CHOPPA
12th August 2009, 19:46
If I can say one thing from the whole eastern creek experience is that you gotta ride that track! It was easily the best track ive ridden with all the elevation changes, blind apexes and fast flowing lines. Unfortunately this all adds up to quite a difficult track to learn!
We rolled up to the track early Friday morning, sun was out and the weather was forecast for perfect riding conditions all weekend. We were one of the first classes out on the track, when I got to pit lane I actually had to ask which way the track went! My first lap was so slow, I bet the riders coming passed were wondering what the hell I was doing on the track!! My times were slowly but surely getting better, but it was a lot to take in switching back to the wooden tyres and getting dialled in to an unfamiliar track. Thankfully I had taken my suspension to CKT the week before where Rob and Dennis did there best to dial the suspension into unknown tyres. They put a new spec of valving in my forks that was amazing! I had a huge amount of confidence in the front end they got it spot on! Unfortunately for the rear RT was unable to get any info from OZ (they aint exactly helpful over there) so it was back to the same lack of traction I was getting used to from these tyres. I managed a 1.42 by session end
For the second and third sessions I basically just rode around trying to get as much track time as possible, we messed around with a few settings and sprocket changes and ended up with a 1.40 about 4 secs off the pace. I had a really scary moment in one of the practices, well actually I had lots but the worst was when I came over a blind hill expecting a flowing right instead It was a diff part of the track and it was a slow chicane! I took to the gravel bounced over the curbs across the next track and into the other gravel trap but managed to hold on to it! I missed qualifying as we had to get into town to pick up parts and tools before the shops shut
Day 2... Straight into qualifying! We made a bit of a mistake with getting our tyres marked but once the stickers are on that’s it! Never mind, qualified back in 9th but was confident I could make up some spots
Race 1. As we took off from the grid I glanced down and noticed my FI light blazing, it was only a SD fault (steering damper) so not to worry but by the time I had got going I was off to one of my signature shit starts, I wanted to just feel out the competition in this one so after dodging a Honda riders massive high side I settled in to a pack of riders and finished up 8th. I noticed my gearing was still well wrong but I was starting to get ok times in the 1.38s
Day 3
Race 2. A couple of warm up laps on the new gearing and tyres and all was feeling great! After some expert advice from Red and Robbie I got my start nailed and came out of the first corner 6th after some very ‘assertive’ riding. All was going well until lap 3, I came into turn 2 and all I could have was this load noise like a bike sliding on the ground? I looked around expecting to get smoked by someone’s bike sliding into me but nothing, the noise was still there and as I accelerated It got worse and worse. I thought maybe there was something wrong as we had just replaced the frond sprocket so I was just about in pit straight and turned my head and noticed the noise changing, it was ended up being a hole in my visor! Once I realised it was nothing dangerous I was back on it but had fallen to 14th place. I made up 1 place a lap and ended the race 10th
Race 3. By now I was starting to feel a bit more confident but my tyres were gone, I got a good start and by lap 2 I was in 6th, I made a dive under brakes for the pass for 5th but ran a bit wide. He came back up the inside but I didn’t leave the track open much so he couldn’t get to hard on the gas, but he did, actually a bit too hard! He had a huge high side right beside me I was very lucky to get through! Any way that called for a full restart on my already rooted tyres including another warm up lap! Back to my third row start and do it all again…. Not such a great start this time but I was still in 7th, on lap 2 I tried to pass 3 guys under brakes and ended up off the track and back to 8th where I rode a safe race as did everyone else to finish 8th for the race and 8th overall
As far as results go it was not what I expected but the big picture for racing in this series is to get more experience and I have been learning so much that it is all worth while. For the rest of the Oz season I will be racing the actual super bike class on familiar rubber so it should make for some interesting racing! Those guys are FAST
We rolled up to the track early Friday morning, sun was out and the weather was forecast for perfect riding conditions all weekend. We were one of the first classes out on the track, when I got to pit lane I actually had to ask which way the track went! My first lap was so slow, I bet the riders coming passed were wondering what the hell I was doing on the track!! My times were slowly but surely getting better, but it was a lot to take in switching back to the wooden tyres and getting dialled in to an unfamiliar track. Thankfully I had taken my suspension to CKT the week before where Rob and Dennis did there best to dial the suspension into unknown tyres. They put a new spec of valving in my forks that was amazing! I had a huge amount of confidence in the front end they got it spot on! Unfortunately for the rear RT was unable to get any info from OZ (they aint exactly helpful over there) so it was back to the same lack of traction I was getting used to from these tyres. I managed a 1.42 by session end
For the second and third sessions I basically just rode around trying to get as much track time as possible, we messed around with a few settings and sprocket changes and ended up with a 1.40 about 4 secs off the pace. I had a really scary moment in one of the practices, well actually I had lots but the worst was when I came over a blind hill expecting a flowing right instead It was a diff part of the track and it was a slow chicane! I took to the gravel bounced over the curbs across the next track and into the other gravel trap but managed to hold on to it! I missed qualifying as we had to get into town to pick up parts and tools before the shops shut
Day 2... Straight into qualifying! We made a bit of a mistake with getting our tyres marked but once the stickers are on that’s it! Never mind, qualified back in 9th but was confident I could make up some spots
Race 1. As we took off from the grid I glanced down and noticed my FI light blazing, it was only a SD fault (steering damper) so not to worry but by the time I had got going I was off to one of my signature shit starts, I wanted to just feel out the competition in this one so after dodging a Honda riders massive high side I settled in to a pack of riders and finished up 8th. I noticed my gearing was still well wrong but I was starting to get ok times in the 1.38s
Day 3
Race 2. A couple of warm up laps on the new gearing and tyres and all was feeling great! After some expert advice from Red and Robbie I got my start nailed and came out of the first corner 6th after some very ‘assertive’ riding. All was going well until lap 3, I came into turn 2 and all I could have was this load noise like a bike sliding on the ground? I looked around expecting to get smoked by someone’s bike sliding into me but nothing, the noise was still there and as I accelerated It got worse and worse. I thought maybe there was something wrong as we had just replaced the frond sprocket so I was just about in pit straight and turned my head and noticed the noise changing, it was ended up being a hole in my visor! Once I realised it was nothing dangerous I was back on it but had fallen to 14th place. I made up 1 place a lap and ended the race 10th
Race 3. By now I was starting to feel a bit more confident but my tyres were gone, I got a good start and by lap 2 I was in 6th, I made a dive under brakes for the pass for 5th but ran a bit wide. He came back up the inside but I didn’t leave the track open much so he couldn’t get to hard on the gas, but he did, actually a bit too hard! He had a huge high side right beside me I was very lucky to get through! Any way that called for a full restart on my already rooted tyres including another warm up lap! Back to my third row start and do it all again…. Not such a great start this time but I was still in 7th, on lap 2 I tried to pass 3 guys under brakes and ended up off the track and back to 8th where I rode a safe race as did everyone else to finish 8th for the race and 8th overall
As far as results go it was not what I expected but the big picture for racing in this series is to get more experience and I have been learning so much that it is all worth while. For the rest of the Oz season I will be racing the actual super bike class on familiar rubber so it should make for some interesting racing! Those guys are FAST