Kalvin00
Well-known member
Well, I finally did what I always thought was too expensive. Or too dangerous. Or that I’d be lapped immediately and pulled off the track for being a hazard. I competed in my first round of AFM at Sonoma! But I’m not hooked.. I could quit whenever I want.
Friday
I roll into the pits Friday morning for the K@TT trackday. I pit up with Jay Bendon and start getting our stuff set up.
The trackday went well, I managed to get down to a 1:51.8, which was about 1.2 seconds faster than I’d done previously at Sonoma on the SV.
Saturday
Saturday morning was my NRS class. There wasn’t much eventful to talk about. Sam Romick was my evaluator. Sam has previously diced it up against the bike that I’m riding, which used to be raced by #438. Practice is uneventful and I’m feeling pretty good, although I am gridded way at the back (as expected.)
Clubman Light
So there I sit, on the grid. Face shield fogging up because I’m breathing hard, even though its 80 degrees outside. The green flag drops and I get a good start, passing a few bikes. Suddenly, everyone is diving off into the turn 1 chicane while I take the fast turn 1. What the hell is going on, I wonder? As I drive up the hill I’m wondering if all the years I’ve been watching racing here, did they change the rules for this race? Am I going to get black flagged? I struggle with these thoughts for about 2 corners, and put it out of my mind. It’s back to the task at hand, which is to pass that other SV650 clubman racer in front of me. Heading into T7 this rider misses the apex by a country mile and I sneak by him. I put my head down and ride as hard as I know how to for the next 7 laps. After about 2 laps it sort of resembles a trackday, making constant passes on the 350 superstock bikes. The checkered flag flies and I take first by about 3 seconds. My first win!
Sunday
Sunday morning arrives and I’m entered in 3 races: legacy light, 650 twins, and formula 4. The weather gods smile upon us, as the track is basking in beautiful sunshine at 8 am.
Legacy Light
I grid up for my first race of the day, at the back of the legacy light grid. The green flag drops and I manage to pass 4 bikes on the start and head up into T1 in 4th spot. The rest of the race was an awesome battle between Peter Hively, Brandon Souza, Stephen Dummit and I. I’d pass Brandon on the brakes going into 11, only to be outdriven on the front straightaway. And again on the next lap. Damn, that GSXR450 is fast.
Heading into T11 to take the white flag, Stephen runs wide and I take the lead. Sweet jesus, I’m taking the white flag and I’m in the lead! I try to focus on hitting my marks perfectly. Leaving the carousel I’m a tad late getting on the gas and Stephen drives by me, shutting the door into T7. I try my best the rest of the lap to put a pass on him but I had nothing for him. The novices end up 1-2.
I was so impressed with the riding I saw by the other guys I was battling with. There was nothing but clean passes and hard racing. This is awesome! Maybe I am hooked.
650 Twins
My next race comes up, and I grid up 7th out of 7. On the start, I’m in 4th place heading into T2. The rider who got the holeshot (the aforementioned clubman SV rider) proceeds to blow every apex and falls back, and the running order is quickly Sam Romick, Peter Hively, and me. I know that I’ll never catch Sam, but Peter only has about a 2 second gap on me. I proceed to put my head down and concentrate as hard as I ever have on riding fast, but I just can’t seem to get closer.
About lap 6, Peter catches a lapper and it slows him down. Suddenly I’m right on his tail. Heading into the carousel on the last lap, I pass him on the outside. I maintain 2nd place all the way into T11 where I take a defensive line. I can sense that Peter is going to drive hard out of the last turn, and as I’m coming up the front straight I hear him coming on the right side of me. As we pass the finish line, we are side by side. I have no idea who took 2nd.
I come back to the pits to find the answer. I beat Peter for 2nd place by 0.002 seconds! Wow. I also did a personal best lap of 1:49.9.
Formula 4
Formula 4 I started 21st out of 21. I clawed my way through some traffic to end up 7th overall in the race. I don’t remember a lot of notable events, just more clean racing.
