Ace Racing Race Report: AFM Round 2, Infineon Raceway
Press release by Ace Racing, LLC
Photos courtesy of 4theriders.com
April 26, 2009
Infineon Raceway was the site of the second round of the 2009 AFM Championship and the debut of Ace Racing’s new recruit Michael Hannas on the Ace Racing CBR600RR. Hannas made his first appearance on the Ace Racing machine, while Ace Robey continued to get used to his new Ace Racing Honda CBR1000RR.
Saturday practice was first for Ace Racing, in which Hannas and Robey tried to dial in the set-up of the Ace Racing Hondas. This was the first ride at Infineon so far this season for Robey on the 1000, while Hannas was getting his first-ever taste of the 600, so needless to say the day was full of suspension and chassis testing. Both riders seemed pleased with the performance of the Pirelli tires and got the bikes working better by the afternoon, but found it difficult to produce quick lap times while negotiating through the very crowded AFM practice sessions. Still, both riders were happy with their set-up and ready for Sunday’s races.
First race on Sunday for Ace Racing was Hannas on the CBR600RR in 750 Superbike. Starting from the eighth row, Hannas was able to work his way up to 19th by the end of the first lap, passing around twenty riders in less than 2.5 miles, and continued to pick his way through the field until the race was red-flagged on the fourth lap due to multiple crashes and called final. Scoring was reverted back to lap three, which placed Hannas in 14th position. Hannas was not too pleased with his result, remarking, “I’m not sure how they can call three laps a race. I did the best I could trying to pass as many guys as possible, but the traffic was a bit scary out there. The Ace Racing CBR600RR was working awesome, it just would have been nice to get a few more laps!”
Next up for Ace Racing was Open Production, with Robey on the CBR1000RR. Ace was also gridded towards the back with no points yet this year, and after the start he was just inside the top twenty. Robey was able to make his way past a few of the riders in front of him as he got more comfortable with the new Honda after two years of racing twins, and continued to adapt his riding style to the big inline four. Ace ended up 14th by the finish and while he was happy with the performance of the CBR1000RR, he definitely wanted more out of his riding and a better result. “I’m still trying to get used to riding the Honda after riding a completely different type of bike for the past few years. The Honda is good, I just need to figure out how to ride it a little better and get a little more comfortable pushing it to the limit,” said Ace after the race.
Hannas was back to attack on the CBR600RR in 600 Superbike. Starting again from the eighth row, Hannas had his work cut out for him but was determined to pass as many guys as he could. He got a good launch at the start and was up into the top twenty again after the first lap, but found that getting through the traffic was more difficult than he thought. Hannas methodically worked his way up, catching and passing one or two riders per lap, but in a six-lap race he could only make it up to 13th by the checkered flag. Of course, Hannas was disappointed with his result, but satisfied with the performance of his machine considering it was the maiden outing for the Ace Racing CBR600RR. Said Hannas, “I rode as hard as I could, but to be honest I was a little too cautious coming through traffic. Some of the guys were just out of control, crashing into each other while almost crashing themselves, and I just wasn’t as aggressive as I needed to be. The bike was working better with the changes we made before the race and I really wanted to charge and see what kind of times I could get down to, but I didn’t have a clear track in front of me at all the whole race. I’m not happy with the finish or my lap times, but we’ll do a little more work to the bike and I’ll get a little more comfortable on it and we should be up there next time.”
The final race of the day for Ace Racing was Open Grand Prix, with Robey back out on the CBR1000RR. Again, Ace was gridded towards the back and was around twentieth on the first lap. He was able to work his way around a few of the riders in front of him, but with a waving yellow from lap 2 until the finish from turn four all the way to turn seven, his forward charge was halted with all of his favorite passing zones under a waving yellow, which meant no passing allowed. Some of the few riders he had already passed apparently were not as concerned with the “no passing on a waving yellow” rule and got back by Ace as he was stuck behind the riders in front of him. He was able to get back around them and make a few more moves, getting up to 22nd by the finish. Said Ace after the race, “It was tough with the waving yellow on almost half the track making it so I couldn’t pass, and then as I’m waiting to pass the incident so I can make a move, two of the guys I had just passed stuffed their way back by! I was able to get back around them but lost contact with the group in front of them, but at least I was able to get more comfortable on the Honda and get more used to trusting the Bazzaz traction control system and getting on the gas harder, so it was good.”
All in all, while Ace Racing didn’t quite achieve the results they were hoping for, the boys were happy with the amount of set-up they were able to accomplish and now know what the bikes need in order to be more competitive next time out. With a few weeks at the shop before the next outing at
Ace Racing Results
AFM Round Two
Infineon Raceway
April 26, 2009
750 Superbike: 14th Michael Hannas (Hon)
600 Superbike: 13th Michael Hannas (Hon)
Open Production: 14th Ace Robey (Hon)
Open Grand Prix: 22nd Ace Robey (Hon)
Ace Racing would like to thank our partners www.2WheelTimes.com, CRG, Catalyst Racing Composites, Kyle Racing, Bazzaz Performance, Leo Vince, Shift, Yoyodyne, and Pirelli.
For sponsorship inquires please contact aceracingllc@yahoo.com.
