I launched, shifted, kept my head down and kept seeing open track in front of me... I GOT THE HOLE SHOT!!! Finally! Knowing I was not up to full pace, it still felt good to lead. I held on to the lead for most of the first lap. As Jay passed me I felt a tingle of anticipation that I could make it a race.

Lap 5 was busy. The shadow turned to noise, the noise turned into pass on the exit of turn 2. "Seriously, you're going to pass me in 3, my weakest turn. I hope you feel proud" I taunted James within my head. "No, nope... no, I won't let you."

Formula 40 - Lightweight - 1st Place        What a race! I went back to my old tricks of crummy starts. I was on pole for this race and went into Turn 2 in 7th place followed immediately by two mis-shifts. I was off to a great start. UGGGGGGGG!!!        I was able to get a few positions back on the first lap then a couple more on lap 2 putting me in 3rd place. I had full lap of open track and was able to close the gap and join the battle up front..... then we entered traffic from the middleweight class. On lap 4, I was setting up my entry to the fast carousel (Turn 6). A bike from the middleweight class (600cc) entered mid-track so I took the inside line and charged down the hill. To my surprise, the middleweight bike I was passing decided to close up all the way to the inside of the track hitting me and forcing me to choose between the dirt or standing it up and hitting his rear tire. The ladder was my choice, but I was able to get on the brakes hard/fast enough to amazingly skim past his rear wheel and keep my bike up-right. " What the %*$@#, WHOOO HOOOOO!!!!! I'm still in this race!!!!!!". That's how quickly it takes place, I barely had time to finish a sentence in my head. I re-establish my charge down the carousel and closed back in on my prey.        With 3 laps to go, you could throw a small blanket over 1st, 2nd and 3rd. We were tire-to-tire. This would be fun regardless of the outcome. I tried to set up a pass on the brakes into turn 1 but got scared.... twice. I'd have to find somewhere else to try. I went for the pass in turn 7 and in 9 on the brakes, but James and Jay have improved a TON on their brakes so I was left staring at both of their butts on the exits. "OK, Fine.... if not on brakes, I'll try another approach". I passed James on the brakes into Turn 11 and immediately thought "That's the same approach that hasn't been working" as he passed me back on the exit. "yup... see dummy, try something else" I tell myself again.

Formula 4 - 2nd         We had the last race of the day. I was lined up on the outside of the first row for the start which gives the most advantage for the start. I still had a typical 'Dan' start, but not the worst. I was 4th at the start and moved into 2nd by the second lap. The big challenge of this race was that Jason Catching ran his fastest times of the day on his production bike ( 2 seconds faster than our superbike times) so he decided to run the proddy bike in this race. so.... I COULD NOT loose to a production bike, I would never hear the end of that.

AFM Round #5 - Thunderhill Raceway August 5, 2012

Pre-Race Vacation:
for two weeks leading up to this event, we were in Croatia with several members of the TWF Racing team. A side trip of that vacation was to Mostar Bosnia. In Mostar, there is a famous bridge that locals jump off of for money. It's just over an 80 foot drop into a very chilly river below. When I found out I could also jump off this bridge, I felt compelled! I didn't make any money (in fact I paid to be a 'Member' of the Mostar Divers Club for the jump.

My prior jumps have only been at about 50 feet, so I mistimed my landing and did not have my legs fully underneath me when I made contact with the water. At ~55mph, my legs were forced back and then hyper-extended out sideways in clear mockery of how the human knee was intended to work. Needless to say, I left with a limp and was reduced to a painful stagger within a day.

The little red circle in the picture is me, Half way down my journey from the Mostar Bridge. (Click the image for full Res)

AFM Round #4 - Sonoma Raceway (Formerly Infineon) July 1, 2012

Saturday Practice:
Saturday’s practice sessions didn’t go so well. It wasn’t terrible, but I was not able to get a full session in most of the day. The exhaust springs we used all became brittle at the same time. The first popped off in early morning session. I was 3 laps into it when I heard the lower ‘Y’ pipe pop open. I pulled off track and rode it back in after the checkered flag. The second one broke two sessions later on the first lap. I rode to the outside of turn 2 and watched. Once back in the paddock, I changed out the rest of the springs knowing another was going to break on me at a more critical moment. The last session went OK and I was ready for Formula 40.

Formula 40 - 1st Place

AFM Round #3 - Thunderhill Raceway Park June 3, 2012

My bike was rebuilt and ready, but my mental state was not. I was questioning myself, allowing distractions on course and simply could not find my 'happy place' to ride to my potential. I had a very hard faught win in Formula 40 on Saturday, but Sunday.... I could not clear my head to focus properly. I've always known the impact a physical injury has on a race program, but this season is a lesson in how much your mental state and ability (or inability) to focus really impacts results.

