Is racing making me a bad person?

It is that time of year, the off-season. The organizations I am now racing with, AMA and AFM, along with many others, take a few months off racing from the end of October though early March.  I am not unlike the other “addicts” that enjoy the time off for about 3 weeks and then really start to miss the racing action, I spend hours each day thinking about racing, planning for the next year, pursuing sponsorship help, training and looking for any opportunities to get on the track again during the off season.

Today, I am at work on a Saturday, overseeing field installations but with no real obligations of my own other than as a contact if they have any issues.  This has left me with hours of uninterrupted time to think about racing. I spent the morning updating our team website Ritz-Racing.com and scanning Facebook, reading the posts of fellow racers talking about how much they miss racing or promoting their own efforts for next year.  I really think it is great news when my competitors and friends announce their sponsorship deals or get some public recognition for their racing accomplishments, but now I’m going to tell you the whole truth… sometimes I become so envious of my competitors; looking at their photos, seeing the sponsorship help they are getting, the activities they are partaking in every weekend and especially if they are somehow racing in the off-season (like WSMC or WERA,) and I could go crazy thinking about what they are getting or doing or becoming.  I could become bitter and angry, thinking “Why not me?” And then I begin to wonder, is racing making me a bad person?  

I don’t want to have these feelings and I have even contemplated quitting racing because of them, no other sport has ever aroused such emotions in me.  I honestly just want to be a good, supportive person and I think these feelings stir because I am truly passionate about racing.  I know there are a lot of good human characteristics to be gained and developed through racing; confidence, compassion, determination, sportsmanship, I could go on and on.  So how do I stop those envious feelings? Through refocusing that energy, every ounce of energy wasted worrying about them is less energy that I have for improving myself.  My resolution for 2012 is to always be supportive and encouraging to my friends and competitors that are busy living out their dreams and a commitment to myself that I will focus my energy on living out my own dreams.   

Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbour to have them through envy. – Aristotle

This is not to say that I will never feel jealousy again, that would be unrealistic as it is a natural human emotion.  Just know that when you read my FB comment “Jealous” on someone else’s post, picture or thread… all that really means is I just got another little shot of motivation to keep pushing myself this off-season.  I’ll be finding a way to get in a few track days, a lot of dirt biking, rock climbing, cycling, swimming, and mental training to make sure I am ready to do MY very best in the 2012 season.  I won’t wait for the ball to drop on January 1^st, my resolution starts today.

What to do with myself now….

My 2011 race season is over, aside from the occasional track day if I can manage to get a couple in this winter, I will be off the race bike for the next 4 months or so.

The weather will be turning cold and rainy and the limited hours of day light in the winter months make it even more difficult to get outside and “play.”  Many of my racing friends will turn to off season training to keep busy and fit; spending time in the gym, pushing weights and working out on stationary equipment.  While this type of workout has its place, and I will get in my share of gym workouts this winter I prefer to keep fit another way.

Flashback to childhood — I spent my free time riding bicycles, climbing trees, playing tag, riding horses and generally being outside. I was always a fit kid and I never had to lift weights or ride a stationary bike to stay that way.  And here I am, a “few” years later and I still prefer to stay fit the same way.  I suppose this is why my husband Jason and I got together in the first place, because he is much the same, and now he has started a personal training business based on that philosophy.

The custom tailored workout program Jason created for me this off season involves riding my bicycle, rock climbing, riding my dirt bike and a core body workout that I do at home in my backyard (or my living room if it is too cold.) I have a few pounds to lose and I have some goals to build my endurance and core strength. I’ll keep you posted on all the fun I’m having and how I am doing on reaching my fitness goals.

Here’s a video of our indoor climbing workout yesterday, check it out…  and if you have fitness goals of your own and don’t know where to get started, maybe you should give Active Body Training a call and see what he can do for you.

AFM Rounds 6, 7 and 8. The end is here.

“Everyone has a breaking point, turning point, stress point, the game is permeated with it. The fans don’t see it because we make it look so efficient. But internally, for a guy to be successful, you have to be like a clock spring, wound but loose at the same time.”
Dave Winfield

 
AFM Round 6
 
Aug 27/28 — Thunderhill Raceway–Willows, CA

Little did I know going into this weekend that it would have such an effect on me.  This was what I consider the worst weekend of my racing years. Maybe that is an exaggeration as I did not crash, I didn’t have any major scary moments. I walked away from the weekend with my body and my bike in the same condition as when I arrived, but my spirit was broken. I almost, for a tiny second, considered quitting.

Formula AFemme was taking on a consistent theme; Christie Cooley running away at the front with a large margin, leaving me in the distance, sometimes in a battle, sometimes alone, but always behind. This time, Nikki Nienow was on my wheel where she sat for the first half of the race. I got faster each lap and I increased the gap over Nikki, finishing with a solid second place. I rode consistently, with perfect lines and good technique, smooth and quick, but not Fassst. I was really happy with my 2^nd place, it was another step in the right direction for me since this was my first 2^nd place finish in the AFM AFemme class.  After the races that afternoon, I was hanging out with Christie and Nikki celebrating our fun day on track. Several people stopped by to congratulate Christie on the race, many of them with a comment like, “You just walked away from the competition” and while I was really happy for Christie, I was really disappointed that I could not figure out how to get off this plateau and find the speed that she has found this year.

The next morning I was determined that I was going to go faster. That was probably my biggest mistake, because I was determined to do it, but deep down I don’t think I believed in myself. 600 Superbike would be my first race on Sunday, running mid- morning and 600 Production would be the very last race of the day. I had a next to last row grid position for 600SB, I got an average start and proceed to try to get in front of the bikes in front of me, I made some passes and was passed back and I managed to do 2:03-2:04 lap times which seems to be about the pace I was stuck at, but I didn’t go any slower. I sat around all day wondering how I was going to find some speed for the last race. Over-thinking, over-analyzing, over-whelming myself… again.

My results were decided before I took my spot on the line, before I put my visor down I had already doubted myself.  I fell back on the start as we entered turn 1, I was at the back of a 5 bike pack that I could not push through… I knew we were going slower, much slower than I was capable of, but I lacked confidence in myself to make passes through the traffic. It is hard for me, when I see 4 bikes staggered in front of me, to figure out how to get inside and outside and between them to make the passes. It is hard for me to pick them off one-by-one like I see my competitors do. I can’t help thinking they are going to turn in on me or swing out on me when I move to execute my pass. So there I sat… behind them, going dreadfully slow and getting more and more frustrated at the position I allowed myself to be in. At the end, after I saw my times, I was wounded, maybe fatally so as a racer. I thought that I must lack what it takes to be a champion at this sport. How could I succeed if I could not make passes? Was this to be my breaking point? Or would I make it a turning point?

Formula AFemme – 2^nd of 8 (Best Lap 2:04.985)
600 SuperBike – 36th of 39 (Best Lap 2:03.929)
600 Production – 32^nd of 38 (Best Lap 2:11.681)

“There’s nothing as exciting as a comeback – seeing someone with dreams, watching them fail, and then getting a second chance.”
Rachel Griffiths

AFM Round 7

 
Sept 10/11 — Thunderhill Raceway–Willows, CA

This may be surprising to some of you, but it was Christie who came to my rescue from the emotional side. In text messages on my way home from Round 6, she sent me words of encouragement and in e-mails after she sent me some of the most resonating words of advice. Those are mine to keep, I shall not share them until I can pay them forward to the next racer I know on the brink of giving up.

I arrived at Thunderhill this weekend with a new kind of determination and a rekindled spirit. Jason talked me through the technical, riding issue I was struggling with… my need for perfection, and helped me come up with the mental vocabulary I needed to overcome it. Sometimes you can tell someone something over and over again, but without the right word or the right thought implanted into that person they just can’t make it happen. Ken Hill has been working with me on overcoming this challenge of mine since Round 1 and though I knew what needed to be done, I just could not force it to happen. Then in one of my evening, sitting in the hot tub, chats with my husband he said the right thing, that brought all that Ken has been telling me into focus. I found the mental image that worked for me.

Foreshadowing...

As I launched a near perfect start from the front row, I jumped in front of Christie off the line. In the front heading toward turn 1, an unfamiliar position caught me off guard, and Christie passed by me to take the holeshot, but this time I stuck to her rear tire like my life depended on it. I followed her the first lap no more than a bike length or two away, based on the yo-yo effect, and Nikki followed closely behind. Going into T2 I nearly crashed into the back of Cooley when she used a different technique on the entry, but I kept it together and I kept on her tail. After the second lap, she picked up the pace, and I stayed with her. Still no more than a few bike lengths behind at any given moment.  The faster she went, the faster I went. She had her strong areas where she would gain ground on me and I had my strong areas where I would reel her back in.  On the last lap, we encountered lappers… after the last round, there was no way I was going to let passes be my downfall. Without hesitation, I made passes. As we approached turns 11,12,13 a tight left, quick right, fast left section, I saw the group of lappers doing battle for their class win in front of us and I planned my attack. We came out of 13, down the back straight, Cooley making her moves through the traffic and over to the outside line for the entry into right handed turn 14. I stayed all the way right, knowing all the lappers would move left and I pinned it hoping to beat her to the braking zone. Under the bridge I came up beside Cooley, but my corner was tighter and sharper since I was so tight to the inside… I had to brake harder and Cooley went through 14 and 15 in front of me, I set up for the drive out of 15 onto the front straight, I tucked, I pinned it, I saw my husband cheering me on the pit wall and I crossed the checkers a tenth of a second behind Christie Cooley. And I broke my 2:03 plateau, with a new personal best lap time of 2:01.321. This was my victory today! This was the best 2nd place I’ve ever won!

