With Round 1 being rained out, Round 2 at Thunderhill was actually the season opener for AFM. Miles was ready to get at it, and Saturday practice went off without a hitch. His lap times were a little off the pace from the end of last season, but that’s not too surprising since he was knocking the cobwebs off. The Clubman Lightweight race was Saturday afternoon and the first race of the weekend for Miles. He had a few points from last year, so started off with a good grid position.
Miles got a good start and settled in to second place for a few laps until he got passed on the brakes into turn 10. He was able to stay with the second place rider, but going in to turn 6, the rear end lost grip and the bike spun around putting Miles on the pavement, and then into the dirt where he tumbled, and tumbled, aaaand tumbled. Luckily all he got was a few bumps and bruises.
After waiting around in the pits for a while the bike finally showed up. After assessing the damage, Miles determined all he really needed was a left side rearset—the rest could wait. First stop was the Twin Factory Works guys to see if they had anything available. They didn’t, but Dan Sewell offered to check around and see if he could find anything for a Gen 2. He tracked down some parts from Alan Cunningham, and all that was missing now was a shift linkage. Miles was able to borrow one from Jay Kinberger and then had everything he needed. A quick hose down and a little assembly and everything was ready to go for Sunday. A big thanks goes out to all you guys who helped get the bike operational again!
Miles had two races on Sunday. He only got two laps in during the morning practice session, so he was going to take it easy and use his first race, Novice 650 Twins, to feel out the bike and himself. Just before going out on the warmup lap, Miles checked his tires and noticed that his front tire was still cold. Further inspection revealed a burned up heating element in the front warmer. Going out on a cold front tire wasn’t going to help his confidence. But he went out, took it easy as planned, and everything felt okay.
Next up was Novice 650 Production, and there was only one race to rest before it was time to go. That was a blessing in part since the tires didn’t have too much time to cool off—but neither did Miles! The time came, and everyone got lined up. The bike almost overheated since Miles was in the 6th wave, but all went well. The green flag came up and he got a good start. He moved into first place by turn 1 and stayed there the whole race. His first podium and first race win!
It was an epic weekend and a heck of a way to start off the season. From the lows of crashing and failing equipment to the brotherhood of AFM racers always willing to help each other out and sweet victory! It’s a time Miles will never forget.