http://afm103.racerjournal.com Race reports and track stories Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:30:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Jason and I had spent the 4th of July weekend down at Buttonwillow testing a new suspension setup from David Behrend at Fast Bike Industries, our Ohlins wizard.  That testing had gone well, with some significant geometry changes, but we weren’t sure how much would apply from Bumpywillow to Thunder ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2010/07/14/round-5-thunderhill/ Round 4 - Thunderhill After blowing up my motor last round, the past 3 weeks have been busy trying to get it put back together.  As the realities of a day job and the rest of life influenced things, it just didn’t happen.  I found myself swapping in last year’s tired ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2010/06/16/round-4-thunderhill/ First off, I have to thank Gerry at GP Frame and Wheel for getting my bike measured and straightened after the crash, and Sam for painting another set of Factory Bodyworks, just in time for the weekend.  Thank you Jason for driving the bodywork down, Manny for sending along a ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2010/05/27/round-3-race-report-infineon/ We left Round 1 with a points lead in Formula 1 and high hopes for the season.  As I rolled into Infineon Raceway on Thursday night, my goals were pretty simple – go fast, stay on both wheels and get solid results in all classes, particularly F1. Friday’s practice was my ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2010/05/03/round-2-infineon/ 6 months off from racing sounds like a long time, but somehow, the first round always shows up just a bit sooner than you’d planned.  Despite the long weekends and evenings, there were a number of things that weren’t as ready as I would have liked.  However, 2010 was already ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2010/03/24/round-1-buttonwillow/ Before I write about the beginning of 2010, a few notes about 2009 are probably in order. 2009 Round 7 at Infineon brought me my first podium of the season - a 3rd place in Formula 1.  Also, I finished the season 3rd overall in 600 production, from consistent results every ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2010/03/22/2009-season-wrap-up/ Jason and I rolled in on Thursday to ride at the trackday before the AFM weekend. With a whole day to test, I wanted to put Phil’s revalved forks through a few tests, as I’d never run them at Infineon before. The day was essentially a whole bunch ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2009/08/11/round-6-%e2%80%93-running-in-place/ Thunderhill – Take 2. After last round’s front end issues, I gave Phil Douglas both sets of my forks to doctor up and give us some options for round 5. Stiffer springs in the Ohlins forks, and his full re-valve work on the stock ’08 forks. Friday practice. ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2009/07/15/round-5-%e2%80%93-confidence/ I am my own harshest critic. At the end of every race weekend, I look back at what I did and ask myself “did I get everything out of myself and my bike”? Invariably, there’s a laundry list of things I could have done differently. In large ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2009/06/17/round-4-%e2%80%93-preparation/ Another rider’s misfortune became my good fortune early in the race weekend. I’ve been trying to get on Ken Hill’s schedule for a 1-on-1 day of coaching for some time. At this Friday’s Z2 trackday, Ken’s student irreparably crashed his bike early in the day. I picked ... http://afm103.racerjournal.com/2009/05/25/round-3-ride-smarter-not-harder/