Sunday, ah, who really cares about Sunday? :) I worked on being diligent about making passes and that new technique I had for letting go of perfection. I didn’t run 2:01’s again, but I did some good work on improving my racing skills and most importantly… I had fun!

Unfortunately, Jason took a tumble in turn 9. I will refer you to his race report for that story, since it is his to tell, but it often seems when one of us is up the other is down. Yet, we always manage to pick each other up and live to race another day.

Formula AFemme – 2^nd of 5 (2:01.321)
600 Production – 26^th of 32 (2:06.987)
750 Superbike – 21^st of 27 (2:04.393)

 

“The perfect run is never the fastest run.”
Lindsey Vonn – In the Moment

AFM Round 8
 
Oct 1/2 — Thunderhill Raceway–Willows, CA

On our way to Thunderhill for the Season finale we were in high spirits. Jason was leading the championship in 750 Production and he was second in both 600 SuperBike and 600 Production. He has been running a solid and fast season. I had locked up 2^nd in the Formula AFemme championship and headed to Thunderhill in hopes of securing a win in the class.

On Saturday afternoon, I had back to back races with AFemme (race 3) and the 600 Production make-up race (race 4). Jason would be gridding up with me in race 4, so Sam Richards graciously agreed to give me pit signals during AFemme.  I was on pole position for AFemme, with Cooley deciding to head to WERA instead of AFM this weekend.  Interestingly, I was more nervous about this race than I ever have been, I know that you can’t count your chickens before they hatch. Never discount your competition, you don’t know who will find that little something that they’ve been looking for all season and come passing you by.  I wanted to get my first win and I tried to suppress the thoughts that I might do something careless and fall down. Texting Ken for my usual pre-race words of encouragement, his response “relax” helped me relax. Hahaha! I rocketed the start… but so did Stacy Menas beside me, “oh no” I thought. I pulled that throttle back to the stops, I tucked and I shifted, I don’t even know if  I really braked for turn 1, but I got the holeshot and I stayed on it into turn 2. I rolled the first lap with the amazing vision of a clear track in front of me and I recalled the pre-race words of advice from Mike Canfield, “When you get to the lead, and there is no one in front of you… that is a good thing, don’t panic, try to stay there.” ;) I rode that first lap worried that every other bike on the grid must be right on my rear wheel. When I came down the front straight and saw Sam, with his arms spread wide telling me I had a big’ol gap, I felt relief, and fear, and I felt the racer inside me struggling to get out… LOL! “Go fast! Don’t fall down. Just ride like you know how to ride. Go fast! You have a big gap, don’t risk it. Don’t get lazy that is when mistakes happen, go fast. Don’t fall down.” On and on, I spoke to myself like this until I caught the 250 race traffic. Then I focused my attention on catching and passing them one by one, to stop the insanity inside my head, until I crossed the checkers and won AFemme! I waved to every turnworker out there on my cooldown lap, so appreciative of them being out there so that I could race and so excited to have my first win.

(I also want to take a moment to congratulate Tracy Bowen for her new personal best lap times and her 2^nd place in AFemme!!! She rocked it out there and came out the winner in a heated battle with Stacy Menas.)

AFemme Trophy!

I rolled into the hot pits where my husband had waited, all geared up to head out for the 600P race hot lap, to give me a hug and a helmet kiss. He went out for the hot lap while Sam gave me water and a hug. Then David and Kyle came over and congratulated me and gave me hugs. I downed the water and rolled back onto the grid for the 600 Production make-up race.

Now a race winner, my confidence was booming. I was still on cloud nine when the green flag flew and I pinned the throttle off the start. I dropped the clutch too quickly in my eagerness and wheelied the start losing a few positions to the bikes inside of me. I found an opening and cut to the inside of turn 1 to 2 and picked up some positions, then a few bikes came around the outside of me around turn 2 as the pack started to single out through turns 3 and 4. We all bunched back up into 5 and I found my way past a couple more racers and into order we went through 6,7,8. I passed a few racers in front of me then found myself the leader of a pack, I focused my attention on the group ahead of me and a few laps later managed to catch up to them.  Now at the back of their pack and exhausted I worked on my plan of attack, thinking back to those important words of advice after round 6 from Christie Cooley, I pushed on, determined to not give up. I finished the race in 20^th but with more 2:01’s clicked off on my lap timer. I was getting the hang of this pace.

Lubs my bike!

Sunday morning I was signed up for Race 1, 750 SuperBike. I had a goal to break into the 2:00’s and set a new personal best lap time. Morning practice, I followed the practice technique Ken prescribed for me at the beginning of the season, it always calms my nerves and helps me focus. I gridded up in position 24 of 25, with few points from previous rounds. Nick Haymen, two rows up, was directly in front of me and a good starter, “that’s my carrot!” I rocketed, but again wheelied out of my start, losing ground and dropping to last place. One by one, I moved forward up to 20^th, making clean but aggressive and timely passes. This was huge. Then a gap to the group in front of me appeared.  I could see it was Sam in front of me and he became my target. I picked up my pace as he, and the group he was battling with, dropped of their pace. The gap closed each lap, and my speeds picked up, then the checkers flew far too soon for my liking. Back at the trailer, Jason had pulled up my lap times on the MyAFM live timing & scoring app, before I had even pulled off my helmet. I did it! I broke into the 2:00’s, barely, but barely is all I wanted. A new personal best!

My friend and co-worker Greg Ignoffo ventured out to the fields of Willows to watch my husband and I race. He got there in time to see my husband take the victory, with a large margin over Lenny Hale, and the class championship in 750 Production. After that we watched the exciting battle for the Number 1 plate in the Formula Pacific race. Though hard fought Ricky Corey would take the race win, and Chris Siglin would have to settle for second that day, but I think he was consoled by the fact that he won the Championship.

My last race of the day, my last race of the year… was 600 Production and I really wanted to get a sub 2:00 lap time to end the season, I was on a roll so why not go for it! I gridded up in 22^nd and Jason pulled up to the number 2 spot.  I launched the start, no wheelies this time and made a strong move through turns 1 and 2 maintaining my position, entering turn 3 the yellow flag was waving and the dust cloud was lifting revealing my husband picking himself up off the ground, I watched him for a moment to satisfy my need to know that he was ok, then I returned my focus to my race, where I had lost a couple positions for my moment of worry. I tried to put Jason’s crash out of my head as I raced on, another rider rode straight off the track in turn 8, in front of me. I worried for his safety for a moment, he was really moving when he rode off track, thankfully no red flags came out, indicating that he was well enough to not need immediate medical attention, so on we raced. I ran behind Dan Azar for the majority of the race, I felt strong and like I could go faster.  I just could not get the pass completed with my repeated attempts to out brake him into the corners failing, and my inability to set up the drive on the exits. Then in Lap 7, Paul Johnson came past me and put himself between Dan and I for a lap. I clung to PJ’s rear wheel thinking I could retake my position and make the move on Dan at the checkers. As we entered turn 14 on the last lap PJ took the inside pass on Dan and I was right behind them both as they went side by side through 14/15. PJ pulled in front on the exit of 15 and I tucked into the double draft (what an awesome feeling that is) I pulled out of the draft as we passed the start finish tower and crossed the line in front of Dan by a wheel.

With the thought of Jason out there in the in-field each time I came round turn 3, I knew I hadn’t broke a sub 2:00 lap time, in fact I felt like I had maybe done 2:03’s or 2:04’s. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I again had run 2:01’s in that last race. Jason is a little bruised and sore, mostly fine. His new PILOT suit barely shows signs of having been crashed in (I wish I could say the same for the bike.)

Congratulations to all the AFM racers on a fantastic 2011 season, I look forward to seeing you all at the banquet, where I get to go on stage (with the very best two competitors and friends I could ask for) to accept the 2^nd place Championship trophy for Formula AFemme.

Formula AFemme – 1^st of 4 (2:07.631)
600 Production BW Make-up Race – 20^th of 25 (2:01.541)
750 Superbike – 22^nd of 27 (2:00.962)
600 Production – 19^th of 26 (2:01.510)

Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened.

