AFM 103 – Greg McCullough

The main objective for the weekend was breaking the two bad habits I seem to have developed: going way slower in practice than races and going slow out of the gate for the first couple of laps. The high end results I was looking for were 1:51 laptimes, and a podium finish in one of the 600 races.

We rolled into the track Thursday night, having been away since round 1 in March. It’d be a whole new ballgame, starting from the 2nd row, needing to run a whole lot faster than we did back then. Jason and I dug in quickly, getting into the 55s and 54s respectively. Not bad, but I wanted 53s on Saturday, which would give me 51s if I kept my standard 2 second race pace gains I seemed to have every weekend.

Switching from a 46 to a 47 rear sprocket on Saturday made the difference, bringing the times down to mid-53s. I would have liked to try a 48, but I’d cut the new chain 2 links shorter to get a short wheelbase not realizing how much shorter that really was, and I didn’t care enough to buy another chain. 53’s were right on target for Sunday. The trick was going to be starting hard. 600 Production was set as race 1. No time to get comfortable and find the speed. We’d have to go fast right out of the gate.

SundayRace 1 – 600 Production

I let myself get squeezed up the inside into turn 1, and a whole flock of guys went flying by me into turn 2. I held tight in 2, getting back pastLiko, then snuck past Andy into the esses as he had a little bobble. Chasing Gorman down in lap 2, I closed down on him in Riverside, but didn’t pay attention to my reference points, turning in too early to the left toward lost hills. I had to pick the bike up to avoid running into the dirt, but clipped the curbing, pushing me even wider into the dirt to the right. Scrubbing speed the best I could, I tried to gauge whether I’d go shooting across the track over lost hills, right into traffic. Briefly considering ditching the bike, unable to steer it, I held on, working the rear brake until I made it to pavement, then turned hard right to stay off the racing line as much as possible. Back on the gas. I’d given away positions to Jason, Bryce, and Andy again. I picked off Andy on the front straight and charged after Jason, both passing Gorman a few laps later, but I was unable to close in on Jason before the checkered flag. 6th place with a best lap of a low 1:52. Not bad, considering the minor fiasco in lap 2, but not great. Full race video here.

Race 2 – 600 Superbike

This race went much like 600 production, as my braking into turn 1 and 3 was giving up massive amounts of time and creating passing opportunities for everyone behind me. As I chased Sebastiao, Matt, Bryce and Gabe into the sweeper on lap 3, Bryce completely misjudged his pass, crashing out Gabe and running Sebastiao off track. I picked off Matt on the front straight and put down some solid laps to create a gap behind me, and finished 4th, with a best lap of 1:52.1. Better, but still not the podium I’d been looking for. Full race video here.

Race 3 – Formula Pacific

Jason had convinced me we should run this just for fun, but it turned out to be a non-event for me. I suited up a set of slicks I’d picked up for a good deal and went out for the warmup lap, but pulled off the grid when David Bell came up and told me I was smoking. Turned out, the 190 rear wouldn’t fit the swingarm with my chain length and 47 rear sprocket, and was rubbing and melting the tire. Since I didn’t want to go buy another 180 for F1, I decided to switch the sprocket back to a 46 to gain some chain slack and space between the tire and swingarm.

Race 4 – Formula I

A 46 sprocket and a 190 rear tire ends up being a pretty horrible gearing combination for Buttonwillow. I found myself unable to get a good drive out of the last corner, turn 2, into the esses, and lugging over cotton corners. I spent the race following the pack of riders hung up behind Billy Scott, and was unable to find a way past them, finishing the race in 9th, with a best lap of 1:53.6. Not exactly the way I wanted to finish the day. Full race video here.

My reaction after that weekend has been wishing I could go back down there and knock off the other 2 seconds needed to be a leader. It’s hard since I know exactly where on the track I can get that time, and I won’t be able to go sort it out in practice then battle again until March. But hey, it’s forward progress. Next year will be the year to contend for podium positions every race.

Now that official results are posted for the season, here’s the wrap-up.

600 production

- Didn’t race round 1 due to illness, round 6 due to crash in F1

- Best finish: 6th

- Finished 9th in points overall

600 superbike

- Didn’t race round 1 due to illness

- Best finish: 4th

- Finished 9th in points overall

Formula I

- Crashed out of round 6

- Best finish: 5th

- Finished 7th in points overall

Not bad for a first year on a 600, but I’m itching to get back on the bike and practice certain skills for next year’s campaign, and get an ‘09 R6 set up as soon as possible. But first… it’s time to figure out sponsors. To be contending at the front next year, financial and technical support are going to be crucial.