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Kickaha
29th December 2009, 17:30
The worst thing about racing at Wanganui is the drive up, it generally sees me hauling my arse out of bed about 3.30am on Christmas day and Divvo pulling up in the van not long after, this year we’d organised my brother to do a BBQ breakfast at Blenheim on the way up, so I flick him a txt as we hit Seddon and when we pull up the BBQ is cranking, a feed of Bacon, Eggs and Sausages:drool: and we’re off to get the boat

The crossing gives me the shits, it’s like 3 hours of my life wasted, I loose about a week a year on these bloody boats, screw the environment and foreshore erosion I want FAST FERRIES:mad:

Arriving we breeze through sign in and scrutineering and the lovely Jo comes to meet us, having flown into Palmy and getting a rental rather than spend a day each way in the van with us, not sure what that’s about? :lol:

Race day and we’re on the way to the track about 6.30am, all our gear was locked up there the night before so we quickly get set up, tyre pressures and fuel and we’re all set to go, riders briefing they impress upon us the need to be prompt getting to the grid and how if we don’t know our position when we grid up we’ll be taken off the grid and tossed out of the meeting

Qualifying 1
It doesn’t seem to long before we’re called up and a short wait on the grid and we roll out, we’re taking it easy for the first few laps warming both the bike and ourselves up, a couple of laps in and we slot in behind Darren/Karl and pull past them on the way up to the bridge, we come up behind a group of three outfits down Taupo Quay, but Pete the Pirate/Dion pull off at the end to put a little fire out:confused:

Darryl/Ben are just in front with Des/Darren having slipped past and it’s time to dial it up a bit, off the railway we move up past them into the s bends and just about into the back of Des/Darren at Robert Holden and also spot Tracey/Astrid just in front of them

We’re having a look around the outside of the Ladies into turn 1 when Des/Darren chop across in front of us, so we take him down the outside into turn two and close up on Tracey/Astrid off the railway and around the outside of them into the cemetery and start to hit it a bit harder but as we come over the bridge the chequered flag is out courtesy of Stu/Chris barrel rolling up the track through the cemetery, luckily both of them are ok and the outfit is repairable

As the session was cut short before we got cranking we’re only 6th fastest doing a 1:00.783 which we know we can easily better

The outfit gets a check over and we sit about waiting for the call for Q2

Qualifying 2
We make sure we’ve got enough space for a clean few laps without traffic and after a couple to warm up we hook into it, on the right into the cemetery my right hand gets a bit of a bash between the fairing and the kerb and being a slow learner it isn’t until it happens on the next lap I actually work out what it was as initially I thought I must have touched the rear wheel

We drop down to a 57.752 and move up to 4th on the grid, close to 2sec slower than the guys on the front row but around what we did the previous year and 3 sec ahead of the guys on the row behind us:sweatdrop

Head mechanic Spike sets about repairing the cracked fairing where it took the hit on the kerb through my handgrip and rivets a bit of angle iron in, then the wait for race 1 starts

We wait and we wait some more, then we wait even longer, when they call Superpole and we still haven’t been out I’m starting to get pretty fucking cranky, Dave asks me about changing the ferry tickets and I reply I’d be quite happy to pack up and fuck off now if we can:angry2:, turns out that wasn’t quite why he was asking though

Finally over three hours after our last qualifying we get called up, by that time I really can’t be arsed, the wait on the grid isn’t to long and the lap and a bit warmup gets me in the mood again

Race 1
We get a good start but get hung out on the left and with the chair wheel hopping get a bit untidy into turn 1, we”re alongside Adam/Stu but on the outside with everyone jammed up the right of us, the Lawrences beat us off the corner and Steve/Denny make a smooth inside move over the railway to drop us into 4th

We close up into Robert Holden and then loose a bit over the bridge but close up again through the cemetery, the Lawrences get a bit wide out of Robert Holden and Steve/Denny go through

Chasing hard and there’s four sidecars in a row running nose to tail, Steve/Denny go past Adam/Stu into Turn 1, we get the big slide on as we toss it in across the railway clip the curb and loose a length or two, next lap and the yellows out in that spot as Astrid has gone off the back of their outfit through the cemetery:shit:

The Lawrences are starting to put the pressure on Adam/Stu as the white flag comes out, out of Robert Holden and at the next right Johnny/Rat have gone around

Steve/Denny go around the outside while Adam/Stu and the Lawrences try fitting through side by side on the inside and doing a bit of rubbing, the Lawrences make it through in front of Adam/Stu with Steve/Denny in the lead and we finish in that order, we’re pretty happy to be sticking with them and even happier when we find we had a best lap of 55.973 which was about 1.5 sec better than our best last year and third fastest lap of the race:wari:

Head mechanic Spike (when he’s not fucking about working for everyone else) pops the fairing off, fuel is checked and the side where we snotted the kerb is given a once over for damage, we borrow a wheel off Pete the Pirate and swap our tyre onto it and grab some food

pt 2 to follow

Clivoris
29th December 2009, 17:56
Shit man...Leave me hanging why doncha? Great report so far.

slowpoke
29th December 2009, 18:01
Haha, yep, great write up, makes me wanna strap a third wheel on the gixxa, throw the pooch on as a passenger and give it a rip.

Clivoris
29th December 2009, 18:10
Haha, yep, great write up, makes me wanna strap a third wheel on the gixxa, throw the pooch on as a passenger and give it a rip.