 

 

 

AMA Miller & AFM Rounds 4 & 5

“It” seemed so much easier when I was racing the SV650. My goals each year were get faster lap times and try to finish a little further up in the 65+ person grid than I had before. I had no championship aspirations; I had no AMA pro-racing dreams. Then I started to get faster, then Christie and Joy got the AFemme class started, then I got an R6, then I joined the Z2 Race Team, then Shandra started the California State Championship… little by little, my expectations grew and my goals surmounted what I had ever thought possible. Here I am a “middle aged” lady, chasing a dream most commonly pursued by the young, spending my hard earned money on Pirelli, MR12, TEXASTEA, PILOT and all the other “name brands” of motorcycle racing. Is this my version of buying a Corvette? If so, it certainly would be easier, and also so much cheaper, to buy a Corvette and cruise Hwy 1 on the weekends, going shopping and wine tasting, or whatever it is that middle aged women normally do. But I know… that I can’t be happy doing that. Yet, sometimes I wonder if motorcycle racing makes me happy and then, I have a race where it all comes together; where all the blood, sweat and tears seem worth it to achieve the 20 minutes of bliss where Hasi and I move together in a dance on asphalt. The AFM Round 7 Formula AFemme race was one of those races. The path to this moment, to this race, has been full of accomplishments and equally with disappointments.

AMA Miller Motorsports Park

AMA SuperSport – May 27/28/29/30 — Miller Motorsports Park–Toole, UT

Picking up from where I left off in my last post… just a week and a half after wrapping up the AMA race weekend at Infineon we were on the road again for my next opportunity to make the AMA grid at Miller. I had been to Miller once, last year, for Yamaha Customer Appreciation Track Days. My lap times then were very good, fastest enough to qualify for AMA. Having that past experience on the track I felt confident and excited heading for Utah. Our friend and teammate, Greg, had never been to Miller and decided not to spend the money on running at this AMA round. Despite my constant peer pressure to try to get him to go, he instead opted to head to the Yamaha/Z2 track days at Laguna that weekend to work on set-up for the AMA round coming up there in a month. When it comes to the track, Greg, Jason and I usually travel together and it is unusual for us not to be in the same place, but I really wanted to go to Miller. In part it was because I had so much fun at that track when we went down last year and partly because I am a huge World SuperBike fan and I really wanted to see them race in person.  So Jason and I, along with our crew; Nikki Nienow, Skylar Vickroy and Kyle Schirrmacher crammed into our quad cab truck with the loaded toy hauler in tow and hit the road Thursday night after work. It was a long drive and if you are facebook friends with me, you probably have an idea of how we entertained ourselves for the 12 hour drive.

First practice for Supersport was at 8:00am on Saturday morning, I headed out on track for the 40 minute session to re-familiarize myself with the track and work on getting down to pace… but my bike did not like the elevation change and I had jetting problems. The bike was cutting out consistently at 12,000 RPM. This was a serious problem, since I would hit 12K as I exited nearly every corner and at each up-shift along the front straight and the bike would lurch in speed each time it cut out, I was worried of being hit from behind. I managed to complete 10 laps between pit stops and trying to solve the issue, but after a few attempts with no improvement I felt it was not safe for me to be on track with Hasi mis-behaving. I pulled in early and headed back to my pit where my crew and I could continue to look for the solution, we had until 4:40 (Qualifying 1 for Supersport) to figure something out.

Our pit all set up at Miller.

After mentioning my problem to another racer, we found out that DynoJet has a mobile Dyno trailer at all AMA races. Both Jason and I quickly got our bikes in line at the DynoJet booth then waited around until our turn have them run to help diagnose our problems. (This is a very popular service, especially at Miller with the elevation change, so there was a bit of a wait.) Once my bike made it into the trailer, we tried a couple different maps and an adjustment to the quick-shifter, it was now cutting out at around 13-14K, but we were out of time and we got the call to head on track for our 30 minute Qualifying 1 session. My times improved slightly, with the lurches and loss of power still occurring on the straights, but not so much on corner exits. Still, at the end of Q1, I was far from the pace I needed to qualify and race. And then…. it started to rain.

And it rained all afternoon and all night. I contemplated swapping to the back-up bike, but the forecast called for the rain to continue through the morning and most of the day. I decided that I should not ride in the rain, what a painful decision this turned to be. In the morning we woke to a down pour and snow had actually accumulated at slightly higher elevations on the mountains nearby. The AMA officials had advised me that the qualifying times for SuperSport would not be enforced and as long as I went out for Q2 I would be allowed to race in the main event. I was cursing the AFM for having a “no racing in the rain” policy, because I had never practiced in the rain and I had certainly never raced in the rain. I did not feel like a pro-event was the appropriate time for me to go out and learn how to race in the wet, I did not want to risk taking someone else out. Also, with the next AFM race back home only a week away I wouldn’t have time to repair my bike or myself if I crashed. I sat out Q2 and passed on the opportunity to race in the AMA SuperSport Main, there is always next year.

Skyler working on my bike.

Jason came in from Q2, frozen to the bone, his hands so swollen from the cold that he had to first put them in the ice chest to warm them up enough to get them under tap water and then to have Kyle help remove his gloves. At that point, I was really glad I wasn’t out there. The main event was at noon and it was still raining. Half of the competitors that lined up on the grid that afternoon crashed, a couple of them managed to pick their bikes up and rejoin the race tracking slick mud back onto the race line. My husband finished the race in eighth position after a fun battle with his friend and former AFM racer Sebastiao Ferreira.

After the SuperSport racing was complete, the crew and I cleaned up the pit area while Jason thawed. Then we all bundled up and headed to the grandstands to watch the AMA Superbike and Daytona Sportbike races. The next day, Memorial Day we spent at Miller watching the WSB races and I enjoyed getting Leon Haslam to autograph the undertail of my bike.

Jason and I and "The Crew" getting ready to spectate WSB.

Practice – Best Lap 2:23.337
Qualifying 1 – Best Lap 2:18.288
Qualifying 2 – DNS

AFM Round 4

June 4/5 — Thunderhill Raceway–Willows, CA
*Rained Out

A few days after getting home from Miller we were headed back to the track. This weekend we headed to Thunderhill for AFM Round 4. All the weather forecasts predicted rain… What was that you recall from my Miller report? AFM doesn’t race in the rain. Oh right, that. The AFM decided not to cancel the race weekend on the hope that the forecasts were wrong and that Thunderhill would “have its own weather pattern.” Saturday morning the rain started lightly… a few practice sessions were attempted between rain spurts, but red flags were waving more than bikes were running and eventually the AFM had to surrender to Mother Nature. The day was called over, with heavier rains predicted for the next day. Still, the AFM Board was holding out hope that it would clear up on Sunday so we stuck around, but with boredom building and a lack of optimism that racing would actually happen the next morning, we headed to town and found the local Saloon was the perfect place to pass the time and a few drinks too many.

Sunday ***Rained Out*** but Jason and I put our free time to good use. While hanging out in the pro shop, we met Wade and Carrie from Insurrection Racing and next thing you know we were trying on PILOT suits and talking to them about a sponsorship deal. I was so excited when we left for home that afternoon, I was finally going to get my first custom suit. Thank you so much to PILOT and Insurrection Racing for allowing me to represent for you.

AFM Round 5/CSC Round 2

July 9/10 – Infineon Raceway–Sonoma, CA

Nearly a full month break was refreshing and badly needed, all that racing and traveling had really started to wear me down both physically and emotionally. Racing had started to feel like a chore rather than fun, and the responsibilities related to being a part of the ever expanding Z2 Racing team had added to the overwhelming feeling I was already suffering from. Z2 has been very, very good to me over the last five years; first teaching me how to ride on the track at their novice school, then coaching me through the New Racers School, and mentoring me as a racer to help me get faster and accomplish my goals. The Z2 Race Team was an extension of that on-going support and all of us involved learned a great deal and benefitted from the experience. There are a lot of upsides to being on a team, but there are challenges with it too, and it was time for Jason and I to go back to our own program and see if we could find the “FUN” in racing again. We parted ways with the Z2 team, but we parted as friends and still cheer each other on from the sidelines.

So this weekend, we introduced Ritz Racing, for those of you who haven’t figured it out or asked yet… LauRITZen. With a new, lively, florescent red accent color on our otherwise black and white bikes we rolled to Thill and set up our pit to the same level of professionalism we are accustomed to.

On Saturday morning as I headed out for my practice sessions, I just was not “feeling it.” I guess everyone has their up days and their down days and this was just not my weekend. My practice times were sub-par and I was trying to find a way to get my groove on.

Formula AFemme combined with the CSC Femme class had a nice turn-out, with 14 girls gridding up. My race was mostly unremarkable, but I will remark on it anyway… I got a crappy start going from 2nd on the grid back to 7th, I then proceeded to run lap times at a track day pace but managed to pick up a few positions. Soon I spotted that I was gaining ground on Shelina and found a little more motivation to get going. I made my way past her on lap 4, we went back and forth a few times but I eventually got the pass, combined with the drive that gave me the gap I needed to secure 4th place.