This was the legacy light race:
youtu.be/DBdCs8c6ooE
Also, a couple pics courtesy of Oxymoron:
That’s about it. See everybody at Thunderhill for round 7… maybe. Like I said, I’m definitely not addicted.
Friday
I roll into the pits Friday morning for the K@TT trackday. I pit up with Jay Bendon and start getting our stuff set up.
The trackday went well, I managed to get down to a 1:51.8, which was about 1.2 seconds faster than I’d done previously at Sonoma on the SV.
Saturday
Saturday morning was my NRS class. There wasn’t much eventful to talk about. Sam Romick was my evaluator. Sam has previously diced it up against the bike that I’m riding, which used to be raced by #438. Practice is uneventful and I’m feeling pretty good, although I am gridded way at the back (as expected.)
Clubman Light
So there I sit, on the grid. Face shield fogging up because I’m breathing hard, even though its 80 degrees outside. The green flag drops and I get a good start, passing a few bikes. Suddenly, everyone is diving off into the turn 1 chicane while I take the fast turn 1. What the hell is going on, I wonder? As I drive up the hill I’m wondering if all the years I’ve been watching racing here, did they change the rules for this race? Am I going to get black flagged? I struggle with these thoughts for about 2 corners, and put it out of my mind. It’s back to the task at hand, which is to pass that other SV650 clubman racer in front of me. Heading into T7 this rider misses the apex by a country mile and I sneak by him. I put my head down and ride as hard as I know how to for the next 7 laps. After about 2 laps it sort of resembles a trackday, making constant passes on the 350 superstock bikes. The checkered flag flies and I take first by about 3 seconds. My first win!
Sunday
Sunday morning arrives and I’m entered in 3 races: legacy light, 650 twins, and formula 4. The weather gods smile upon us, as the track is basking in beautiful sunshine at 8 am.
Legacy Light
I grid up for my first race of the day, at the back of the legacy light grid. The green flag drops and I manage to pass 4 bikes on the start and head up into T1 in 4th spot. The rest of the race was an awesome battle between Peter Hively, Brandon Souza, Stephen Dummit and I. I’d pass Brandon on the brakes going into 11, only to be outdriven on the front straightaway. And again on the next lap. Damn, that GSXR450 is fast.
Heading into T11 to take the white flag, Stephen runs wide and I take the lead. Sweet jesus, I’m taking the white flag and I’m in the lead! I try to focus on hitting my marks perfectly. Leaving the carousel I’m a tad late getting on the gas and Stephen drives by me, shutting the door into T7. I try my best the rest of the lap to put a pass on him but I had nothing for him. The novices end up 1-2.
I was so impressed with the riding I saw by the other guys I was battling with. There was nothing but clean passes and hard racing. This is awesome! Maybe I am hooked.
650 Twins
My next race comes up, and I grid up 7th out of 7. On the start, I’m in 4th place heading into T2. The rider who got the holeshot (the aforementioned clubman SV rider) proceeds to blow every apex and falls back, and the running order is quickly Sam Romick, Peter Hively, and me. I know that I’ll never catch Sam, but Peter only has about a 2 second gap on me. I proceed to put my head down and concentrate as hard as I ever have on riding fast, but I just can’t seem to get closer.
About lap 6, Peter catches a lapper and it slows him down. Suddenly I’m right on his tail. Heading into the carousel on the last lap, I pass him on the outside. I maintain 2nd place all the way into T11 where I take a defensive line. I can sense that Peter is going to drive hard out of the last turn, and as I’m coming up the front straight I hear him coming on the right side of me. As we pass the finish line, we are side by side. I have no idea who took 2nd.
I come back to the pits to find the answer. I beat Peter for 2nd place by 0.002 seconds! Wow. I also did a personal best lap of 1:49.9.
Formula 4
Formula 4 I started 21st out of 21. I clawed my way through some traffic to end up 7th overall in the race. I don’t remember a lot of notable events, just more clean racing.
This was the legacy light race:
youtu.be/DBdCs8c6ooE
Also, a couple pics courtesy of Oxymoron:
That’s about it. See everybody at Thunderhill for round 7… maybe. Like I said, I’m definitely not addicted.
Last edited:
arty
