to pace during the one and only race morning practice. Even with new tires, it has become customary for him to achieve lap times that rival his best from Saturday practices!

Race #1- Open Twins-
Sherwick was gridded on the inside of the first turn which normally would have been a preferred position. But at this track, the first left turn is immediately followed by a right turn which meant that riders on the right had an advantage since they were able to sweep outside into a prime position for turn 2. Sherwick had an average start but was hesitant going into the first corner. He was also boxed in when everyone slowed for turn one and wasn’t aggressive enough to push his way outside. He immediately dropped back 5 spots to 16^th from his grid position just by the 3^rd corner! He eventually finished in 16^th after a tough race which resulted in a best lap of 1:48.091. Although this was a PR, Sherwick felt that he was not riding up to his potential. In addition, the oil leak had returned. Scott Jenkins suggested that we clean it up before the next race instead of trying to fix it and we would address this issue after the weekend. The worst that could happen in the race was a slipping clutch– and we know all about that!

Race #2- 750 SuperBike

Sherwick got off to a better start in his 2^nd race even though he was gridded in about the same spot and even one row further back. He went into the first turn ahead of more than half of the 38 riders. This was an exciting moment as we had a host of family and friends watching the race between and above T1 and T6. Were had a great vantage point of the entire track save for just a few turns (T3, T4, & T5). Sherwick was in 19^th position as he finished the 1^st lap, which put him exactly mid-pack. However, he continued to slide back through the field as riders posting slower lap times slipped by Sherwick. This resulted in a train of nine riders for the last couple of laps, all within 6 seconds of each other! He ended up in 25^th place at the tail end of this train which was disappointing.

There is work to be done before the next round. Sherwick will be focusing on improving his overtaking techniques in heavy traffic over the next three trackdays that we have scheduled for September. For the bike, we are getting new seals installed for the rear shock and clutch housing as well as a new battery and charger. We are also going to request a spare tire for our trailer!

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