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Mechanikrazy · November 9th, 2019, 12:19 AM

AFM - Round 4 - Thunderhill

“It’s going to be 108 tomorrow,” I said as I drove towards Thunderhill.

My girlfriend was on the other end of the call. “That makes no sense. It just sounds miserable. You’re all going to be out there in 108 degree weather in your black leather suits. How is that fun?”

“It just is. The heat will not be fun. But it just is.” And so began round 4.

Thanks again this weekend go out to the 450 triples crowd as usual, especially for saving a spot for me under the canopy. Due to other commitments, I could only run Sunday this time. But I definitely wanted to make it out and continue improving. I set my personal goal of getting from 2:10 at round 3 to 2:06. Even though the 4 seconds was unlikely, I've always thought to set "stretch" goals to keep the motivation up.

I came into this weekend with the goal of not pushing too hard while still trying to improve. After watching Owen’s on-boards from round 3 and seeing the speed differential in T2, I decided to try and focus my improvements in T2 and T14 where I felt I had the most easy time to gain.

The combination of tech-ing my bike and the heat led me to skip morning practice even though I did not get to ride on Saturday. Instead, I was planning to just wing it with Race 6, but Owen got me to do the formation lap in Race 3 to at least get some movement in the suspension before Race 6.

Race 6 450SBK was a good warm up. I ended up running consistent 2:11s. Not quite the 2:10 from round 3, but ballpark. My goal in race 6 is always to not get lapped by the first wave SuperDino. This time, I got the white flag at the tower. But then the SD leader passed me on the run down to T1. We both weren't sure about the situation. He sat up and looked back at the tower since he got two white flag laps and pitted in that lap. I completed the lap to take the checkered. Turns out he beat me to the line, so I still got marked +1. Drats.

Race 9 F4 turned out to be a disaster. I was probably dehydrated or suffering from the heat as I could not keep focus. By the end, I slowed to 2:14 and was just hoping for the race to be over. At the morning riders meeting, I had originally voted to maintain the races at 6 laps instead of 5. Next time, I will be changing my vote.

Finally, race 11, 450SS. This was my last chance to improve on the 2:10. I was feeling a lot better after drinking water and also draping an ice water towel around my neck in the paddock. The top novice, Miles, was running way faster at 2:00 and mixing it up with the main pack, so I was just running my own race and trying to bring it home in one piece. I tailed an expert rider around and worked my way down to a 2:08 lap. Another 2 seconds off my personal best, but still another 8 seconds to go to actually be in the mix of things. All things considered, I was happy to bring the bike home in one piece and make improvements on my laptimes. But I am also disappointed that I'm still quite far off the pace.

Now onward to Sonoma, where I will be trying to take it slow and easy. Sonoma has been my white whale, and I am sure to be slow as molasses there. My history in four visits has been: rained out, afternoon crash in T4 (adding throttle and lean angle lowside), slow first session front end tuck in the wet in T3, and slow first session front end tuck on a cold track in T3a. I will definitely be trying to break this record, and I will definitely be easing into trying to pick up the pace. Also, all three suits I’ve owned have seen their first falls at Sonoma. Le sigh. Hopefully, no more stupid first sessions for me.

November 9th, 2019, 12:19 AM	#71
Mechanikrazy ninjette.org guru Name: Al Location: Orange County, CA Join Date: Dec 2015 Motorcycle(s): Thruxton R, R6 450 triple, EX300 (sold) Posts: 263	AFM - Round 4 - Thunderhill “It’s going to be 108 tomorrow,” I said as I drove towards Thunderhill. My girlfriend was on the other end of the call. “That makes no sense. It just sounds miserable. You’re all going to be out there in 108 degree weather in your black leather suits. How is that fun?” “It just is. The heat will not be fun. But it just is.” And so began round 4. Thanks again this weekend go out to the 450 triples crowd as usual, especially for saving a spot for me under the canopy. Due to other commitments, I could only run Sunday this time. But I definitely wanted to make it out and continue improving. I set my personal goal of getting from 2:10 at round 3 to 2:06. Even though the 4 seconds was unlikely, I've always thought to set "stretch" goals to keep the motivation up. I came into this weekend with the goal of not pushing too hard while still trying to improve. After watching Owen’s on-boards from round 3 and seeing the speed differential in T2, I decided to try and focus my improvements in T2 and T14 where I felt I had the most easy time to gain. The combination of tech-ing my bike and the heat led me to skip morning practice even though I did not get to ride on Saturday. Instead, I was planning to just wing it with Race 6, but Owen got me to do the formation lap in Race 3 to at least get some movement in the suspension before Race 6. Race 6 450SBK was a good warm up. I ended up running consistent 2:11s. Not quite the 2:10 from round 3, but ballpark. My goal in race 6 is always to not get lapped by the first wave SuperDino. This time, I got the white flag at the tower. But then the SD leader passed me on the run down to T1. We both weren't sure about the situation. He sat up and looked back at the tower since he got two white flag laps and pitted in that lap. I completed the lap to take the checkered. Turns out he beat me to the line, so I still got marked +1. Drats. Race 9 F4 turned out to be a disaster. I was probably dehydrated or suffering from the heat as I could not keep focus. By the end, I slowed to 2:14 and was just hoping for the race to be over. At the morning riders meeting, I had originally voted to maintain the races at 6 laps instead of 5. Next time, I will be changing my vote. Finally, race 11, 450SS. This was my last chance to improve on the 2:10. I was feeling a lot better after drinking water and also draping an ice water towel around my neck in the paddock. The top novice, Miles, was running way faster at 2:00 and mixing it up with the main pack, so I was just running my own race and trying to bring it home in one piece. I tailed an expert rider around and worked my way down to a 2:08 lap. Another 2 seconds off my personal best, but still another 8 seconds to go to actually be in the mix of things. All things considered, I was happy to bring the bike home in one piece and make improvements on my laptimes. But I am also disappointed that I'm still quite far off the pace. Now onward to Sonoma, where I will be trying to take it slow and easy. Sonoma has been my white whale, and I am sure to be slow as molasses there. My history in four visits has been: rained out, afternoon crash in T4 (adding throttle and lean angle lowside), slow first session front end tuck in the wet in T3, and slow first session front end tuck on a cold track in T3a. I will definitely be trying to break this record, and I will definitely be easing into trying to pick up the pace. Also, all three suits I’ve owned have seen their first falls at Sonoma. Le sigh. Hopefully, no more stupid first sessions for me.