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Ace Racing Race Report: AFM Round 6, Infineon Raceway
August 9, 2009 Ace Racing had an up and down weekend at Infineon Raceway for AFM Round Six, with Brian Parriott scoring a very close second place in Open Grand Prix and a top five in Formula Pacific despite some small problems, but suffering a DNF in Open Superbike; while Ace Racing rider Michael Hannas came back from poor grid positions to score two top ten finishes in the 600 and 750 Superbike divisions and Ace Robey just missed out on a top ten at the line in Open Production.
The first race for the team was Open Production, with Ace Robey starting from the fourth row on the Ace Racing CBR1000RR. Ace launched the CBR off the line well and was into the top fifteen into the first corner. After passing a few riders on the first lap Ace was knocking on the top ten and charging, and he continued to make his way up the field in the next few laps, finally getting up to tenth by the final lap. Unfortunately he was still being pressured by the rider he passed who wanted the spot back, and in the drag race to the checkered flag Ace was nipped at the line when his competitor ignored AFM regulations and pinned it past the line, completely blowing the first corner. The incident was reported to AFM officials who said the move was illegal and dangerous and they would look into a penalty, but as of press time Ace was still listed in eleventh place. The next race up was 600 Superbike, with Michael Hannas gridding the Ace Racing CBR600RR up on the fifth row. Hannas shot off the line well but got pinched off into the first corner, barely still in the top twenty. Hannas made a few quick moves and was into the top fifteen by the time the field hit the back straight. After taking a few laps fighting through the gaggle of riders battling for tenth, Hannas finally had some clear track, but a long gap up to the ninth placed rider. Although he closed up on ninth by the final lap, Hannas was still too far back to make a move and brought the CBR home in tenth.
Open Grand Prix was up next, with Ace and Brian gridding the Ace Racing CBR1000RR machines up on the fourth and fifth rows, respectively. Parriott got a ripping start and shot around the field in the first corner, and was into fifth by the time the pack hit turn two, while Ace was just outside the top twenty. Parriott was into fourth when the riders hit the back straight, and made the move for third in turn eleven at the end of the first lap. He wasn’t content with that and made the pass for second on lap two into the turn nine chicane with a strong move on the brakes. Parriott quickly closed the gap to the leader, Cory Call, and began to pressure for the lead over the next few laps. Call responded to the challenge and the two pulled away from the field with a string of low 1:40 lap times, but Parriott was unable to find a way past and had to settle for a very close second in the run to the line. Ace got up into the top twenty but lost a few spots in the last few laps while struggling for grip with a rear tire compound that wasn’t the best choice for two races in a row on a hot day, and ended up 22nd. Still, Ace and the rest of the team were excited with the pace of Parriott and hopeful of a chance for victory in the upcoming Formula Pacific race.
Parriott was gridded on the fourth row for the main event of the day, the Formula Pacific race. He ripped another awesome start and was up into sixth by turn two, in the lead pack. Parriott made the move again in turn nine on the brakes and was up to fifth, with first through fourth right in front of him. The top five continued to circulate the next few laps nose to tail until lap four when the top three Dunlop-shod machines seemed to start to squeak out a small gap over the Pirelli-shod fourth through sixth place bikes. The gap continued to grow by a couple tenths per lap over the remainder of the race as it became two separate battles, and Parriott was now battling for fourth with James Randolph. Parriott couldn’t seem to find a way around, and faded back in the last two laps to settle for fifth. It wasn’t until after the race the team learned why, when Parriott said he felt a small vibration from the rear tire and upon inspection the team found a huge dent in the rim! Parriott was unsure when it happened, but guesses he must have jumped over one of the numerous curbs around the Infineon circuit and bent the rim in the first few laps. With only one race before Open Superbike, the team quickly swapped the rim and tire and Parriott was back to attack on the Ace Racing CBR1000RR. Gridding this time from the fourth row, Parriott got another one of his patented starts and was again into the top five by turn two, and looking like he was ready to fight for the win this time. However, as the field exited turn nine Parriott sat up and slowed, putting his hand out like he was going to exit the track. Instead he continued, and powered by on the front straight like normal. But as he continued the rest of the lap it was clear there was some sort of major problem, and sure enough Parriott brought the CBR in on lap two with a major engine failure. With Parriott the first one out on the warm up lap, the team believes the engine overheated while waiting for the rest of the field to grid up, but hasn’t determined the exact cause of the failure yet. The final race of the day for the team was 750 Superbike, with Hannas up again on the Ace Racing CBR600RR. Gridding again from the fifth row, Hannas got a better start this time and was into the top fifteen by the time the pack exited turn two. Hannas made a few more moves on the first lap and was up to 12th by the end of lap one. After the next couple of laps Hannas was up to ninth and closing on the battle for seventh, but the gap was again to large to overcome, with Hannas just reaching the tail end of the battle at the end of the final lap, with no time to make a move. Still, Hannas set his fastest time of the weekend on his final lap and was happy with his second top ten of the day, although frustrated that he was so close to seventh.
Ace Racing Results Open Grand Prix: 2nd Brian Parriott (Hon) 600 Superbike: 10th Michael Hannas (Hon) Open Production: 11th Ace Robey (Hon)
Ace Racing would like to thank our partners www.2WheelTimes.com, Bazzaz Performance, Catalyst Racing Composites, CRG, Concept Five, Epic Images, Kyle Racing, Leo Vince, Motion Pro, Parriott Motors, Pirelli, PSR, Shift, and Yoyodyne.
Please visit our website at www.AceRacingLLC.com for more info. |
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