AFM Round 8 - 500 Twins Race Report/Video

KazMan · October 10th, 2011, 08:40 AM

500 Twins Race Report

The 500 Twins race would be my 2nd race of the day and we were just going out to have some fun and race with friends. Our pre-race antics on the starting grid were once again in tribute to our little Italian 80cc maniac so Nick, Todd, Dos and myself, once again jumped up and down, waved to each other and pointed to everyone in front of us, behind us, over the pit wall, and I must say, it does get you a little pumped.

After the first 2 waves left, it was our turn to watch for the green flag and although I couldn't see number board, I could make out something going sideways and I just watched for movement. I got a pretty good start and by turn 3 I was in 6th spot behind Nick with Todd, Logan, Dos and Sarah in tow as we crested turn 5. As we made our way towards T9, the 500cc bikes began their pull away. As we dropped down and around turn 10, Todd made a run on me on the short chute and got inside of me for a nice pass in turn 11. So as we headed towards the bridge, it was Nick, Todd, myself, Logan, Sarah and Dos, with Logan trying an unsuccessful pass on the inside as we went under the bridge.

Coming onto the front straight, I tucked in behind Todd as he sat in Nicks draft however, I got a lot better drive than I thought and as we went out to the curbing, I was already along side Todd and trying to get into Nick's draft. However, I had a pretty good head of steam going and I started to go by Nick. Unbeknown to me, Logan and used us all and went ripping up along the pit wall. This was all fine and dandy, however, as Nick started toward the outside, and Logan was going up the outside, it left me the creme filling in a green Oreo cookie. This concerned me a bit because I could tell that we were not going to clear the end of the wall so I took my left hand and put it on Nick's forearm to let him know I was there. We cleared the wall ok and luckily for me, I was able to jump onto Logan's draft as we went around Turn 1 and with the run I got I tried unsuccessfully to pass Logan around 2.

As we went into 3 & 4, Todd went around me on the outside (hey! that's my move ) and I had to check up just a bit and this was enough for Nick and he shot his wheel in front of me as we went into 5 and I now found myself chasing them in this order onto the front straight. And on the front straight, Todd put a move on Logan, I tried to put a move on Nick going into 1 and found myself agin following the 3 as they went around 3, 3 abreast!

Now what I didn't know was that while I was waiting my turn to lead, Little Miss Sarah has been trailing us the entire time and Logan and Todd went into t10 side-by-side I sat back so I could get a clean run behind Nick into 10-11 and try to do something on the straight under the bridge. However, my plan was quickly foiled as Sarah went bombing around me on the outside of 10!

Now if you can imagine, I now have 4 bikes all in front of me as we begin to go through 11. So in watching all of them, and trying to figure out where I wanted to be, I NEVER saw the waving yellow flags....and as we exited 11, I see Todd, Nick and Sarah all go bombing over to the left side and as they cleared a view for me, all I see in front of me is hay! Hay to the left of me, Hay to the right of me, and like the song goes, STUCK IN THE MIDDLE...
However, whoever hit the haybale must have hit it just left of center and low and behold, there was a little gap for me to ride through. So I just twisted the crap out of the throttle and hoped for the best. And my best was that Todd had taken a little off-track excursion, Nick and Sarah both checked up and when I came through the haybale I had a little head of steam and quickly found myself back on Logan's tailsection as we went under the bridge.

As we went onto the front straight, I tried to get a run on Logan and although unsuccessful, I took 1 almost wide open and got a great run on him into 2 and I went around him on the outside of 3 and had 4 to myself as we went up the hill towards 5.

Now as I cleared 6 and was headed towards 7, I heard the familiar rumble of the larger SV650's so I left a little room on the inside and in a blur a yellow bike went flying by me with brown hair streaming out the back of the helmet and I got a big smile on my face knowing she was in the lead and also knowing how badly she wanted to win the 650 race. And after she went by, I started counting, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, wow! 6, 7, 8 , 9, 10! I think I was at 15 when I crested 9! And in review of my video, the next 650 passed us when we got to turn 14! So the young lady was on it!

My happiness for Dani was quickly put to the side as Logan went by me going into 10 (I will learn to late brake that corner damnit!). I chased him into the last corners but just as I was about to lay over my bike, I heard an SV on my inside and stood my bike up for just a second. This is all that Todd needed as he went by me on the infield side. To make matters worse, Nick had decided he needed to go with Todd and passed my on the inside going into 3 and now I really had my work cut out for me as I chased them both up to 9. We remained in this order through 11 and I tried to pass Todd under the bridge, but he just kept the throttle open as we played chicken into 14.

