Kickaha
20th September 2009, 21:15
The drama started early for some, stopping off at Rolleston at am for a breakfast pie we get accosted by Bren and asked if we can fit an extra bike on the ute as Dan’s van had done a head gasket
Loading it up and we’re on the way, we pass Bren not long after and I get Dave to flick him a txt “get used to the view of the rear of that bike cause you’ll be looking at it all day long”:shifty:
Signed in ready to go, Bren has repowered it since the last meeting so I try to start the bike and it won’t fucking go:no:, Bren notices the accelerator pump isn’t working so it isn’t getting fuel, tank off and find a kinked fuel line and it’s going not long after
Practice
It’s a prick to start again and Bren reckons the kill switch is on the way out but we get it fired up and roll on out
Straight away I notice it feels quite flat and guys I’d normally keep up with are disappearing quite quickly and there’s a bad hesitation in the midrange, it’s dog slow down the straight but steering a better than last time due to some other mods Bren has made, but they have also reduced the ground clearance and there’s a bit extra scraping going on
Practice over a quick discussion with the crew chief and a jetting change is made going from a 130 jumping 4 sizes to 140
The timing sheet confirms what I already knew as I only qualify 11 on row 3 directly behind DC and with TimG, TonyB and Harvd? Some 4-5 seconds a lap slower than I’d expect:no:
Race 1
Even on the warm up lap I can tell we’ve gone the right way with the jetting, it’s more responsive and the miss in midrange is very much reduced
Lights out and we go, there’s a traffic jam in T1 but we’re all safely through, Harvd is directly in front and has the speed down the straight but I carry more off the end and go through on the next left to tuck in behind Buddha, AdamB and DC
Buddha is trying his normal “I’ll pass very bastard through the decreasing radius trick” on AdamB and DC, the next couple of laps are pretty hectic with our group of 4 changing positions 2-3 times a lap and Buddha and AdamB banging into each other and AdamB having a “moment” exiting the chicane onto the start/finish straight when he rides over the ripple strip:eek5:
I get a good run through the chicane on Buddha and pull alongside into T1 just to let him know I haven’t gone away but being on the outside there’s no way to make the pass
Anytime you lead onto the back straight you can pretty much guarantee you won’t be leading off the end as there’s a 4 bikes slipstreaming duel going on every lap and anyone last in line onto the straight normally makes up a couple of places by the end Each of us take a turn in the lead at some stage, but with the white flag out I’m head of the bunch, head down and hoping for divine intervention as hitting the 200m mark down the back straight I can hear DC pulling alongside and taking the inside line as we tip in, I’ve got slightly more speed and are right on his tail but don’t have the opportunity to make the pass before the line with the 4 of us crossing within .5 sec:Punk:
Now I’m pretty damn happy with the way the bike is going after a dismal practice managing to beat both Buddha and AdamB and putting the pressure on DC and doing a fastest lap in the 1.25 bracket
After another discussion with the crew chief we go and scrounge another jet of Pete Jones and bump it up another couple of sizes to 145
Race 2
Start is better than I normally get, but to most people would be considered pretty damn average, both TimG and TonyB are level pegging as we approach T1 but I go in slightly deeper and follow Harvd onto the back straight
Past him and onto the back of the same bunch with DC leading, AdamB, Buddha and I line astern, the same slipstreaming duels are taking place and I get the hell tow one time when AdamB moves out to pass Buddha and side by side they make a big hole in the air
Past them both and leading through the chicane when a momentary lapse of concentration sees me riding over the curb on the exit and bouncing off the seat:blink:, I’m expecting a pass into T1 after that but I keep the lead
DC tries a pass up the inside off the end of the straight but I keep it pinned a fraction longer and tip in, next lap he makes it stick and hits the lead of our group, one lap later and as the white flag comes out I’m right on his tail, I’m on the gas onto the back straight ½ a second before I hear him crack the throttle open and already know I can make the pass off the end , He’s weaving down the straight trying to break the draft but I stick with him and I pull alongside slightly in front at the end and hold him out until I want to tip in
Running wide out of the hairpin and thinking he might take it back but once I hit the chicane in front I know it’s in the bag
Crew chief Bren reckons we need to go up in the jetting again but as it’s going good and I have cantbefuckeditis it doesn’t get done
Talking to DC we both reckon leading onto the back straight on the final lap is a bad thing
AdamB thinks the jetting changes we have made are also a bad thing as for the first time I am consistently in front of him:shifty:
Race 3
Worst start yet, the delay between lights on and lights off is far shorter than the other races and I’m asleep on the line and thinking I’m going to be shit out of luck duplicating previous results
On the back straight and onto the gas earlier and harder and past 2-3 people before I’m halfway down it, past Harvd between the end of the straight and the next left and back into the group
Cam Jones is in there as well but I get past him which puts him between me, AdamB and Buddha, onto the back of DC and we’re pulling away from the others:D
Multiple passes over the next few laps and when I check we’ve dropped the group off by about 30 metres
A good run through the chicane sees me looking up the inside of DC into T1 but I can’t quite do it and back out with the rear hopping around, onto the straight again and I get in the draft and pull the pass
DC sees me shaking my head past the white flag as I didn’t want to be leading and sure enough he slipstreams for the pass off the end, Im carrying more speed and decide to try “plan B” which means I don’t slow as much and stick it up the inside into the next left
DC fair shits his pants at the unexpected move, ½ stands the bike up and just about highsides which means when I cock the hairpin up once again by running wide on exit I still have enough time to recover and lead him home
All in All a fantastic days racing and a real pleasure to dice with DC, AdamB and Buddha:2thumbsup