Sunday I signed up only for one race, 600 Production. I still had not found my mo-jo and was struggling to get to pace in practice. I was a little nervous on the start with the memory of being cleaned at the last AFM Round while going into turn 2 and I was overly cautious, which set me back drastically. I ended up at the back of the field, in the middle of a five bike battle, with the ability to run a faster lap, but the inability to get a clean pass on the bikes in front of me that were dicing like two hamsters in a ball together. I was working overtime setting up passes, but never able to work my way in front of the person in the front of our pack. Just as I would work my way up and start setting up a pass to get in front, one of the other bikes in the group would pass me back and then be stalled in the same position attempting to find a clean pass to the front.

And so it went on until Lap 7, when the race leaders had caught up to our little pack battle for “not last place.” Joey Pascarella and Lenny Hale came by while we were on the front straight. At this moment, I was in 3rd position of my 5 bike group and we were all fairly close together. I knew more race leaders would be coming through soon, it has been awhile since I have been lapped, but again, this was not my weekend. I was exiting Turn 2 on the normal line, when Berto, in 3rd place, squared the corner and passed me on my right side, mid-way between turn 2 and 3. I held my line a few feet off the dirt on the right, leaving just enough room if another front runner was following Berto. As we approached turn 3, Berto continued around the outside of the two bikes in front of me. I turned in on line and as I was just about to apex, I saw the front wheel in my peripheral vision. My knee scrapped the top of the curbing at the same moment that the other bike hit my swingarm. I was still riding my bike up the hill toward Turn 3A, though it was wobbly and felt as though we were dragging something. I tried to look down, but my bike demanded my attention as it wobbled toward the end of the pavement. I had slowed enough as I reached the top of the hill that I made the right hand turn to stay on track, which freed whatever was dragging. My arm flew up into the air as I collected myself and stayed off line. I gave up on chasing after the pack I had been riding with and as I reached turn 7 I saw the red flag was out. It turned out that my former teammate, Cameron Gish, was mad at me for leaving the team, and more so for not taking Kyle Schirrmacher with me when I left. So he hit me. Just kidding, Cam was racing for his first podium in the AFM and was pushing very hard, these things happen. I was very relieved to find out that Cam was ok and would make it back on grid later that day.

Formula AFemme/Formula Femme – 4th of 14 (Best Lap 1:54.207)
600 Production – 35th of 40 (Best Lap 1:56.832)

2011 AFM Round 3 and AMA Infineon

AFM Round 3

May 7/8 — Infineon Raceway–Sonoma, CA

Formula AFemme – 3rd of 11 (Best Lap 1:55.988)
600 Production – 36th of 44
600 Superbike – 30th of 40 (Best Lap 1:54.950)

AFM Round 3 was upon us before we knew it, we had a 2 week break following the CSC/WERA round, but we decided to fill that void by attending a Z2 Track day at Infineon on May 2nd. I used that track day to get used to the shiny new toy I had added to my bike, a suspension set-up from David Behrend at Fast Bike Industries. He hooked me up with Ohlin’s internals kit in my forks and a brand new Ohlin’s shock. I’ve been riding the stock R6 suspension since I got the bike, the stock stuff works great and I haven’t had a problem with it, but the Ohlin’s provides more adjustability allowing you to really get that bike dialed in to what makes you comfortable. It also means, more knobs to fiddle with and an opportunity to really screw things up. LOL! In fact, I was so nervous about getting the bike out of whack that I spent the entire day fiddling with my front pre-load and never even touched any of the other dials. I talked it over with Jason at the end of the day and we realized I might just be a bit nervous about, or even “resistant” to, change. I like what I know and comfort is everything when you are racing a motorcycle. We put together a plan for AFM Saturday practice to help me get more familiar with my new set-up.

 Practice went by very quickly and I was struggling with getting up to my pace. I was not confident with my bike and I couldn’t resist looking at my lap times which only made matters worse. Before I knew it we were gridding up for Formula AFemme, Joy was not racing this round so I found myself in the 2nd box on the front row with Cooley on my left and Bess on my right. I got a killer launch off the line (YES!) and was side by side with Cooley into Turn 1. She pulled in front of me as we rounded the bend to turn 2 and I followed her to the carousel. Christie goes into the carousel with an awesome, careless amount of speed, letting the bike wiggle under her as she crests the hill, blind into the downhill sweeping turn. With my lack of confidence that day and her impressive abandonment of caution, she pulled a gap that left me in despair. I tried for a moment to hold on and run at pace with her, but little mistakes here and there left me alone in 2nd position. As I passed my mechanic giving me signals on the wall, I saw I had a decent gap back to 3rd and I settled into a comfortable lap time. I should have checked the grid sheet deeper than finding my own starting spot that day to see who else would be on the grid, because I was caught with my pants down when Shelina Moreda made a pass on me. I picked my jaw up off the tank and jumped in behind Shelina, but it was too little too late and she took the checkers in 2nd leaving me disappointed with a 3rd place podium spot. I never dreamed that I could be disappointed with a podium, but the thought that I had taken my position for granted and basically gave it away left me angry and disappointed in myself.

AMA Infineon Raceway

AMA SuperSport – May 13/14/15 — Infineon Raceway–Sonoma, CA

Friday Practice – Best Lap 1:55.857
Saturday Qualifying – Best Lap 1:53.540
Sunday Qualifying – Best Lap 1:57.314

Three days later we were back at Infineon. The paddock and track so familiar, yet an entirely new scene and vibe, with the big, factory team haulers lining the row in front of the garages where we normally park and the factory support teams taking the second row. Jason, Greg and I found a nice pit area mid-way back near many other privateer teams and individuals. Here I was… how did I get here? All signed up and ready to go out for my first professional race event.

“That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”
- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Skyler Vickroy, Nikki Nienow and Kyle Schirrmacher volunteered their services as our pro crew and they proved to be the most excellent help; providing the mechanical support to perform multiple tire changes and suspension adjustments, providing general labor in putting up and taking down our pit row set-up and, perhaps most importantly, providing a constant source of support and maintaining a sense of sanity as we racers struggled with the challenges of new tires, new fuel and unfamiliar procedures.

Friday afternoon, after getting though tech inspection and a riders meeting, we were out on track for our first practice session. I put in my first laps (ever) on the AMA spec. Dunlops, feeling them out at first then picking up my pace as I started to understand the tires. I came out of the carousel and picked up to full throttle, accelerating toward turn 7, shifting up to 5th gear as I moved from the right of the track to the left. As I crossed the pavement seam mid-track, my bike objected sternly, bars swapping from right lock to left lock jerking and bucking as I held on, my left foot flailing off the peg, I was able to toe hook under the peg and somehow rode out my mechanical steed. I found the outside line into Turn 7 and went to applying the brakes to make the turn in. The lever pulled straight to the bar with no resistance and no stopping power, CRAP, my brake pads had slapped out. I’ve heard stories from my friends and teammates about this, but it had never happened to me before. I stood the bike up and headed into the large drift pad area behind turn 7, thankful that there was plenty of run-off area as I applied the rear brake and pumped the front brakes until they had feel again. Back in the hot pit area, we made some adjustments to address the light front end and completed the practice session without any additional incidents.

The first qualifying session was Saturday afternoon, the track temperatures were good and the weather mild, except for a bit windy. Usually at Infineon, the wind blows to the south so you can brake a little later against the head wind into turn 7, and you need to brake a little earlier in turn 9 with the wind at your back. Today, it was backwards. I overshot turns 4 and 7 repeatedly, and was off the brakes far too early in turns 9 and 11 as I tried to get used to the atypical wind pattern. An impatient Skyler was on the pit wall letting me know that I need to get this figured out and get my lap times down if I hoped to qualify. About ½ way through the session, Skyler came out with a pit board on the front straight to let me know what my times were. This gave me the motivation to get going and pick up the pace, lap after lap I went faster until the time ran out. My best lap time a 1:53.540 would be close for making the cut depending on how fast the fastest racer went… Turns out Benny Solis would pull a 1:42.413 and 110% of that time made the cut off time 1:52.654. I was less than a second from meeting my goal, but in this business a second may seem close, but it really can feel so far away. I would have to improve in Qualifying 2 in the morning or I was out.

Sunday morning the SuperSport qualifying was the first session on the track, the thick, heavy fog, had rolled into the Sonoma Valley overnight and hadn’t quite decided to lift and move out. The track was cold and wet for Q2. Everyone was a little slower on track this morning than yesterday, yet somehow I had to get it in my head that I could go faster… Knowing that the front runners could go 10 seconds faster than me in the dry, and they were only 1-2 seconds slower this morning meant that there is no reason related to traction that I can’t go faster. I just needed to be smart about applying the throttle and confident in my bike and my ability. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get beyond the mental edge and beat my time from yesterday. I was out.