Formual 40 Lightweight - 1st Place

650 Twins - 4th Place
I had an 'OK' start but was not riding smooth and had a few issues the first lap that kept me from moving forward. On lap 3, trying to make up to much ground in the wrong places I went too deep into turn 10 and had to make the choice of a tough save vs. running a little wide off-track to regain control. I opted for door #2 and ran wide into the dirt just enough to get the bike back underneath me. I lost two places, but kept it upright. I was able to regain those spots, but nothing more... finishing in 4th place.

650 Production - DNF
I borrowed Tom's bike to have some fun in the production class. His bike felt good and the Pirelli tires from the last round were still in excellent shape. I had a good start and made my way into 2nd place behind Jason Catching by the 3rd lap. While trying to make up a few bike lengths on Jason, I had a great battle going with Robin from Uniform Racing. on the last lap we were making passes on a few of the Ninjas 250's from the first wave. I looked to make an outside pass, but the bike in front of me ran wide into turn 3 opening up the inside. I went in at about 99% brake pressure holding the front end and making up time on Jason when the Ninja decided to move back to the inside. I ran out of track. In an effort to not hit the rear wheel, I knew I had to put the front brakes over their limits. Hoping for the best, I found the expected results and hit the pavement hard. After quite a few tumbles and a several sore spots, I found myself laying in the dirt face down outside of 3. I was able to get up and move, but sore. All that was left was the walk of 'shame' back to the paddock dirty and bike-less... but happy to be able to walk back on my own.

Formula 4 - 5th
Still quite sore from 650 Production, I had another poor start. Exiting 2 I felt a bike hit my left leg, then another clip my right handle bar... then yet another hit my rear wheel. Not wanting to fall down on my already sore spots, I held a consistent line and let the pack settle around me. I was able to run a strong race, but only managed a 5th place by the checkered.

AFM Round #2 - Thunderhill Raceway Park May 13, 2012


Overall the weekend was not a good start to the season.

Formual 40 Lightweight - 2nd Place

650 Twins - DNF
The bike was not feeling right, and by the 2nd lap I was falling further back. On lap 3, the feeling turned to misfires at high RPM which quickly turned to a broken crank exiting turn 7. I was able to safely get off track, but watching the race from the outside of turn 8 was not part of my season's plans

Formula 4 - 11th
I borrowed Jason Catching's Production SV for this race. The bike was out powered by the superbikes, but more of an impact was that fact it took me 4 laps to get comfortable on the bike, by then.... I had 2 laps and I was too far back. the goal was to save some points, and for that I was successful.

AFM Round #1 - Buttonwillow Raceway March 18, 2012


The entire Event was rained out

Michelle, Megan and I were already in Disney Land when the announcement came out. I was eager to race the season opener, but standing in line for Buzz Light Year made the new more bearable :D

2012 Pre-Season Race : WERA Las Vegas Motor Speedway February 11/12


     To get myself and the bike sorted out early, Zoran (of TWF Racing) and I looked South from Reno and headed to Las Vegas to race round #2 of the WERA West series. The bike had been sitting in the shop for a few months, and I had robbed a few parts from it for my street-bike build… So it was time to go knock the dust off of the bike and rider and have some fun.

     Coming off a great 2011 season, I have shifted my goals a bit for 2012. All of my life, I have been focused on the WIN. Walking race tracks and talking through techniques all with the single purpose of winning my race. This season, I am focusing on improving me. My single goal for 2012 is to improve on my personal best lap-time at every track I race in 2012. Success at this goal should translate to good finishes, but those finishes will be the result of my personal goal, not the focus.

     I have raced at The Las Vegas Motor Speedway Classic Course previously so I had already learned the track…. Or so I had thought. On the first day of the race weekend, I found myself fighting against what I thought I already knew as I looked at the track through my new filter. We had arrived at 1:00 AM Friday night after 8 hours of driving, so Saturday morning came quickly. Getting unloaded, organized, registered and tech while still wiping the sleep out of my eyes, I ended up missing my first practice session. I made my second session which turned out to be the last for the day. After lunch started the 20 Lap GTO/GTU solo races. I had signed up for the Lightweight class figuring 20 laps at ‘sprint’ pace would be the best practice I hope for. It proved to be a little frustrating, a bit exhausting and a ton of fun.