With Todd winning the game into 14, I figured I better have a pretty nice 15 which I did and I drafted by Todd as we crossed the finish line! And just as I had started the year in 500 Twins, I ended the year in 500 Twins, and that was sandwiched between the Grice Brothers!

It was a super fun race and I got a front row seat in seeing Danielle's win so I exited the track in fairly good spirits! A stop by Dani's pit to give her a hug and then it was back to the FLaP pits to get ready for 250 Superbike!

Link to original page on Vimeo.

Alex · October 10th, 2011, 12:51 PM

Fun report, Eric!

dino74 · October 10th, 2011, 04:02 PM

Nice video!

Rexbo · October 13th, 2011, 09:22 AM

Sounds like a badass race! I'll see you guys next year

J_Bahhtu · October 13th, 2011, 07:27 PM

Motivation right there!

KazMan · October 21st, 2011, 05:46 PM

Here was the race from Logan's perspective

Looked way more fun from some of his views!

Link to original page on YouTube.

pjed · October 21st, 2011, 06:17 PM

Wow...those are great vids. Looks like you guys are having a ton of fun. I can not wait to get my 250 prepped and take it out to the track.

S.P.Rocket · October 26th, 2011, 09:50 AM

I hate hay bales!

KazMan · October 28th, 2011, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.P.Rocket

I hate hay bales!

I didn't mind it so much

xoxo Kaz

October 10th, 2011, 08:40 AM	#1
KazMan ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): none yet Posts: 228	AFM Round 8 - 500 Twins Race Report/Video 500 Twins Race Report The 500 Twins race would be my 2nd race of the day and we were just going out to have some fun and race with friends. Our pre-race antics on the starting grid were once again in tribute to our little Italian 80cc maniac so Nick, Todd, Dos and myself, once again jumped up and down, waved to each other and pointed to everyone in front of us, behind us, over the pit wall, and I must say, it does get you a little pumped. After the first 2 waves left, it was our turn to watch for the green flag and although I couldn't see number board, I could make out something going sideways and I just watched for movement. I got a pretty good start and by turn 3 I was in 6th spot behind Nick with Todd, Logan, Dos and Sarah in tow as we crested turn 5. As we made our way towards T9, the 500cc bikes began their pull away. As we dropped down and around turn 10, Todd made a run on me on the short chute and got inside of me for a nice pass in turn 11. So as we headed towards the bridge, it was Nick, Todd, myself, Logan, Sarah and Dos, with Logan trying an unsuccessful pass on the inside as we went under the bridge. Coming onto the front straight, I tucked in behind Todd as he sat in Nicks draft however, I got a lot better drive than I thought and as we went out to the curbing, I was already along side Todd and trying to get into Nick's draft. However, I had a pretty good head of steam going and I started to go by Nick. Unbeknown to me, Logan and used us all and went ripping up along the pit wall. This was all fine and dandy, however, as Nick started toward the outside, and Logan was going up the outside, it left me the creme filling in a green Oreo cookie. This concerned me a bit because I could tell that we were not going to clear the end of the wall so I took my left hand and put it on Nick's forearm to let him know I was there. We cleared the wall ok and luckily for me, I was able to jump onto Logan's draft as we went around Turn 1 and with the run I got I tried unsuccessfully to pass Logan around 2. As we went into 3 & 4, Todd went around me on the outside (hey! that's my move ) and I had to check up just a bit and this was enough for Nick and he shot his wheel in front of me as we went into 5 and I now found myself chasing them in this order onto the front straight. And on the front straight, Todd put a move on Logan, I tried to put a move on Nick going into 1 and found myself agin following the 3 as they went around 3, 3 abreast! Now what I didn't know was that while I was waiting my turn to lead, Little Miss Sarah has been trailing us the entire time and Logan and Todd went into t10 side-by-side I sat back so I could get a clean run behind Nick into 10-11 and try to do something on the straight under the bridge. However, my plan was quickly foiled as Sarah went bombing around me on the outside of 10! Now if you can imagine, I now have 4 bikes all in front of me as we begin to go through 11. So in watching all of them, and trying to figure out where I wanted to be, I NEVER saw the waving yellow flags....and as we exited 11, I see Todd, Nick and Sarah all go bombing over to the left side and as they cleared a view for me, all I see in front of me is hay! Hay to the left of me, Hay to the right of me, and like the song goes, STUCK IN THE MIDDLE... However, whoever hit the haybale must have hit it just left of center and low and behold, there was a little gap for me to ride through. So I just twisted the crap out of the throttle and hoped for the best. And my best was that Todd had taken a little off-track excursion, Nick and Sarah both checked up and when I came through the haybale I had a little head of steam and quickly found myself back on Logan's tailsection as we went under the bridge. As we went onto the front straight, I tried to get a run on Logan and although unsuccessful, I took 1 almost wide open and got a great run on him into 2 and I went around him on the outside of 3 and had 4 to myself as we went up the hill towards 5. Now as I cleared 6 and was headed towards 7, I heard the familiar rumble of the larger SV650's so I left a little room on the inside and in a blur a yellow bike went flying by me with brown hair streaming out the back of the helmet and I got a big smile on my face knowing she was in the lead and also knowing how badly she wanted to win the 650 race. And after she went by, I started counting, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, wow! 6, 7, 8 , 9, 10! I think I was at 15 when I crested 9! And in review of my video, the next 650 passed us when we got to turn 14! So the young lady was on it! My happiness for Dani was quickly put to the side as Logan went by me going into 10 (I will learn to late brake that corner damnit!). I chased him into the last corners but just as I was about to lay over my bike, I heard an SV on my inside and stood my bike up for just a second. This is all that Todd needed as he went by me on the infield side. To make matters worse, Nick had decided he needed to go with Todd and passed my on the inside going into 3 and now I really had my work cut out for me as I chased them both up to 9. We remained in this order through 11 and I tried to pass Todd under the bridge, but he just kept the throttle open as we played chicken into 14. With Todd winning the game into 14, I figured I better have a pretty nice 15 which I did and I drafted by Todd as we crossed the finish line! And just as I had started the year in 500 Twins, I ended the year in 500 Twins, and that was sandwiched between the Grice Brothers! It was a super fun race and I got a front row seat in seeing Danielle's win so I exited the track in fairly good spirits! A stop by Dani's pit to give her a hug and then it was back to the FLaP pits to get ready for 250 Superbike! Link to original page on Vimeo.

