Deja Vu AFM Round two 08/08/2020

chuckie90

Active member
Race Report Chuck Sorensen 8-8,9-2020

I am going to call this one Déjà vu because we got the same results as the last round but moved forward as a working racing team.
For this round we would make changes to the front suspension, going stiffer on spring rate and install a new Penske fully adjustable rear shock. As you can imagine with this chassis the key will be to optimize the suspension. These bikes were designed in Japan to be the best technology of the era. They wanted to be closest to Grand Prix machinery of the time.

_OI_9892.jpg

We signed up for ½ day practice on Friday and wanted to get a base setting for the forks and the shock. At the end of day we felt I may have chose a front spring that was too stiff? We searched for options to try to change the set up to be .5 softer in the front. The rear just seemed to be better all around, having better composer over bumps and damping through the corner. In the front we found we did not have the option to go softer. As I went faster the current front springs worked better when I was charging harder.

_OI_3386.jpg

On Saturday we would continue to make small changes. When it came to F4 qualifying we felt confident to make a good impression. I went out late and ended up riding with my friend Valentine, we were lapping at a similar pace. I knew we had to push, I passed her going into lost hills and put my head down for 2 laps, in the end she got me by .0049 of a second…. It was fun and that was the fastest I had gone yet 1:57.2 ….. front row is a good place to start.

_OI_3415 (1).jpg

Next up was the Formula 40 Lightweight race. Last time I had a good battle with my friend Michael Souza. It happened again at the beginning of the race. I was able to get out front and put down some solid laps winning with a safe margin.
Being a racer sometimes makes you a creature of habit, we are camping out so every race Friday I cook Salmon with saffron rice. This weekend Rob made chicken enchiladas verde for Saturday dinner, they were killer.

08.082020.jpg

Sunday we made a plan to try a stiffer set up on suspension over all, it felt great in the morning warm up, lapping in the 57s which was a great pace in the morning. At the previous weekend the morning Lightweight twins class race was the toughest of the weekend. There were two kids on Ninja 400s that were unplugged. They wanted to win… I thought this would be the same case. This time they were in Pittsburg, PA at the MotoAmerica race. I got a good start and was in the lead by turn 3. I put my head down and kept my laps in the 57s range. In the end I built up a gap and won by a few seconds.

_OI_2036.jpg

Going into this season we knew that the Formula 4 class would be difficult because a lot of the competition would be on Suzuki SV650 and MT 07 Yamahas , against our 450cc bike, with larger displacement. We are probably 80lbs lower than these bikes but you have to take my fat ass into consideration.. Again I got a OK start but I knew both Ryan and Valentine were determined. They built a gap of about 1 sec and I held that. I got distracted by watching them battle and tried to not make mistakes. Rob gave me my margins from the pit and I would check my position in turn 2. It was my fastest pace of the weekend, aside from the opening lap I would lap in the 56s all 5 laps. Good forward movement.

fatness.jpg

This was very positive weekend, we made solid changes and gained 1 second in lap times. The main thing was that we worked better as a team and everything became more fluid.
We would like to thank all of our sponsors, without them this effort would not be possible. BARF Racing, SPS Suspenion, X-Lite helmets, Z2 track Days, Motion Pro, Cyclegear, Dunlop, Bill Charles, Kurvey Girl, Motul, Metech, Galfer and a special welcome to our new sponsors AF1( Austin TX ) and TechSpec tank grips.

Also a big shout out to Oxymoron Photography for the awesome pics
 
Last edited:
Top