Race Report: Tire Shredding Madness!

The AFM Season rolls on to round 5, back at Infineon, this past weekend. I hadn't been on the racebike since Memorial day, so I took some extra practice time on Friday. And boy was it needed. 3 months of street/commuter riding had degraded my once-smooth control inputs to a jerky, grabby mess. Kind of like Gov. Schwarzenegger at a Hooters. Once I figured out that was my problem, I refocused my practice time and tried to recapture the smooth.

Flash forward to race day. 650 Twins is the first race of the day. We gridded up, and you know the story. Good launch, roll off the gas, let the whole pack by. Luckily for me, there was a crash and a bike blocking the track, so they stopped the race and I got a do-over. Second launch was better and I let fewer people past and hung closer to the ones in front. I had a pretty good dice with a couple guys going until a lurid slide in turn 5, the fastest turn on the track. Thanks to that, I lost some confidence in the rear tire, so I was a little easier on the gas the rest of the race and brought it home in one piece, 35th out of 45.

For the next race, 2 of my colleagues came from as far as New York City to watch the Heritage Service Centre #859 cruise around. Thusly inspired, and with a fresher tire spooned on the rear, my start was a little better, the pack stayed closer together, and the race was a lot more fun. I diced for 2 laps with a quickly improving #916, finally put a nice block pass on her at the top of turn 6, and set sail towards more victims. With a race finally going the full distance without a red flag, I was able to track down and pass 5 other riders with a variety of audacious moves.

Then, starting the last lap, #721 was out in front of me with a pretty healthy lead. I tried to make up as much time as I could, but exiting turn 10 he was still a little too far out of reach. But he had encountered a slower bike from the other race (remember, most of the time there are 2 races on the track at the same time), and was being too polite, slowing just enough so I could close the gap. On the gas out of the last turn, I got as small as I could behind the windscreen, twisted the throttle for all I was worth and took the position at the line by .102 seconds. Final tally was 37th out of 49 and the most fun I've had in a race so far.




Rusty's agenda for the next couple weeks could be busy. I need to visit a suspension doctor and figure out why I'm suddenly tearing up tires, do a little work on the brakes and think once again about a paint job. Next race is back at Thunderhill on Sept 9th. Work may intrude once again, so it's 50/50 if I'll make that one. Following that is a triumphant return to the home track at Infineon the last weekend of September.

Thanks this time out to Mariah and Laura for helping support the back of the pack, the lovely and unflappable Michele for providing yet another paddock feast fit for kings, and of course Heritage Service Centre, where nearly 50% of the management team believes my knee sliders actually get used.

See you at the track!

Cheers...