October 10th, 2011, 12:51 PM	#2
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	Fun report, Eric! __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

October 10th, 2011, 04:02 PM	#3
dino74 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: dino Location: Oceanside, Ca Join Date: Nov 2010 Motorcycle(s): '09 250 Street, '09 250 Race, '13 300 Race Posts: A lot.	Nice video! __________________________________________________ CVMA #55

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
AFM R6 Sonoma Race Report: the battle of the brands	Rexbo	Ninjettes At Speed	6	September 5th, 2012 07:21 PM
AFM #828 Race Report - Thunderhill May 12/13	abhijitz	Ninjettes At Speed	3	May 14th, 2012 12:08 PM
AFM Round 5 #250 Race Report	Todd250	Ninjettes At Speed	3	July 13th, 2011 10:45 PM
Round 3 AFM video	KazMan	Ninjettes At Speed	13	July 2nd, 2011 06:11 AM
Ithaca's (Almost) Race Report - AFM Round 6	ithaca00	Ninjettes At Speed	24	February 4th, 2011 09:13 PM

October 13th, 2011, 09:22 AM	#4
Rexbo CVMA / AFM / M1GP #250 Name: Steve Location: Los Angeles Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250r, 2011 Zero S, 2009 KLR 650 Posts: A lot.	Sounds like a badass race! I'll see you guys next year

October 13th, 2011, 07:27 PM	#5
J_Bahhtu ninjette.org member Name: Justin Location: Los Alamitos Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250 Posts: 45	Motivation right there!

October 21st, 2011, 05:46 PM	#6
KazMan ninjette.org member Name: Eric Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): none yet Posts: 228	Here was the race from Logan's perspective Looked way more fun from some of his views! Link to original page on YouTube.

October 21st, 2011, 06:17 PM	#7
pjed ninjette.org guru Name: Paul Location: Midwest Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): 1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100, 2006 Yamaha R1, 2006 Kawasaki ZZR600, 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2017 Kawasaki Z900 Posts: 320	Wow...those are great vids. Looks like you guys are having a ton of fun. I can not wait to get my 250 prepped and take it out to the track.

October 26th, 2011, 09:50 AM	#8
S.P.Rocket Racer Girl Name: Sarah Location: California Join Date: Oct 2011 Motorcycle(s): ninja 250 racebike, yz250f supermoto, crf150r supermoto, ktm 200 xcw, daytona 675 Posts: 38	I hate hay bales!