Lightweight Solo 20: 2nd Place
     While hoping for a win, I was keeping my focusing on my laps. Smooth laps, consistent laps, corner entry, apex, exits….. every turn for every lap. With filter of my new goal, the track looked and felt different than I was used to from previous visits. I had a good start and was quickly battling for the lead with a younger rider on a smaller 250. While the bike had less power than mine, Joe (the rider) had incredible skills and was much lighter making the bike/rider combination pretty equal. I did have an effective power advantage which I used to make a pass on the fast sweeper and move into the lead.
Now was time to hold true to my goal and just work on me…. the bike… the track. I found myself fighting my instinct in every turn. I was not able to put the bike where I wanted and I was not able to commit to the entry speed I would need to keep the 250 behind me. Sure enough, he passed me back a lap or two later powering out of the sweeper. I was able to find my way around the track a little better every few laps and by the ½ flag I was back in the lead.
Joe once again, passed me on the exit of the sweeper with relative ease as he carried at least 15mph more speed than me through the apex. From that point on I slowly lost sight of him as I kept fighting myself, the bike and the track.


     My times during the race had bounced between 1:24’s and 1:23’s with my best time being a 1:23.7…… a new personal best! I was very happy with that result, but also very sore. It turns out I was working against the bike more than I thought… all the more reason for me to be in Vegas for a pre-season rider tune-up. Thinking through the race in retrospect, I was able to figure out where I was working the hardest (which translates into area I needed to change for Sunday). I ended the day feeling very happy having improved on my previous best time.

Sunday
     Sunday morning practice was a bit chilly and included some very light rain. I was able to get 2 good fast laps in, then as the rain picked up just slightly (and many riders pulling back into the paddock) I slowed to about 85% and focused on the smooth line around the track. I was able to make some quick adjustments to my entries and exits, finding several very smooth laps in a row. Encouraged, I exited the track, put a fresh Pirelli rear tire on and laced up the tire warmers to wait for my first race.

Lightweight Twins Superbike – Second Place
     With a 4th row grid position and a decent start, I exited turn 1 in about 4th place. The leader had a great start and by the back sweeper had already pulled a small gap. I made my way up into second by the end of the first lap, but I knew I had to get closer to Dustin immediately if I were to have him pull me around the track faster. I was too anxious on my exit of turn 2 on the second lap and missed a shift which was just enough to kill my only chance of closing the gap.
      I spent the next 4 laps watching Dustin Ohare pull a little wider lead each lap. I tried to apply my smooth lines from the morning session, but I was not able to connect all of the turns for a good lap. Trying too hard to force the bike to where I thought I wanted it to go…. I ran 1:24’s the whole race, crossing the line in Second Place. I was not upset at my finish, but I was a little upset at my inability to apply my recent experience into another improvement.

Heavyweight Twins Superbike – Second Place
     Knowing I was very under powered against the big 1000 twins, I had Zoran talk me through a few of my trouble areas again and regained my focus. I had a good start and exited turn 1 in 3rd place behind a Ducati 1000 and a KTM RC8. I was quickly able to plant the bike on entry, find my line and get a great drive out of every turn pulling up on their rear wheels for a few seconds…. Just to be met with a bigger gap once we were fully on power. At the end of the second lap, I knew where I needed to make up my time and I also knew how.
      For two more laps, I pushed harder into turns, found the right lines and made smooth exits and closed the gap on second, making a pas under brakes exiting the sweeper. ( previously a weak point in Saturday’s race). With two laps to go I put my sights on the RC8. On the white flag lap, I was close to striking distance, but I need another lap to fully set up a pass. The Checkered flag did not afford me that lap as I crossed the line in second…. A very inspiring and happy Second Place.
      I never looked at my times for the Heavyweight class, but I knew I had found my ‘groove’ and focused on getting me and the bike ready for my last race of the day. A rematch with Joe from Saturday and Dustin from the first race of Sunday.

Formula 2 – First Place
     I had another good start and was in 3rd on the exit of turn 1. Knowing I could not let Dustin get away, I made a pass on Kalvin on the exit of 3 entering 4 to set up a strong drive for the sweeper. The lap felt good, I closed the gap on Dustin in the lead and made a smooth exit onto the front straight to set up a pass into turn 1. I entered turn 2 in the lead and said (out loud as I often talk to myself during races) “OK, now…. It’s all about my lap times”. We did not hit any traffic for most of the race and I was able to click off several more laps with only minor mistakes.
      I had a better drive in a few areas, but Dustin had a better entry in the most critical spot on the sweeper (and fasted spot) and was able to regain whatever ground I earned elsewhere. At the end of the 5th lap I saw his wheel pop in on my right as we entered the right hander onto the front straight, but I had enough drive to maintain my line and get a better exit. Hoping to capitalize on that, I took two deep breaths down the front straight, relaxed and took the white flag for the last lap. Again, any lead I had pulled was reeled back in as Dustin powered through the sweeper to pull right up on my rear wheel again. Knowing I would see him again headed onto the straight, I made sure to hit the next few turns perfect. As expected, I saw the wheel and a flash of red bodywork but it was again, not enough as I held my line, shifting gears toward the checkered to take the win.