I missed my goal to qualify and I was bummed, but I had known it wasn’t going to be easy. I took away some great positives from the weekend in my ability to adapt to the new tires, dial in my suspension and turn lap times near my personal best under a qualifying scenario. No doubt this event would help me to become a better rider and learn to push myself to overcome the challenges we often face as racers. I can’t wait to give it another try at the AMA round coming up later this month at Miller Motorsports Park. But until then…

The rest of the weekend I spent helping Nikki crew for my husband as Skyler jumped over to provide additional support for Greg. Jason had an awesome weekend, with help from the hottest crew in the pits, if I do say so myself, (Hahaha!) he qualified inside the top 10, but with an AMA rule that says you can’t ride at the track within 30 days of the AMA race (and we couldn’t miss the AFM race) he was given a gird penalty and put near the back in grid spot 22. Nevertheless, with a good start and some impressive passes Jason still finished 10th in Race 1 and 6th in Race 2, pretty impressive in his Pro AMA debut.

A few days later, we were given a copy of the Speed 2 broadcast of the SuperSport Race 1.  As Jason made an inside pass into turn 7 picking up 3 positions he was given some air time from the commentators…
Ralph Shaheen, “Whoa, up the inside comes the 110 machine, Lauritzen”
Scott Russell, “Where’d he come from?”
Ralph Shaheen, “Sacramento, actually. His wife, Jennifer Lauritzen, was entered into this competition as well. Husband and wife, battling here in this SuperSport class this weekend. He made the field but it doesn’t look like his wife was able to sneak in. His wife actually convinced him to go racing, he gave her a ride on his street bike and she didn’t like riding on back so he bought her a sport bike and a few track days and she wanted to go racing.”
Scott Russell, “Yeah man, that’s cool, you got a girl that wants to ride, wants to race, she’s a keeper.”

2011 AFM Round 2 and WERA/CSC Round 1

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

The months of April and May and June and July have come to pass with great haste. My racing/riding schedule for the last few months looked like this;

April 16/17 – AFM Round 2 @ Infineon
April 23/24 – CSC Round 1 w/ WERA @ Buttonwillow
May 2 – Z2 Track day @ Infineon
May 7/8 – AFM Round 3 @ Infineon
May 13, 14, 15 – AMA Races @ Infineon
May 27, 28, 29, 30 AMA Races w/ WSBK @ Miller
June 4/5 – AFM Round 4 @ Thunderhill
July 9/10 – AFM Round 5 @ Infineon
July 22, 23, 24 – AMA Races w/ MotoGP @ Laguna

Crazy, right? My schedule was packed with racing action thru April and May and I just wasn’t able to find the time to sit down and complete my race reports. The couple of weekends we had off in this time period, we spent prepping the bikes for the next round and trying to take care of a few things on the home “To Do” list. To top of the craziness, I kicked off a new construction project at work and spent a few hours of my “off racing” weekends and several more late nights at the office trying to get the ball rolling so I could afford to leave early on Fridays and take the necessary days off to make my racing schedule work. Then when I got to a break from the racing, (mid-June) I spent some time quality time with my husband and friends cycling, kayaking, rock climbing and enjoying my days. I had my race report notes written up, but sitting down to write my complete story took a back seat to other activities in my life.

Alas, hear it is, my story of “Living the Dream” like Nicky Hayden, over the last few months of racing.

Goals & Expectations

We left Round 1 at Buttonwillow Raceway early on Sunday afternoon, I was actually looking forward to getting home from the long, 6-hour drive before the sun set. Despite the sheeting rain, that forced the AFM to call the Round 1 weekend over after completing only about half the races on Saturday, I was happy, I had achieved a personal goal at Buttonwillow and left with a feeling of optimism towards the rest of this season.

“Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations.” – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

I have never been one to wait around for “just the right time” or “just the right situation” to do something I have set my sights on. After attending only two, consecutive Z2 Track day weekends, I knew I wanted to race. I bought my race prepped SV650 and signed up for the very next New Racers School that Z2 had on their schedule. It was in November, still a few months away, so I had time to get up to A-group pace. Some would say that you should ride years, or a least longer than a few months, on the track before you go racing. I say, “I could die tomorrow, if I am safe and fast enough to pass the NRS, why shouldn’t I go for it?” My first race weekend goal was simply to achieve the required times in my Saturday Clubman race so that I could grid up for the Sunday races. Now, in my 4th season of racing with the AFM, I have set my sights on a couple of new goals; winning the AFM Formula AFemme Championship and qualifying for an AMA Pro SuperSport race.

These are big goals!!! I knew that achieving them wasn’t going to be easy.

Joy Higa had announced that she was retiring from racing, but that doesn’t make my goal for winning the AFemme Championship any easier this year. Christie Cooley is consistently faster than me and she works hard to make sure she stays that way, there are always the wildcard girls racers that may show up from other clubs and give me a run for my money and there are the new female racers like Nikki Nienow and Sara Probert who are getting quicker each time they grid up.

My goal of qualifying for an AMA SuperSport race is even bigger. I will need to learn to adapt to new tires, since the AMA has a Dunlop spec tire. I have been faithful to my CT Racing/Pirelli tires since I started using them on my SV in my first season. I will have to at least match, if not improve on my Infineon best lap time of 1:52.2. And…I will have to do these things in a new environment with the AMA running the show, in a qualifying session, not a race, on track with racers that I have idolized over the years. This is like trying to do your best lap time ever… in practice, without that extra motivation of trying to beat someone to the checkers, without the added race adrenaline that helps you brake a little deeper or roll on the throttle a little sooner. Yep, it is going to be tough. Some say, I should wait to sign up for the AMA’s, until I am consistently fast enough to qualify. They argue that it is a lot of money to spend to “try to qualify.” I say, “I could die tomorrow, and if I wait until I am fast enough that I already know I can make the qualifying time, then where is the fun in that?”

You see, I believe that there is an important difference between a goal and an expectation. A goal is something that is currently just out of your reach; it would be difficult, yet extremely rewarding to achieve a goal. When you achieve a goal, you should be Over-the-Moon happy… I literally expect to see you try to jump over the moon. An expectation is something that is within your reach, it may still be difficult, but you’ve been there before. If you’ve consistently hit those lap times that make the qualifying cut off for AMA SuperSport and you sign up with the plan to qualify, then that is an expectation, you would be more bummed if you didn’t make the cut off than excited if you did. That is the difference, and it is an important difference to me when I decide if something is worth the money, the time or the effort.

AFM Round 2

April 16/17 — Infineon Raceway–Sonoma, CA

Formula AFemme – 3rd of 12 (Best Lap 1:56.157)
600 Production – 28th of 43 (Best Lap 1:52.260)
600 Superbike – DNF

Starting off on Saturday, I struggled through practice to find my pace. I was anxious about the Formula AFemme race in the afternoon and found myself over-riding the bike and working far too hard. I really wanted to get a good start to the season and see if I had anything for Joy Higa (already out of her short-lived retirement, now aboard a Ducati) and Cooley, who have consistently been the top two in AFemme since its inception 3 years ago. This will be my first full season in the class on a competitive bike and I am looking to make a run for the championship. Unfortunately, things did not go my way, with a bad start off the front row I went back to 6th position. I got back up to 4th in the first couple of corners, but found myself fighting for the pass on Bess Keigwin through the carousel, and she did not shy away from the throttle on the exit. I made the pass on the brakes entering Turn 7, but by then Higa and Cooley had checked out. I rode a lonely race in 3rd position. I was pleased with my ability to recover from the bad start and put it on the podium, but I will be looking to improve on that start launch.

My Sunday Races 600SB and 600Prod, weren’t on the schedule until after lunch. After a long morning of waiting to ride, I gridded up on the 7th row of 600SB, with still several rows of bikes behind me. Again, my launch off the line could use some work, but I found an opening on the inside as we entered turn 1, good to pick up a few of the spots I had lost on the launch. As I pushed through the opening on the approach to Turn 2, another rider came all the way across the track looking for a wide entry into 2 and cleaned out my front wheel sending me high side into the track. My Soumy helmet saved my bacon as I hit my head hard on the asphalt, I lifted my up my head to realize I was sliding on my belly across the track looking down the hill into oncoming traffic. Thankfully, the skilled racers managed to avoid me and my motorcycle as we crossed the full width of the track into the dirt. I picked myself up, hit the kill switch on my bike which had not yet given up and walked up the hill to the turn workers booth. I got to the booth just in time to see the field as they came around starting the 2nd lap. I had a great vantage point to cheer on my husband, Jason and our Z2 Racing teammates Greg McCullough and Cameron Gish.