Oh yeah according to one of the club Officials the Buckets were the best at being onto the dummy grid on time, getting out the gate and gridding up in the correct positions
Loading it up and we’re on the way, we pass Bren not long after and I get Dave to flick him a txt “get used to the view of the rear of that bike cause you’ll be looking at it all day long”:shifty:
Signed in ready to go, Bren has repowered it since the last meeting so I try to start the bike and it won’t fucking go:no:, Bren notices the accelerator pump isn’t working so it isn’t getting fuel, tank off and find a kinked fuel line and it’s going not long after
Practice
It’s a prick to start again and Bren reckons the kill switch is on the way out but we get it fired up and roll on out
Straight away I notice it feels quite flat and guys I’d normally keep up with are disappearing quite quickly and there’s a bad hesitation in the midrange, it’s dog slow down the straight but steering a better than last time due to some other mods Bren has made, but they have also reduced the ground clearance and there’s a bit extra scraping going on
Practice over a quick discussion with the crew chief and a jetting change is made going from a 130 jumping 4 sizes to 140
The timing sheet confirms what I already knew as I only qualify 11 on row 3 directly behind DC and with TimG, TonyB and Harvd? Some 4-5 seconds a lap slower than I’d expect:no:
Race 1
Even on the warm up lap I can tell we’ve gone the right way with the jetting, it’s more responsive and the miss in midrange is very much reduced
Lights out and we go, there’s a traffic jam in T1 but we’re all safely through, Harvd is directly in front and has the speed down the straight but I carry more off the end and go through on the next left to tuck in behind Buddha, AdamB and DC
Buddha is trying his normal “I’ll pass very bastard through the decreasing radius trick” on AdamB and DC, the next couple of laps are pretty hectic with our group of 4 changing positions 2-3 times a lap and Buddha and AdamB banging into each other and AdamB having a “moment” exiting the chicane onto the start/finish straight when he rides over the ripple strip:eek5:
I get a good run through the chicane on Buddha and pull alongside into T1 just to let him know I haven’t gone away but being on the outside there’s no way to make the pass
Anytime you lead onto the back straight you can pretty much guarantee you won’t be leading off the end as there’s a 4 bikes slipstreaming duel going on every lap and anyone last in line onto the straight normally makes up a couple of places by the end Each of us take a turn in the lead at some stage, but with the white flag out I’m head of the bunch, head down and hoping for divine intervention as hitting the 200m mark down the back straight I can hear DC pulling alongside and taking the inside line as we tip in, I’ve got slightly more speed and are right on his tail but don’t have the opportunity to make the pass before the line with the 4 of us crossing within .5 sec:Punk:
Now I’m pretty damn happy with the way the bike is going after a dismal practice managing to beat both Buddha and AdamB and putting the pressure on DC and doing a fastest lap in the 1.25 bracket
After another discussion with the crew chief we go and scrounge another jet of Pete Jones and bump it up another couple of sizes to 145
Race 2
Start is better than I normally get, but to most people would be considered pretty damn average, both TimG and TonyB are level pegging as we approach T1 but I go in slightly deeper and follow Harvd onto the back straight
Past him and onto the back of the same bunch with DC leading, AdamB, Buddha and I line astern, the same slipstreaming duels are taking place and I get the hell tow one time when AdamB moves out to pass Buddha and side by side they make a big hole in the air
Past them both and leading through the chicane when a momentary lapse of concentration sees me riding over the curb on the exit and bouncing off the seat:blink:, I’m expecting a pass into T1 after that but I keep the lead
DC tries a pass up the inside off the end of the straight but I keep it pinned a fraction longer and tip in, next lap he makes it stick and hits the lead of our group, one lap later and as the white flag comes out I’m right on his tail, I’m on the gas onto the back straight ½ a second before I hear him crack the throttle open and already know I can make the pass off the end , He’s weaving down the straight trying to break the draft but I stick with him and I pull alongside slightly in front at the end and hold him out until I want to tip in
Running wide out of the hairpin and thinking he might take it back but once I hit the chicane in front I know it’s in the bag
Crew chief Bren reckons we need to go up in the jetting again but as it’s going good and I have cantbefuckeditis it doesn’t get done
Talking to DC we both reckon leading onto the back straight on the final lap is a bad thing
AdamB thinks the jetting changes we have made are also a bad thing as for the first time I am consistently in front of him:shifty:
Race 3
Worst start yet, the delay between lights on and lights off is far shorter than the other races and I’m asleep on the line and thinking I’m going to be shit out of luck duplicating previous results
On the back straight and onto the gas earlier and harder and past 2-3 people before I’m halfway down it, past Harvd between the end of the straight and the next left and back into the group
Cam Jones is in there as well but I get past him which puts him between me, AdamB and Buddha, onto the back of DC and we’re pulling away from the others:D
Multiple passes over the next few laps and when I check we’ve dropped the group off by about 30 metres
A good run through the chicane sees me looking up the inside of DC into T1 but I can’t quite do it and back out with the rear hopping around, onto the straight again and I get in the draft and pull the pass
DC sees me shaking my head past the white flag as I didn’t want to be leading and sure enough he slipstreams for the pass off the end, Im carrying more speed and decide to try “plan B” which means I don’t slow as much and stick it up the inside into the next left
DC fair shits his pants at the unexpected move, ½ stands the bike up and just about highsides which means when I cock the hairpin up once again by running wide on exit I still have enough time to recover and lead him home
All in All a fantastic days racing and a real pleasure to dice with DC, AdamB and Buddha:2thumbsup
Oh yeah according to one of the club Officials the Buckets were the best at being onto the dummy grid on time, getting out the gate and gridding up in the correct positions