After having a great experience at my first AFM weekend, I was psyched to do it all over again! This weekend I wanted to get better starts so I could get up with some of the guys running faster than me and hopefully pick up a little speed following them. Practice on Saturday went well, and it was time for the Clubman Lightweight race before I knew it. I was looking forward to this one because it was going to be my first chance to race with my buddy, Bill, since he hadn’t been able to make it to the last round.
Because I had some points from the last round, I had a better grid position than last time. Bill was gridded just in front of me. My start was decent and I ended up with only a few riders between us going into turn 2. I kept him in sight the first few laps, and just when I thought he was out of touch, I saw him get held up by some traffic going into turn 6 on the second to last lap. I was able to make it through the other riders cleanly, putting me right with Bill coming out of 11. This was going to be an exciting finish. Then, to my dismay (and more so, his), Bill lost the front between 14 and 15 and went sliding into the dirt. Dang, not the way I wanted to make the pass. I finished out the race in 8th with a new personal best lap time of 2:05.4.
My first race for Sunday was 650 Twins. Bill wasn’t going to be able to make this one since he was still working on his bike. His crash had gotten into my head a bit. I had seen people go down on the track before, but it was just different to see someone I know go down right in front of me. The race was pretty uneventful for me, and was really more for practice since I’m on a production bike. I had a decent start again, and after settling in on the first lap I didn’t really get close to anyone during the middle of the race until someone showed me a wheel over the top of 5, making me get a move on. I caught up to one last rider, making a pass hard on the brakes into 10 on the final lap, putting me in position to finish 18th with a 2:07.1.
After lunch, I had my 650 Production race—this is the class my bike is built for. Evan had some unusual, but ultimately appropriate advice for me before I gridded up for the race, “Dad. Stay focused. Stay alive.” Where does he come up with this stuff? Got another somewhat decent start and was in my final position by the end of the first lap. Didn’t see anyone from my wave for the rest of the race. However, I did see some of the Superdino guys from the wave behind us. Three laps in, the first place rider passed me on the brakes into 10, and then the second place rider promptly passed me on the short straight between 10 and 11. However, that put him off line, and he ran way wide. I rolled off a bit because I wasn’t sure where he was going to end up, and it’s a good thing I did! He ended up t-boning the hay bale on the inside of 12, hitting the ground, and sliding across the track just a few feet in front of me.
My confidence was a little shaken to start, so for the rest of the race I was content to just keep a decent pace, stay upright, and bring everything into the pits intact. Approaching turn 12 on the next lap, I wasn’t sure what I was going to see. There was a yellow flag at turn 11, and all the corner workers were motioning to move left. When I came upon turn 12, there was hay spread out from one side of the track to the other, with some fairly large chunks on the right hand side. On my way through, I glanced to the left of the track to see the rider who went down standing next to his bike. Looked like he made it out okay—thank goodness. Two more laps around the track and my season was over: 7th place with a fastest lap of 2:08.8.
I only got to attend two race weekends this year, but that’s all it took to get me hooked. Racing with the AFM has been a great experience. I thought track days were fun, but this is a whole new level. Can’t wait for next season—it’s going to be a looooong winter!