I regrouped for the 600Prod race, which was at the end of the day. My race mechanic, Danny Harrison, prepped the back-up bike as we waited for the crash truck to roll in with my A-bike (named Hasi, after WSBK racer Leon Haslam.) Upon inspection, the damage to Hasi was minimal and the Z2 team jumped in to get her race ready. I gridded up on the 5th row of 600 Prod and followed Cooley and Ricky Ford through the start until turn 7, where they pulled a gap. I led the next wave of riders for a few laps as I battled to stay at the front of the pack, ultimately dropping back one position, yet I managed to improve my personal best lap time at Infineon during that race, after a struggle all weekend to get there, getting down to a low 1:52. This was on the right track to meeting my AMA goal and I was pleased with my weekend.

WERA/CSC Round 1

April 23/24 — Buttonwillow Raceway–Buttonwillow, CA

Women Superstock Expert/Formula Femme – 3rd of 7 (Best Lap 2:02.092)
C Superbike Expert – 16th of 21 (Best Lap 2:05.694)
MW Solo Expert – 14th of 22 (Best Lap 2:03.720)

The California State Championship (CSC) first round was held in conjunction with WERA at Buttonwillow the following weekend. I spent the week focusing my energy on how to get better starts, riding my street bike to work a couple of times (surface streets, 3 miles from home) using every stop sign as an opportunity to practice. If I want to meet my AFemme season goal, fixing my launch problems will be key.
As I told in my first round race report, Buttonwillow is a difficult track for me. Despite all the arguments and struggles I have had with her, I am not willing to give up on her. I talked to Coach Ken, KHCoaching, as I was preparing for the weekend and he sent me an article about athletes who strive for perfection.

“The irony is this: Perfectionists have a lot of great traits. They
are often passionate, highly motivated, and work really hard in
practice. They show up when they’re supposed to show up. They are
often a coach’s dream.

However, one Achilles Heel is their expectations. They expect too
much of themselves. They tell themselves, “I’m going to be the top
scorer in this game.” When they don’t achieve their high goals,
they get frustrated and often lose confidence.”

We came up with a test for me that weekend; I would not run any lap timers, nor look at the lap times posted on the window, I would not review video or discuss strategy with my team. I would not worry about who was passing me. I would simply, “not worry” I would just go out and ride. I focused on nothing but the mechanics of riding that Ken has taught me and I had the best Buttonwillow weekend yet.

“Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule.”
– Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

I gridded up for the CSC Formula Femme and was on the 3rd row with no points in WERA. Off the line I got a terrible launch (hmmm, still more work to do here) and settled into 5th. I was directly behind Nadine, with Marisol in 3rd and Krystyna Kubran and Christie Cooley battling it out for the front. Nadine and I had a bit of swapping back and forth with me eventually getting the pass made and I set my sights on getting by Marisol. She was a tough cookie to pass; I worked on setting up the corners for maximum drive to try to overtake her on acceleration, but with her lighter weight and good exits herself I couldn’t get the drive on her. I was faster than her on corner entry so I went to attempting a pass on the brakes, but she has an unladylike, yet effective method of shutting the door on you when you go for an inside pass. After several attempts of going inside her on the brakes and having her come across my front wheel with loads of corner speed, I decided that maneuver was too risky, I would need more room, this went on for a several laps until on the last lap, I finally had enough space and drive into Lost Hills to make a clean pass that she couldn’t block me on. I crossed the checkers to look back and see that Marisol didn’t make it through that last turn onto the front straight and crashed out. I finished 3rd and grabbed a trophy spot and Nadine followed me across the line in 4th. I later found out she had latched onto me and turned her best lap times there (Great Job Nadine!) When she told me her lap time I realized I must have improved my own personal lap times at Buttonwillow. After checking the results, I found I had improved my best lap time by a full 4 seconds. I was Over-the-Moon. Have I mentioned how great Ken Hill is?

To be continued….

2011 AFM Round 1 – ButtonWillow Raceway March 19/20

If you want something in life, reach out and grab it.

Here I sit to write my race report for AFM Round 1 at Buttonwillow and find myself at a loss for words… all I want to talk about, or even think about, right now is my plan for the rest of the season. Buttonwillow is in the past, and I am ready to move forward to tomorrow, or well, actually forward to Round 2.

Ken Hill has coached me well over the last couple of years and one of the most important things he emphasizes is having a plan each time you go out on track. I had my plan for that first race weekend at Buttonwillow; I knew what I was going to work on during Friday practice. I knew how I was going to approach Saturday morning practice and most importantly, I had a plan for racing Formula AFemme Saturday afternoon, as well as distinctly different plans for my 600 races on Sunday. I was prepared.

Looking thru Turn 2

Now some of you may know that Buttonwillow is not my best track, this is not because I don’t like the track, in fact I think BW is a fun track to ride. I don’t “usually” have a hard time learning new tracks and getting up to speed quickly, so I don’t think it is a result of not having enough time there. BW is just complex, like a woman. I feel like I should bring her flowers and candy next time I visit and maybe then I will “get some.” Ha-ha. Slowly though, I am starting to figure her out. And Friday, I had one of the best days I have ever had at Buttonwillow.  I was able to match and then improve upon my best lap time there in the early sessions on Friday and then…

“Just remember when you should grab something, grab it, when you should let go, let go.”

Entering the sweeper I took my usual inside line. Oscar took an outside line and began to pass me on the outside near the apex. His wide line in meant he would hold a tight line on the exit, my tight line in meant I would push wide on the exit, I spotted him in my peripheral vision and realized we were going to bump… this is just at the point where I fully release the brake lever, but I still had it covered with my fingers and as I looked to my left at Oscar, I made the mistake of applying pressure to the brake lever… it doesn’t take much. I remember every detail like it happened in slow motion; a gentle tap on the brakes, the bars twisting tight to the right as my front end lost the contact with the asphalt, my knee, hip and elbow smacking down, the bike back spinning away from Oscar and into the dirt, the tumbling, keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. And then it was over. I picked myself up and waited for my practice session to end. A big “Thank You” to the turn workers for keeping me safe out there and getting me and my bike back to the pits. I assessed the damage and it was minimal, but thanks to Jason, and Leo Vince for getting us a pipe so quickly, we had “Bessie” the back-up bike ready to go. Rather than miss the end of the track day putting my bike back together I rode Bessie for the rest of the day and despite her lack of set-up time I continued to put down consistent laps matching my best pace there.

Saturday was a new day and with the rising sun came my rising nerves. Right out of the gate with morning practice I was off my pace. I stuck to working on my plan for the day, trying to ignore my lap times being posted on the window I reminded myself that to go faster sometimes we must go slower. I was trying some new things and need not stress about the overall times. I was sure when it was time to grid up for Formula AFemme everything would be fine. Then the announcement came… the weather forecast for Sunday was looking bad, and the AFM made the decision to run the classes with the largest sign-ups for Sunday on Saturday afternoon. This would give the most people an opportunity to race and help out the AFM budget significantly. It was a great decision and I applaude the AFM for making it happen. It just meant I would now be gridding up for 600 Superbike on Saturday afternoon, instead of Formula AFemme. With no points in 600SB from last year, I was gridded just 2 rows up from the back. I got a great jump off the line and went forward a row, maybe 2 as we entered into Turn 1. Between the entry to turn 1 and the exit of turn 2 I felt like I had been thrown into a washing machine, with bikes brushing me left and right as they charged on, no mercy. Somehow, thru it all, I found myself on the best line for a good drive out of 2 onto the straight, as I picked up the throttle, another bike came across my front wheel, from outside of the sweeper to the inside of the straight, “WTH?” I was forced to roll off and lost my drive and contact with the group I knew I should have been battling with. Regardless, I finished the race weekend in one piece, which we all know is a challenge at Round 1, and picked up some points and some valuable lessons heading into round 2.

“Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself… ‘How did I get through all of that?”

I feel fortunate to have so many people and companies supporting me and Z2 Racing this year. Please remember to support those who support racers; Z2 Track Days, CT Racing, LeoVince, Yamalube, Factory Body Works, RaceImage Graphics, Fast Bike Industries, Motion Pro, CRG, GP Frame and Wheel, Roseville Yamaha, TechSpec, Suomy, Sidi, PitBull, Ink Monkey and of course, KH Coaching and Vanderkitten.

For more information on what these companies can do for you and how to contact them, check out my Feed the Habit page.

Cheers to the new AFM President, Chris VanAndel.

2010 AFM Round 7 – Thunderhill Raceway October 2/3

Season Finale

If you think you are beaten…you are!
If you think you dare not…you don’t!
If you like to win, but think you can’t, it’s almost certain you won’t.
If you think you will lose, you’ve lost.
For out in the world you find…success begins with the knowledge that it is all in your state of mind!

The season of 2010… my 4th year of racing and I decided at the beginning of the season that it is time for me to start pushing my limits and seeing some results. But HOW? What can I do? What can I change to go faster? What is the “Secret of Speed?”

My 2010 season started late, compared to most. In February, one week after being released from my doctor to start riding again, I was on the bike and spending a day with Ken Hill. “Back to the basics,” he told me again and again as we worked on what seemed like novice skills. I had been off the bike for 8 months and needed to reset my basic habits in order to build from a solid platform. I set some goals at the beginning of the year, knowing that I needed goals and a plan to track my improvements and measure my success. The goals I chose seemed SMART at the time I set them; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-oriented. I wrote these goals with the intention that I would race the SV650 for the full season, with a final goal of transitioning to the R6 next year.