:whistle: Funny you should say that. I have just been talking to another broken-racer about sidecars, and he reckons he can get his hand on a bucket sidecar for a good price. I reckon I'd be great swinger. I move bloody fast when I'm frightened.

Kickaha
29th December 2009, 18:29
Pt 2

Another 2 hours and we get the call to the dummy grid

Race 2

We get caught out on the start, when Perry drops the flag in double quick time and Divvo has to do a bit of work with clutch and throttle, but the hesitation gives Stu/Chris and Pete the Pirate/Dion both slot up the inside into turn one:(

Over the railway line and through the cemetery they’re slowing us down and making it hard to get alongside, Dion has a look behind and gives us a wave up onto the bridge, next lap and Pete the Pirate/Dion get past Stu/Chris heading up to the bridge but Stu/Chris slot back up the inside when Pete the Pirate/Dion take a wide line onto it

The Pirate and Dion get up the inside into turn 2 and push Stu/Chris a bit wide which lets us through as well, we’re hard on the throttle out of the cemetery and aiming for an outside pass into Robert Holden but can’t quite pull it off, Pete the Pirate goes out wide and we square it up trying to get an inside pass before the next corner

Pete the Pirate/Dion have a brain explosion and try going straight ahead instead of turning up to the bridge which makes passing them rather easy and once we’re past we pull a gap, but by then the top three have cleared out and left us and we come home for another easy fourth:2thumbsup

Head mechanic Spike (when he’s not muttering obscenities into the onboard camera) gives the outfit the once over, a bit more fuel and we’re set

Race 3 Sidecar feature

We get the good start this time and are with the front bunch at the end of lap one, we get the hell slide on exiting the right hander up to the bridge so much so Divvo thinks he’s lost me and looks around to make sure I’m still there:crazy:

Feels like we’ve hit a false neutral and I swearing in my helmet because it’s given the other three a break but when I hear Divvo trying to get a gear up to the hill and nothing happening I suspect it’s tossed a chain

We coast up the hill over the bridge and halfway down the straight and pull off to the left, I have a quick look and sure enough the chains off so we shoot across the road and join the crowd for the duration of the race, the tow vehicle turns up and I motion him in behind us instead of using the trailer I sit backwards on the tray and put my feet on the bumper and they push us back

Back in the pits the bodywork comes off and a quick inspection reveals a break in the bottom of the rear upright which gives us about 30mm of toe out and accounts for both the big slide and loosing the chain, all in all despite the breakage it was a good result, going faster than last year and hanging in with the front bunch all :yes:

Thanks to Avon City Suzuki, Pagid, Dynoworx and of course the lovely Jo for all their support, we’re already planning how we can afford it all again next year:banana:

Kickaha
29th December 2009, 18:35
Some onboards from our outfit, batteries went flat in Race 2
Qualifying 1
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[B]Race 1
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Race 2
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Some wise words from our Head mechanic
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you might need to turn up the volume for him

98tls
29th December 2009, 18:42
Great read mate.:2thumbsup

TonyB
29th December 2009, 19:06
Great read mate.:2thumbsupYou're not wrong!. Well done Kick

puddytat
29th December 2009, 19:48
Go the Mainlanders!!

Al
30th December 2009, 07:17
Good write up Warwick!
Looking forward to seeing you guys racing when we rerturn to NZ for good in Oct 2010!

rat
30th December 2009, 09:09
Quote: The Lawrences are starting to put the pressure on Adam/Stu as the white flag comes out, out of Robert Holden and at the next right Johnny/Rat have gone around



Yeah sorry about being another traffic island, we were putting on a show going sideways everywhere and over cooked it.:ride:
Had a lump in the bottom of my leathers when I looked up and saw all the F1's coming straight for us.:Oops:
We did get a 1st and a 2nd for the day, and were 1st equal with Scrivy and Bob.:first:

Thanks to Johnny B for giving me my first Wanganui win, Awesome day at the track.:2thumbsup

Kickaha
30th December 2009, 09:51
Yeah sorry about being another traffic island, we were putting on a show going sideways everywhere and over cooked it.:ride:

Didn't cause us any problems, I reckon it cost Adam a place, but thats racing:yes:


Thanks to Johnny B for giving me my first Wanganui win, Awesome day at the track.:2thumbsup

well done

old rig
30th December 2009, 15:56
Quote: The Lawrences are starting to put the pressure on Adam/Stu as the white flag comes out, out of Robert Holden and at the next right Johnny/Rat have gone around



Yeah sorry about being another traffic island, we were putting on a show going sideways everywhere and over cooked it.:ride:
Had a lump in the bottom of my leathers when I looked up and saw all the F1's coming straight for us.:Oops:
We did get a 1st and a 2nd for the day, and were 1st equal with Scrivy and Bob.:first:

Thanks to Johnny B for giving me my first Wanganui win, Awesome day at the track.:2thumbsup



it was a great day graet riding by johnny too get pass us on the last race of the day had a ball was amped all night from it :2thumbsup:woohoo:

cowpoos
30th December 2009, 21:04
screw the pot belly issue and arse erosion I want FAST FOOD!!


Good onya mate!!

trailblazer
30th December 2009, 21:35
awesome race report mate and great vids.

old fartz
11th January 2010, 20:08
not ready to sell yet but when we are i will give you a call