Race #5 - Infineon, August 17-19
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Tough Luck |
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Infineon is one track where
starting on pole is not ideal. Pole is on the left (inside near a wall) and
is not ahead of the other positions on the first row. The wall runs along the
inside where riders get pinched before they set up for the next right, only a
short way up the hill. On the other hand, starting on the outside has many
advantages. Not only is one able to avoid the jam that usually occurs on the
inside of the first turn, being on the outside also sets one up nicely for
the inside of the second turn. The inside position disadvantage is similar
for subsequent rows as well. This is because AFM does not stagger positions
within a row so #1-5 on the first row are all on the same horizontal line, as
are #6-9 on the second row, #10-14 on the third row and so on. Numbering also
starts from left to right at all tracks. Well, for all three of our races
this round, we were gridded on the inside - tough luck! |
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We were back at Infineon for Round
5 |
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August 17- Test Day |
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We were able to take part in a Zoom
Zoom track day thanks to the generosity of one of our pit mates who could not
make it and especially to Bud
Anderson’s Race Prep. Bud is a perennial personality in the AFM paddock
and finished the 2006 Open Twins championship in 2nd behind
“Go-Go” Gulbransen. Both of these colorful characters have been missing from
the OT grid but Bud has returned for this round (after an unenthusiastic
foray with inline-fours) on a new Ducati 1098! His masterful attention to
detail was obvious when we picked up our bike with brand-new Catalyst Composites
bodywork, Sato rearsets and
quick-clip safety-wiring. In addition, we had replaced the air intake
runners, radiator overflow tank, front brake master and lever (all quickly
supplied by our sponsor MotoWheels).
Finally, our gas tank sprung a leak and had to be welded and painted (along
with adding some new StompGrips). All of these new parts meant that there
was plenty to test. We first wanted to make absolutely certain that the gas
tank did not leak because we did not want to test the following equation: GAS
+ HOT METAL = BANG! No leaks. Ducati’s are lengthy by design because of the
L-twin arrangement of the two cylinders and there is very little clearance
between the front cylinder (covered by the belly pan) and the front tire. In
addition, we were running the “steep” steering geometry which put the tire
even closer. We dremeled as much of the belly pan as we dared but monitoring
any rubbing was next on our list of things to check. Everything looked good. Well, along with the good news was
some bad news. We were now experiencing a problem with downshifting. In turns
7 and 9 where we were back-shifted three and two gears respectively, the
shift mechanism was not allowing the lever to return quickly enough. This
caused us to go wide on a few occasions and even hit a false neutral once-
both of which were not good! We were told that stronger detent springs and
possibly a new shift fork were needed but that would have to wait until after
the race weekend! Until then, we simply had to back-shift (and brake) earlier
which meant opening the door for passes. At the end of the day, we replaced
the front tire and called it quits. |
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Test day best lap = 1:51.5 |
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Our new bodywork |
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August 18- Practice Day |
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Practice was business as usual. We were
now in Group 5 (out of 6 with 6 being the fastest). However, even in this new
group we were solidly 16th out of 29 in lap times. We needed to
drop a few more seconds but our times were only getting faster by tenths.
Nevertheless, we ended with a time a few ticks better than the previous day.
At the end of the day, we now replaced the rear tire and called it a wrap. |
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Practice day best lap = 1:51.2 |
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Practice group “Five” |
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August 19- Race Day |
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Sunday morning practice was a
little better and we improved upon our speed by a few more tenths! |
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Sunday practice best lap = 1:50.8 |
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We dropped time all weekend |
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Race #1- Open Twins |
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Due to our DNF from the last round,
we were bumped back to the third row in 10th position out of 37,
on the Inside. Our strategy was dependent on a PERFECT start in order to
squeeze by Eddy Gonzales and Ace Robey on the second row, both of whom we
have been competing against all season. They both have been coming to grips
with their new 1098’s and we had successfully beaten them more than once on
starts before. We then planned on railing along the outside of T2 with the
hopes of catching a few more by surprise. However, to our surprise, our start
was far from perfect as a huge wheelie greeted us when the flag dropped. It
was not because we let the clutch out too fast, it was because the bike
pulled so hard thanks to new clutch plates! We also didn’t have enough weight
over the front (only running as much gas as needed) and although we were
parallel with Gonzales for the first few seconds, we saw him and Robey pull
away as we coaxed the front end down from two feet skyward. We were then
pinched off at the first turn as expected- just what we didn’t want! Eventually we caught up to Dale
Baugh in 11th who was being held up by Robey. We were making up
ground each lap running consistent 49’s whereas the two ahead were much
slower. We made the pass on Baugh on the penultimate lap and followed a
fading Robey across start/finish going into the last lap (which was incidentally
only lap seven because AFM decided to run seven-lap races after several red
flag delays). Up the hill we went and as Robey went slightly wide, we tried
to slip up the inside. All of a sudden, the rear tire spun up and flashbacks
of our highside
last year came to mind. We got it under control but lost momentum for a
pass in T4. Robey out-pulled us with his big 1098 into T7. We then almost ran
into the back of him in T9! That left only the last turn on this last lap. We
successfully out-braked Robey into T11, was clearly in front coming out, but
a false-neutral awaited us as our downshifting problems chose to strike at
the worst moment! Then a mistake with downshifting into 2nd
(instead of upshifting into 3rd) cost us 10th place and
almost 11th: Robey
finished two tenths ahead and Baugh was only one tenth behind- every one of
our laps was in the 49’s except the last one where it counted the most! |
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Open Twins: 11th
, best lap = 1:49.105 |
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Open Production leader Ken Hill made it up to 7th
in Open Twins! |
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Race #2- 750 Superbike |
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Our 750SB race was to be contested
back-to-back with F40. We therefore decided to fill the tank for both races.
The extra weight helped us produce a much better start even though we were
again gridded next to the Inside wall. Being on the 5th row, we
were hopelessly pinched in the first turn but we managed a 23rd
placing out of 39. |
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750 Superbike: 23rd,
best lap = 1:51.394 |
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750SB –
busy as usual |
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Race #3- Formula 40 |
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We took a “brief” pit stop to get a
drink of water and to clean our shield. But apparently it wasn’t brief enough
as we were absolutely last out onto the warm-up lap, a full ten seconds
behind the pack. As soon as we arrived onto our third-row grid position (on
the Inside), the “2” board came up. We tried to put as much weight as
possible over the front by placing our right foot far back. Well, as soon as
the flag dropped, not only did we wheelie again (although not as high), but
the right foot peg whacked us in the back of the calf with the pain lasting
the rest of the week! This would be the first time we
experienced the tire “going off” within a race. After about four laps, we
started experiencing more and more squirming at the rear with even a couple
of slides in turns 3 and 4, both of which were right-handers. The wind had
been picking up all afternoon and as this was the last race of the day, it
was at its peak. We were getting blown deeper and deeper into T11 which made
us go wide not once, but three times! At this point, mental fatigue came into
play and it wasn’t until the last lap that we were finally able to brake
early enough to hold the line. Nevertheless, we were still able to descend
our lap times, holding off a hard-charging Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction Suspension on his Triumph
at the finish by half a second! |
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Formula 40: 11th,
best lap = 1:51.364 |
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Our slow pit stop |
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We are
now tied with Lance Williams and Dale Baugh for 10th place in Open
Twins and sit in 12th for Formula 40. With better luck, we’ll have
a better grid position when we return to Infineon for Round 7 but in the
meantime, we’ll be practicing our starts! |
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We now return to Thunderhill where
we have some unfinished business. Get ready for some more heat! |
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Enjoy
the ride! –- Team
JaS
Special thanks to: |