1. Achieve (at least one) top 10 finish in 650 classes by mid-season.
2. Finish top 15 in 650 Twins and F4, season overall.
3. Podium in Formula AFemme
4. Finish Top 3 in CSC Femme class, season overall
5. Build my skill set and improve my lap times to transition to the 600 class in 2011.

I broke each of these goals down further with mini-goals in order to track my performance as the season progressed. Knowing this and if you’ve followed my race reports through the early part of the season, you may further understand the dilemma I found myself in going into Round 3…
“Over the course of the weekend, many people asked me why I decided to change bikes. This was not an easy decision, I love racing the SV, the bike and the classes are so much fun… but honestly I was struggling with my goals and I had to face the fact that I was not in the same position I was last year before my crash. I am physically weaker, despite all the rehab and working out, my shoulder is severely damaged and 6 months of rehab does not have me at 100%. My bike was put back together after the crash with the best components and any extras I could add to make me more comfortable and more competitive, but the fact is… my suspension settings were gone. At round 2, I started the journey of learning about suspension and getting Nikka handling the way I want, but the process was going to take more time. I had set some pretty big goals for the season and after the first two AFM rounds and the CSC round it was clear to me that I was going to need to go back to the drawing board and revise my plan and my goals. Believe me, this was a tough pill to swallow, it almost feels like giving up. I talked it over at length with each person on my team and even made a call to “Coach Ken” for a different perspective. He helped me work out some of the specifics of my new plan. With just over 2 weeks before round 3, I decided to make the change.”

Photo by Craig Sanders.

As painful and frustrating as those first 3 race weekends were, they forced me to take a fresh look at my riding skills, my understanding of my bike, and my ability to set goals yet keep an open mind. I re-evaluated my goals and developed a new plan for the remainder of the season centered around learning to ride the 600 and go faster but with less risk.

Sometimes a breakdown can be the beginning of a breakthrough. If I had to pick one word to describe my AFM Round 7 weekend, Breakthrough would be it.
What was so special about Round 7, you may wonder. Well, for starters, I improved my personal best lap time at Thunderhill Raceway by 3 seconds this round. 3 SECONDS! 2:01! But beyond that I finally found out the secret, or so it seems.

At the end of Saturday morning practice I was on cloud 9. My practice sessions were on pace turning lap times within a second of my personal best lap time. The strategy that Coach Ken helped me develop for getting to race pace during practice worked. Looking at my practice plan, then looking at my practice lap times you could see the correlation, as each lap I came around was at a faster pace than the previous lap.

I had confidence as I pulled up to the chalked 3 on the front row, Christie and Zoe to my left, and Bess to my right. My plan was simple, get the holeshot… then ride! Ride the way I know how to ride, remember the basics. I had butterflies in my stomach like I was a teenage girl about to experience my first kiss. The feeling is familiar, it has been there EVERYTIME I’ve pull onto the grid for the last 4 years. But… once I snap my visor closed, it’s time to race.

My jump off the line was well executed, but I missed the timing of that important shift into 2nd gear, and lost momentum. Bess pulls up next to me on the outside, I pin it and feel the Yamaha R6 superpower, as I launch up behind Zoe as we Apex T1. Single file, tip to tail, through T2, Christie, Zoe and me. We fly this formation all the way to T6 where Christie manages an excellent drive out of the corner and starts a breakaway. I’ve got a good drive too. I look for a way to squeeze between Zoe and the dirt on the exit of T6, but without dirt-biking it there is not room. I drop in behind Zoe sporting those bright pink leathers and wonder if she chose them intentionally to serve as a distraction to those who approached for a pass. *wink* We approach T9 and I move inside to go for a pass, but I don’t have the line, she won’t see me and we all know how that would end. Down to T10, I am close, but not close enough to get the pass. I am on Zoe’s rear wheel for the rest of the lap, and the next lap, and the next one…. I was having fun, I was comfortable, I felt like I could go faster, I just needed to make the pass. Zoe’s a smart racer, she had moved into a more defensive line blocking me from an inside pass by setting up narrow for the corners but then moving out to block the fast outside line just before we turned in. It was effective, as I could not find a way by. Finally on the last lap, as we approached T5, I saw my opportunity. We were closing fast on a group of 4 Clubman racers battling for position in their class, I thought about how I could use these passes to my advantage. We came down out of 5, Zoe chose the inside line through the right sweeping 5A with the Clubmen scattered in front of us.

Photo by Kris Nicolai

I choose an outside line through 5A, setting up wide, for a longer straight drive to 6, hoping to steal the inside line and push the clubman wide to block Zoe. I pass Zoe as we approach T6 on the brakes. There is one clubman left in front of each of us, but I feel I have the advantage as I have set up the left corner to hold a tight line on the exit. The race line through T6 will carry you wide to the right exit curbing as you accelerate out of the corner. The clubman in front of me should be on the gas and moving to the right as he accelerates off the corner, which will put him in front of Zoe and open up the inside for me to pass him…. But he holds the corner too long… I’m screaming in my helmet, “Get on the gas! Drive! Go! Go! Go!” But apparently he can’t hear me and I squirt to his right just as Zoe pulls next to me we hit the exit apex of T6 side by side. Zoe has the drive out of 6 and pulled ahead of me into 7…I stay on her rear wheel, but unable to find another opportunity for a pass I am forced to settle for 3rd. Wait… what? Did you say 3rd? Yep. I got podium in Formula Afemme. My second podium in class this year, then I saw my lap times and discovered my 3 second improvement, 2:01.6! Woot! I was over the moon with my day!

It has now been a full month since that race day and I am still aglow from my accomplishment, not only in that day, but with my season as a whole. A few friends have asked me how I have had success in improving my lap times. How I went faster this season without any crashes. How I was able to adapt to the R6 so quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m not a KFG, yet, but I have some pretty good ideas on how I will become one.

“All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs. So how do we change? The most effective way is to get your brain to associate pain to the old belief. You must feel deep in your gut that not only has this belief cost you pain in the past, but it’s costing you in the present and, ultimately, can only bring you more pain in the future. Then you must associate tremendous pleasure to the idea of adopting a new, empowering belief.”

So here you have my secrets… well, the glossy cover view at least.

Ken Hill Coaching – Ken said something to me early in the year that was so obvious and yet so overlooked in this sport, “All sports have coaches; basketball, football, gymnastics, even cyclists. Why is it that most road racers think they can learn this all on their own? In such a high risk sport, why don’t more racers seek out coaching.” He’s right I thought, I even had a coach when I showed horses, why wouldn’t I have a coach for road racing. Coaching is more than just finding a fast guy to tow you around at a track day. It means finding someone who can communicate with you, everyone has a different communication style and what works for me may not be what works for you. It means trusting what that person is telling you and being able and willing to change your ways, a willingness to make your breakthroughs. Thank you Ken for the coaching this season (and in the past,) your input has made a clear difference in my racing.

Z2 Racing – Our team, our crew, our track family. Z2 Racing is more that just setting up Yamaha canopies with Z2 banners and wearing matching team shirts. This is the support system that makes life at the races easier. Maybe it’s not necessary, I can pull my own warmers, change my own tires, fuel my own bike, etc. But other times; it is a life saver, when I have races close together and just want to grab a drink of water, knowing someone else will put my bike on the stands, put warmers on, check the fuel… all so I can have a rest. Or when I have an electrical problem that alone would cost me the weekend but with a team is a 10 (ok, maybe closer to 20) minute fix. Or when I have a bad practice session and I can’t seem to shake a bad mood. Those are the moments… when my team stepped up to help me and made me feel like a Rock Star, that I will cherish for a lifetime. Thank you to David, Shawn, Kathy. Thanks to Tom, Mikey, Kyle and Chris (and Danny who joined us at Round 7.) Thanks to Sam and Greg and my husband, Jason.

Photo by Kris Nicolai

Sponsors – It’s hard right now, in times of belt tightening and corporate downsizing to ask companies and people for their support. I am so grateful to all our sponsors for the parts, discounts and time so generously given which has made the difference for me to be able to afford racing. Thanks to Z2 Trackdays Staff, Yamaha, Vanderkitten, Pirelli /CT Racing, Yamalube Products, Motion Pro, Race Image Graphics, Leo Vince, Suomy, Factory Body Works , Igartua, 4TheRiders, Sidi, Tech Spec and CRG Levers. Also an extra special thanks to Craig Sanders for taking all our Z2 Team portraits this year. Remember to support those who support racers.

Photo by Craig Sanders

AFM Round 6 – Infineon Raceway July 31/Aug 1

Anything worth doing, is worth doing well.

