Coming into the final weekend of the 2023 AFM series I felt like I was doing double-takes over and over in my mind over how little racing we had actually done this year because it felt like I’d transformed (again) into a completely different rider from beginning to end. One of the great things about racing is there is always another rung on the ladder and every time you learn and get better it only provides fuel to take the next step. Because Round 1 at Buttonwillow had been rained out and the originally planned rounds 6 & 7 at Buttonwillow’s new track and Laguna Seca never materialized, only 3 rounds of actual racing had taken place prior to the closing weekend. Our consolation prize was a double-header with full race days both Saturday and Sunday – thus the weekend was officially declared both round 5 and round 6.

Friday

As is my usual habit, I showed up Friday morning to take part in the track day put on by Carters at the Track. Three months had passed since round 4 in June, but I had at least made the effort to come out the previous Saturday to run a track day with Pacific Track Time to knock out the cobwebs and remember how to make a race bike go and stop. I’m a big fan of street riding as a way to keep myself comfortable on the bike between races, but it’s always quite different getting on track after a hiatus. On that previous Saturday I put my head down and rode all 7 sessions – something I haven’t done in years. I figured I didn’t need to worry so much about wearing myself out and the laps would pay dividends when I came back to race.

On Friday with Carters it felt like that plan was playing out well. I felt comfortable and quick right out of the gate. On AFM Fridays Carters runs B+, A, and A+ groups, with the idea being that normal A group track day riders can still ride A group here, but the lightning quick racers can occupy A+. I’ve always felt a step behind the A+ group, especially with my 75 horsepower FZ-07, so I’ve been content to stick with the standard A group. After my first session this time, though, I felt like I’d finally reached the point where the standard A group was holding me back and I was ready to graduate to A+. Another rung on the never-ending ladder.

I ended up running 2:04 pace on old tires and retiring after 4 sessions to conserve energy for the double-header weekend. I usually am happy to get within 2-3 seconds of race pace on Friday, so considering my best race time from round 4 was a 2:02 and I had only done my first 2:04 on new tires back in round 3, I was plenty happy with that result.

Saturday – 700 Superbike

My first race of the weekend was either the race of my life or a big misunderstanding. I spent the race fighting it out for podium spots with Jason Diaz on an Aprilia RS660 and Alex George I believe also on the Aprilia. Alex was leading most of the race, but made a mistake on one of the last laps which allowed Jason and me to come through. It then seemed like Jason had me covered by about 1.5 seconds for the win on the last(?) lap when suddenly what I completely expected to be the checkered flag was the white flag flying for a second time! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but the only choice was to keep racing. So I put my head down and stuck on Jason’s rear the best I could. Jason I think missed a gear or something between turns 9 and 10 and I went by him on the last lap part deux! I stuck the landing around turns 14 and 15 and cruised down the straight, confident I’d just won my first expert class race. I pumped my left arm in the air 100 feet before the finish line and then out of the corner of my eye I saw Jason slip past me a millisecond before we crossed the line. It was too close to know for sure, but my gut told me he beat me. Damn that RS660 power! Also, had the fist pump slowed me down and cost me the win?!

When I came back to the paddock with my head hanging I saw everyone pointing at Jason and congratulating him on his win, so I knew for sure how the result had come out. When I checked timing and scoring I saw he was officially recorded as having won by 1.4 seconds which blew my mind at first. Then I remembered that second white flag. While we made a helluva race at our second go of the last lap, I think it never mattered anyway as that second white flag was intended to be a checkered and I had already lost.

The real blow came after I parked my bike and realized I’d forgotten to put an SD card in my camera and I didn’t get any of that action recorded! Absolutely couldn’t believe I missed recording such a spectacular race. Sorry ya’ll!

Saturday – Lightweight Superbike

The Lightweight Superbike race was a lot less eventful than the 700 Superbike one. I went for a very agressive pass in the quick direction change between 3 and 4 but then decided it was too aggressive and ended up just pulling the brake and hoping the rider ahead didn’t chop off my wheel. It was *really* close, but I made it and lost a few seconds in the recovery. The rest of the race brought a few more mistakes that kept me from ever challenging for the win, but I came home with a solid second place that put in me in the lead for the championship and in a good place going into the final round on Sunday.

Saturday – Open Twins

Open Twins has been a bittersweet class year. The bitter part is that my bike is not close to being competitive, and the sweet part is that at least after the leaders clear off I frequently do my best laps of the day in the open track they leave behind. The doubleheader format of this weekend came with a schedule that put Open Twins in the afternoon. I have a long time tradition of losing 2-3 seconds after lunch and I managed to keep that alive. For the first couple laps it looked like I might actually keep the leaders in sight, but then we had a red flag. On the restart I settled into my traditional afternoon slow pace.

Saturday – Formula IV

Another change that came with the doubleheader format was the Formula IV race being combined with Formula II and Formula III, and Formula IV got gridded in the back. This ended up playing a major role in my race. After falling behind at the start the leaders began coming back to me as we ran into the stragglers from the classes gridded ahead of us. The stragglers giveth and the stragglers taketh away, though. The last lap felt like Moto3-style chaos. I narrowly averted disaster when I tried to go around a slower bike on the left down the back straight, but while I was making my move the space on the left started disappearing. I knew I had to draw even with that rider before the space totally went away or else we’d collide, so I broke super later and then was headed toward the back of another bike which had I to dive underneath to avoid. The whole maneuver sent me way off line and blew my chance at a Formula IV podium.

Sunday 700 Superbike

While not quite as exciting as the Saturday morning version, I still spent most of this race thinking I had a chance to win it. Watching the Aprilia and Ducati in front me pull away on the straights gave me strong pause to consider whether to put some money into getting more horsepower this winter. Probably will be some news about that in the future…

Just as in the Formula IV yesterday, though, I had a combination of poor luck and poor choices as we caught up with lap traffic that cost any chance of fighting for the win and I settled into a third place finish.

Sunday Lightweight Superbike

It happened! My first expert class victory came in absolutely textbook fashion. I got an ok launch but I saw out of the corner of my eye another rider with a good launch coming around my right as we headed to turn 1. My immediate response was “fuck this” and I pushed right using my superior track position to block his angle on the first turn. After taking the line I led through turn 1 and every other turn for the remainder of the race, ultimately winning by 3 seconds. Spending an entire race not seeing the competition, aside from some lap traffic at the end, was a surreal experience. Fantastic milestone!

Oh….it turns out this race win also sealed my 2023 championship for the Lightweight Superbike class!! 🏆🏆

Sunday Open Twins

Probably my most boring race of the weekend. After coming off the high of my first win, I was definitely running on fumes at this point. My feeling was that I’ve reached a pace where my fitness is holding me back over the course of a full day of racing. Hoping to come back next spring with some improvements in this area.

Sunday Formula IV

I faced very stiff competition in this race. A morning pace version of me could have podiumed for sure, but tired afternoon pace version had to fight for every inch. One more time for the weekend, though, I watched an Aprilia with superior straight line speed get me at the finish line, bumping me out of third place.

Damn those Aprilias. Here’s to more horsepower in 2024