AFM Round 4: Thunderhill Raceway- July 5-6, 2008
I decided to practice on Friday July 4th, an open track day hosted by the track itself, instead of the AFM practice held on Saturday. Reason being I would get much more practice for the money, and there would be less people on track. This was a great opportunity to test my updated forks, and get completely adapted to the recent motor work. About a week before I had the bike completely torn apart to degree the cams and put in a head gasket, both supersport legal modifications. I got the bike on the dyno to make sure I got the most from the modifications, and was slightly disappointed with the results. The bike made 107rwhp, and 43 ft-lbs of torque. To put this in perspective, the 2008 GSXR 600 makes 106 rwhp, and almost 45 ft-lbs of torque from the factory, totally bone stock! Needless to say, this would have to do for the race weekend, I didn't have the resources nor the money to make any significant changes to the bike to make more power. Friday practice went very smoothly and incident free. I got some very good practice time and got the suspension dialed in as much as possible. The updated forks worked better, but still not perfectly. Because the forks are a custom, one off unit made with components from other bikes, they are constantly evolving in order for me to get the most from them. My best practice time on Friday was an unofficial 1:57.xxx as timed by a friend helping out.
On Saturday I worked with Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction Suspension Tuning, helping other racers get dialed in for the race weekend. And, on Saturday many AMA regulars and contingency chasers showed up, as multiple manufacturers were paying out at this event. Also, past AFM champions came out to ride. Such racers as Jeff Tigert, Lenny Hale, Tony Meiring, Rick Corey, and Brant Wiwi. All notable names in the 600 class, the talent field for the 600 class was very deep for this weekend, and it made the races that much more exciting.
In the afternoon on Saturday I fitted new tires for Sunday and got the bike through tech. I was ready for Sunday.
Sunday morning I went out in practice to scrub in the new tires and get warmed up. The session went well and I was feeling very good heading into the first race. Best time 1:58.1 in the warm up.
Race # 4 - 600 Production
I was gridded in the 3rd row in 11th position of nearly 60 riders, with a few "known fast guys" gridded behind me. I got an okay start but got pushed wide on the entrance of T1, losing a few positions. During the first lap I got one or two spots back and tried to put my head down as the lead group was already gone. I got onto the back of a pack behind the leaders but couldn't get close enough to make a pass. I was pushing hard and made a few mistakes, letting a rider past me. I settled in and re-focused, setting my sights on the rider who had just gotten by. Coming into the last two corners that lead onto the straight he made a mistake and ran wide before the drive onto the straight. I pounced and took the spot back. For the rest of the race I tried to get in a groove, a tough thing to do in a 6 lap sprint race. I ended up finishing in 11th place, only 1.5 seconds out of the top 10 in a very deep field. This was a personal best finish in the 600 Production class, best race lap time of 1:57.2
Race # 9 - 600 Superbike
I was gridded on the third row again, this time in 13th position of 60+ riders, again with "known fast guys" behind me. I got a great start off the line and was trying to get past the row in front of me when two riders I was trying to squeeze between closed the gap. I was pinched off and had to roll off to avoid being hit, still stuck in between the two riders and having no way around. At this moment about 4 riders went around the outside of me and I ended up losing positions in what began as a great start, "Damn!" My goal for this race was to make a minimum of mistakes and to get into a rhythm as I can in practice. The ambient temperature had come up about 15 degrees since the first race and the track temp was now over 140 degrees. With the extreme heat the forks weren't working properly, and I had to slow slightly to bring the bike home in one piece. I ended up finishing 14th, tying my previous best finish in the class, with a best race time of 1:55.95 despite fork issues. This lap time put me roughly 3.5 seconds off of race winning pace.
All in all this was a great race weekend. I had a lot of fun (that's the whole point right?!) and learned a lot. Plans for the upcoming race weekend include getting the bike back on the dyno with a few tweaks to find more power, and again tearing the forks apart to get them to work properly. Ideally, I would like to get a full 25mm cartridge kit designed specifically for my bike, but that's just not in the budget right now... anyone?
Please feel free to pass this report on to anyone for any reason.
-Michael Pesicka
AFM# 417
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