AFM Round 6, 2016 – Thunderhill Raceway #302 Race Report

Typically this time of year we’re not really having to worry too much about the weather, but it’s getting close enough to winter that I tend to start keeping an eye on it, especially if there’s something important coming – you know, like a race weekend! So, early in the week, I started keeping an eye on the weather – since I had just been down at Buttonwillow (where it had been hella hot), I was wondering if I’d need to stock up on my Skratch Labs for the race weekend. Much to my dismay, instead of hot, the forecast for the weekend instead was showing a high chance of rain and very cool. WTH?!?

I kept on following the forecast daily, sometimes hourly – it seemed to be trending to lighter chances of rain, but it wasn’t pulled off, either. Close enough that it was still going to be worth heading up – I already had the pet sitter arranged, and was committed to helping out at a track day on the following Monday, so I packed up with a little extra prep in case we did get wet. I arrived Friday night, got all set up, and then headed to bed to get some sleep for Saturday.

Saturday dawned rather clear and bright – the forecast for Sunday, however, still wasn’t that great, so race direction made the call to try to fit a few of the Sunday races into Saturday and go a little late that day. That would mean I’d be race 1 on Sunday, but hopefully that would build enough extra time into the schedule where, if it did rain, we’d still be okay. We proceeded to Saturday practices, and I went out for a couple sessions. My sister had driven down to spend the weekend with me, so it was pretty awesome to have her help in the pits as well.

My times in practice were typically slow – while I sometime feel like I’m pushing, my times always say otherwise. I basically was hoping/figuring that I’d probably do my typical dropping several seconds (or more) once I was in a race. I got ready for my one Saturday race, Clubman Middleweight, and was feeling pretty good. The temperature had stayed cool, and grip, while there, just didn’t quite seem like it normally does, either. Eventually Clubman Middleweight was called, and I headed out for the first race of the weekend.

We gridded up, and I had a good start – right until I hit neutral when I went to up shift. Ugh. Grabbed second and got into the race. For once, the front of the group was out in front of me – and in sight.  One of my friends, Myron, and I were duking it out for our placing. Towards the last couple laps it seemed like Myron started to tire, so I took that and managed a pass that I was able to hold. I completed the race with my best finish in that class, 4^th of 17 riders with a best time of 1:58.3.

That evening was the usual hanging out with friends, but I was getting tired, so ended up heading to bed before 10pm like an old lady lol. I got a great night’s sleep, and was definitely ready to tackle the races. We headed out for our practices, and things were looking a little dreary – near the end of practice, as calls began for our race, the precipitation started. We waited awhile for the rain to clear, but thankfully there was enough time saved on Saturday that things were still looking good for being able to complete the day. Eventually the rain subsided, but things were definitely wet after that – so, to help dry out the track, they invited people to jump in their cars and drive around the track to help put some heat and exhaust on it to evaporate the water faster. This worked well, and pretty soon it was dry enough to get going again. The first race was now going to be 600 Superbike, not a race I could be that competitive in, but still a fun class to run. We headed out to a rather chill track, but it was dry, so it shouldn’t be too bad. My start was okay, and again I had a few people to chase and battle with. Myron and I were once again duking it out, and towards the very end of the race we came up on another rider who had faded during the race. Myron managed to sneak around him, and while I was close, I wasn’t going to close the gap on the straight, so ended up finishing in 5^th out of 14 bikes, with a 1:59.9.

The next races headed out, but the rain decided to fall again, and they red flagged one of the races. This didn’t last too long, and things dried out quickly, so they went ahead and  began the process of calling the race again. Races resumed, and I got ready for my next race, Formula 1.

While this was one of my favorite races last year, it was one I still enjoyed, but not a favorite this year for some reason. Either way, it was one I was running, so we gridded up. There’s usually a heavier grid here, so starts are usually a little more interesting. With all the bigger bikes in here I’m not that competitive, but I still had a couple friends I was trying to either catch or keep behind me! I crossed the finish line in 7^th of 19 with a 1:59.6.

Normally, we would have another race and lunch after that, leaving me time to swap my rear tire so I could have a fresh one on for my championship fight race, Legacy Middleweight, but due to the revised rain-avoiding schedule, lunch was getting moved and shortened – so I only had one race between these two. This also meant almost no time to relax. I had been tearing my tire in Formula 1, so I tried adjusting my pressures a bit to see if I could find a happier place with the cool track temps. Calls came quickly, and off I went again for Legacy.

This race is always fun for me, because even if I can’t manage to get up to Steve Habura who’s riding the hell out of his 750, there’s always Sam or an expert or two to fight it out to the finish with, and this race didn’t disappoint. I was basically fighting back and forth with Jose Sandoval, an expert, and while our battles do nothing for either of our placing, it’s still fun for me anyways. I had managed to pass him, but a false neutral going into turn 9, that got really interesting when it caught, gave him a chance to get back by. I managed to keep it on the pavement (barely), and then I tried to get back past him, but couldn’t manage it before the checkered. I finished the race in 2^nd of 6 with a 1:59.1.

Now I had a little bit of a break. Between lunch, Formula Pacific, and another two races, there was time to eat, change my tire, and relax. Time moved on, however, and it was time to head back out for 600 Production. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t feeling it this race. I was feeling tired and worn out – and while it was hitting me earlier than normal, due to the revised morning schedule, even though I got to relax before this, I had barely had any time to catch my breath all morning. Apparently this worked against me, and I just felt tired the entire race. I attempted to chase Myron down again, but he was putting down nice times, and I just couldn’t seem to get it out of myself, and I finished the race in 5^th of 15 with a 2:00.0, my worst of the weekend.

I only had one race between that and my next one, but I wanted to finish the day strong. Being that the final race was 750 Production, I know I’m unlikely to be too close to the front, but it’s still a lot of the same people I’m racing, so I knew I could do better than I had in the previous race. I decided to dig deep, and put it out there. We gridded up, and I again had an okay start, and got to fight it out with a few other riders. When the crossed flags came out I had to dig deeper, convincing myself that I could squeeze out two more laps – that’s all that was left. My day was done after two laps, so I could manage those. This paid off, and I finished the race in 4^th of 9, getting back down to a 1:58.8.

I was exhausted after that, and was rather happy I didn’t have to drive all the way back home that night. I simply moved my stuff to where I would be pitting the next day, showered, and met up with my friends to head to dinner and drinks to celebrate another race weekend, heading home in the same number of pieces we arrived in!