AFM Racing - Round 1 [Archive]

Vivace

03-27-2006, 09:59 PM

The AFM racing club in Northern California had its season opener at the Buttonwillow raceway this past weekend. Everyone was out there shaking off the dust and the winter cobwebs. For the first time we had Clubman novice races which seemed to be a big success despite the amount of enthusiastic off-roading that occurred during the race...

For me, it was my first time racing my new Kawasaki EX250. Having spent the last two seasons racing an FZR400 I figured that it would be no problem to figure out how to get right into the thick of battle. Well. I have developed new-found respect for what it takes to move those little suckers quickly around the track... and apparently I don't have it yet. I have a whole set of reactions to unlearn (like braking for corners!) and learn (how to pass when you have no horsepower). At least the bike feels totally solid and confidence inspiring thanks to a set of modified wheels and an awesome suspension setup by our local suspension wizard at Aftershocks. With that as a starting point all it should take is some hard work and practice. I hope...

Despite these little revelations I had hella fun, everytime I came into the pits I had a grin on my face and just wouldn't shut up! In both races I entered I had mighty battles at the back of the pack - back and forth, back and forth. In some ways I think as long as I have someone to battle with, it doesn't matter whether I'm at the front, the middle, or the back - its just plain fun.

So scuseme, how was your race weekend? I saw you out there but didn't end up finding you to chat.

scuseme

03-27-2006, 11:51 PM

Sorry we didn't get more time to hang trackside Karolyn. Let's make up for it at Infineon next month! Here's my race report:

AFM Round One
Buttonwillow Raceway
3/26/06

The first race of the 2006 season, and also my first race on my new SV500, was at my most hated track: Buttonwillow. This is my third season racing with the AFM, but for some reason I still have not yet come to terms with this track. The lack of reference points, the barren landscape, the bumpy narrowness of the track—all those factors and more make Buttonwillow a lot of work for me. Couple those things with the fact that I am on a brand new, much larger bike and also that the last time we raced at Buttonwillow, I crashed the 250 in practice. I was determined to meet my goals for the weekend, however.

We went down early for the open test day on Friday. It was really the first time I had been able to get quality seat time on the new SV. I’d done two track days on it, but both of them were in winter weather conditions and I couldn’t really get close to race pace. The most recent track day, I was also having serious problems with braking. I just couldn’t get the hang of the insanely grabby, incredibly powerful brakes that are on the SV. Thankfully I had some help from Galfer. I explained my issues to Sergio at Galfer and he helped me figure out which brake pads would give me the best feel and a more linear brake. The new pads worked amazingly well! No more stoppies, and a ton more confidence. My Galfer pads are awesome. The Friday test felt fast. I was getting the hang of the bike and feeling a bit better about the track. That all changed on Saturday, however.

Saturday was a weird mix of the kind of wild spring weather California sometimes gets. The rain drops started toward the end of the first session and the track was cold and slick. They stopped practice when the rain got harder, but when the rain stopped and the track dried out a bit, they tried again. Then the rain came back. Then it stopped and the wind picked up. It was a mess. I didn’t get any good laps in and I was feeling like the races on Sunday would be really tough for me.

I was especially worried about Formula IV. This would be the fastest paced race I’d ever taken part in for sure. I was nervous, but I got calm and focused as soon as the green flag came out. It’s amazing, but I actually forgot how much fun racing is! Track days, practice, nothing compares to the rush of racing. I managed to hang in there, not screw anyone up and meet a few of my goals. I didn’t come in last, I didn’t get lapped, I took an amazing eight seconds off my best practice time from Saturday and I beat my previous best time on the 250. I was ready for my main event: 500 Twins.

I got a great start in the 500 Twins race. Out ahead of quite a few people and clean and smooth into turn one. I couldn’t hold my position, but I didn’t let too many racers by. That’ll be a goal for next time. I did manage to finish in tenth place—my first Top 10 finish in the AFM! I had some good dices with some of the faster of my former 250 Production classmates, but I beat them all. All except 16 year-old wunderkind Michael Corbino who has some kind of magic thing going on. He won the 250P race with an amazing 2:09 best lap time. Well, he didn’t finish 500 Twins far ahead of me. I’ll get him next time. That’ll be goal number two for the next round.

All in all, it was a very successful weekend for me. I feel like I got much more comfortable with the new SV and I am confident a Top 5 finish in 500 Twins isn’t far off. Big thanks to all my wonderful sponsors, especially Galfer who gave me my confidence back. Now that I’m on a much more serious race machine, this racing thing is really getting good, but I couldn’t do it without all the help and support I get from LeoVince Exhausts, Zoom Zoom Track Days, Castrol, Galfer, Helimot, Motion Pro, Roseville Cycle Racing and Catalyst Reaction Suspension. Plus I have to thank my biggest supporter, my teammate and husband, Vik. What a great start to the 2006 season!