This is a saying that I try to live by in my work, in my relationships and in my sports. I can’t understand how people do things half-way; why put in the time, money, and emotional investment if you are not going to give it your all?

I work as a construction project manager and have had the opportunity to work on some very cool projects with some very cool people, but, as with any career, my job has its highs and lows. A few years ago, I was working on a challenging project; long hours, a tight schedule, difficult job conditions… I was stressed, and as I sometimes do, questioning why I choose this career. At that time, I was also spending my “free time” as a mentor working with high school students interested in pursuing careers in Architecture, Construction and Engineering. One of our activities was a field trip at one of my projects where I explained how the different entities work together on the project and what it is I do as the Project Manager. I will never forget what one of the students said to me, “Jennifer, you really like your job don’t you? I’ve never heard anyone talk so passionately about construction.” Ha ha!

Passion – Yes! That’s it! – A compelling, intense feeling or emotion; love, ardent affection; amorous desire; lust; violent agitation of the mind; violent anger; zeal; ardor; an avid desire; as, a passion for fame; a display of deep feeling; as, a passion of tears; a pursuit to which one is devoted; the subject of an engrowing pursuit.
Passion, it is the force that drives people to do their best.

AFM Round 6 fell on the same weekend as the 6th anniversary of being married to my wonderful husband Jason. I had posted a Facebook status prior to the weekend commenting on the fact that it was our anniversary and we were choosing to spend it at the races, together doing what we love. Several people, having seen my FB status, were kind enough to stop by our pits and congratulate us. Thank you all for that! Jason has told me that a few guys have commented to him that he is lucky to have a wife (yeah, me) that not only understands racing and supports his pursuit of speed, but also enjoys racing herself. What is the secret to our marital bliss? Let’s get real for a minute… it takes work, and we have our spats. In fact, we had one that weekend as Jason told me where to go when I tried to tell him how unload the trailer better. LOL! But we kiss and we make up, and we move on without grudges, we are best friends who enjoy each others company more than we enjoy racing. If we had to quit, or if we decide to quit, we will just move on to the next thing together, I know this because we have done it. In the last 12 years we have pursued rock climbing, snowboarding, motocross, kite-boarding (well, we sucked at that), kayaking and now we are adding cycling to the mix. You see, the bond that holds us together is our shared thought on how life is meant to be lived…with passion.

Oh… were you here for a race report? Well, let’s get started. 3 board, 2 board, 1 board, Siiiiiidewaaays… green flag!!! And the ladies are off… charging into Turn 1 like a pack of cougars hunting a 21 year old boy, we sprint up the hill and sweep through turn 2.

I am third exiting T2 and again find myself trying to hold onto Joy and Christie just a little bit longer in hopes of learning something new. The Formula Afemme grid boasts 13 participants this round; filled with some, but not all, of the AFM regulars, along with Jenny Besaw from the Northwest and Krystyna Kubran (KK), Nadine Lajoie, and Marisol Lacour up from SoCal pursuing bragging rights in the CA State Championship. As we crest the hill leading into the Carousel Zoe comes in fast and sweeps around me on the outside relegating me to 4th place. I follow her up to and through T7 and then she pulls away from me in the Esses. Heading down into T9, I hear the roar of the Yamaha R1 piloted by Miss KK, closing in on me. I hold a tight line and remind myself to run my own race.

KK stays tight to my rear wheel and I pull onto the front straight to see my husband there giving me signals… his hands closed together tell me I have no room for error. In lap 3, I blow the apex of T7 after coming in too late on the brakes, KK takes advantage of my lapse of focus and makes a pass on me into T9, taking 4th from me. I fight back, thinking of a little something Ken Hill taught me about T5 and T6, I am able to pass her on the gas between Turn 5 and the entrance to the Carousel. The next 5 laps seem to last forever, each time I pass Jason on the front straight his hands are closed together and I giggle in my helmet knowing Krystyna is as determined to get by me as I am not to give up this spot. I cross the checkers two tenths in front of Miss KK, finishing fourth with a best lap of 1:53.740, improving my personal best lap time for this track, by a full second. This was a fun race taking the battle to the end!
To make the day even more special, Christie Cooley arranged a group photo for the lady racers in winners circle at the end of the day. We all celebrated our little victories by popping bottles of champagne and spraying each other in celebration of the growth and success of the Formula Afemme class. I must admit I was a little bummed my new Spidi leathers now had champagne all over them.

I wake up Sunday ready to continue my flow of continuous improvement accomplished since I started racing the R6, however, I am signed up for Race 5 – 750 Production and Race 10 – 600 Production, which means no racing for me until after lunch. I watch the morning races and wait impatiently for my turn.

750 Production is up right after the lunch break. I am gridded near the back in position 29. I get off the line with a decent start and at the end of the first lap shuffle I end up 25th as we cross the start/finish line, I am in the middle of a pretty decent pack of guys battling for positions 23-28. I hold my position for another full lap, but over the next few laps things are mixing up in our group, Sam Richards picked his way through from a 28th place start and eventually made his way up past me in the Carousel on Lap 3.

On lap 4, Bobby McCourt found his way past me pushing me back another position to 27th. Both Sam and Bobby then found there way up past Gustavo Arriaza, leaving me in a Gustavo sandwich with Arriaza in front of me and Gustavo Gama coming up behind. I had Arriaza in my sights, using him as a carrot to pick up my pace, but a yellow flag was out on Lap 5 as Brian Stone crashed out of 4th place… another yellow flag on Lap 6 as Kevin Nekimken crashed out of 3rd place. On Lap 7, I was alone heading up the back straight to Turn 7 when out came the red flag, I was the first one there and came to a stop. The guys behind me rolled in one by one and soon Lenny Hale, our race leader pulled up, followed by Neil and Jamie and several of the other front runners, but where was Jason? Usually he is in the top 5, with still no sight of him as they released us to head back to the pits I was still hoping he had just stopped for the Red Flag on the front straight. As I made my way off the track, I glance to the right to see a bike against the concrete wall at the entrance to the front straight, it was under the air fence and I couldn’t tell if it was Jason’s. The downed rider was surrounded by the medics so I couldn’t see who it was. I made my way back to our pit nervous that the crew was going to tell me it was Jason down, but then I see his bike in the garage and it looked fine from the side I approached from… relief started to wave over me, then was crushed as Kyle took my bike from me and told me they were working on getting Jason into the Ambulance.

I made my way down to the wall and was happy to find that Jason was a little bruised and possibly had a broken ankle but mostly he was just disappointed in having crashed out of 2nd place. Must been something in the air that day as 4th to 2nd place all crashed out in reverse order. Silly boys! Jason was very fortunate that his injuries weren’t worse considering he high-sided out of turn 11 and propelled into the air fence and concrete barrier behind it. Despite his passion and determination, he decided he was done racing for the day and getting an X-Ray of his ankle was added to his to-do list for Monday.

I, however, still had one more race to go…. 600 Production! I gridded up again near the back, still working on accumulating points from having switched bikes at Round 3. Christie Cooley was two rows and directly in front of me. I get a good jump off the line and follow Christie through traffic through the start shuffle. At the end of the first lap I end up with one guy, Armando, between Cooley and I. As we head up the hill between 3 and 3A, I alter my line slightly to set up for a narrow exit in an attempt to make a pass on Armando at the entry to T4, but I am blindsided as another rider comes in on the inside of me into 3A and forces me to stand the bike up losing my drive down the hill. I settle in behind the rider thru T4, not recognizing the leathers, nor the bike I decide to be patient to determine where my best opportunity will be to make a pass stick. As we head into T7, I recognize the riding style and figure out this is Shelina in front of me on a borrowed bike and wearing borrowed leathers. I decide I will need to set up the pass so that I can maximize the drive out… In the distance I see Christie pulling away and I start to grow impatient. I feel that I can go faster but can’t seem to find the right place or time to make the pass. I show Shelina a wheel into 7, but don’t commit and back out, the same into T9 and T11, lap after lap, until finally, at the end of Lap 4, I make the pass into Turn 11, hold my line and pin it onto the front straight.

Yes! Now don’t let her take it back. I keep my head down and execute every corner, every drive, according to my plan. As I come by the front straight again, Jason is there with a signal, the gap between his hands tells me I have some breathing room. I stick to my plan for the next three laps and finish the race in 22nd. At the end of the race, I was a little bit frustrated with myself for not finding a way to make the pass sooner, but after checking the results I found that again I had improved my personal best lap time by another second from yesterday. I now had dropped to 1:52.215, but the best part was this lap time was achieved with consistency, I ran the last 5 laps of the race with low 1:52’s. A solid end to my weekend and a positive way to go into the AFM two month season break……

Z2 Race Team Video

This is a fantastic video and we are super excited to post it up for your viewing pleasure. Thanks to Kevin Fanady and 4TheRiders.com for creating this for us. Gotta love the music too, Johnny Cash and Kasabian, sweet mix.

Thank you to all our sponsors for a great 2010 season, this is for you.
Z2 Race Team Video