TonyB
2nd March 2010, 20:50
As always, my favourite race meeting of the year. Last year I had some dramas on the Friday, and then crashed out with reasonably bad injuries on the Saturday. I was determined that everything would go smoothly this year… I was also determined that this would be a short write-up...
Friday Practice
Friday was one of the more stressful days I have experienced while racing. After two practice sessions the alternator casing was found to be cracked and leaking oil. “That’s my weekend stuffed” I thought. The damaged had happened a year ago at the last SOT. I had raced the bike all year with no issues! Nobody had a spare casing.
After dithering for a bit I called Darryl Cotton at Advanced Motor Homes Ltd, to see if he could weld it. “Bring it over” he said. It was about 2:30pm. Darryl was on the other side of town and I had to sort a car and go get my trailer back (long story), but I at least had hope that it could be fixed.
Finally got to Darryl’s at maybe 3:45, feeling VERY stressed. The boys at the track reckoned it could be welded on the bike, but Darryl noticed the crack was very extensive- all the way around the inspection cover. We decided to take it off, which meant removing the stator, oil seals and inspection window. Darryl showed me what to do and then did his magic with the welder, and we were about to put it on when he noticed ANOTHER crack. More welding. Finally the bike was back together and back at the pits at around 6:30 PM. I had missed sign in and scrutineering…
I spoke to Andy from AB's motorcycles about the risk of damaging the crankshaft or bearings. After some discussion we decided it was 'probably' OK, and that I needed to keep an eye out for discolouration of the inspection cover.
199436
(well its definitely a Monster now...kinda like Frankenstein. With scars like that, some would argue that it suits the owner well....)
The most amusing part of the day was realizing that my pit garage was between to Rob Taylor’s KTL team (999R, 748R and RSV4 Factory) and Malcolm Bells NCR Millona One Shot. Actually for a few minutes I felt distinctly uncomfortable, but quickly saw the funny side of it. Bells team had spare wheels that were worth more than my bike….2 sets of spares….
198828198829198831198832
Saturday
Woke up early and couldn’t sleep. Got to the track fairly early, and then sorted myself out for the day.
Practices/Qualifying were combined, and in my case I had one shot at it for 2 classes. Huge numbers of bikes were cued up to go out, so I waited for them to get away, and then went out. Even then I got caught in the traffic jam, so I wasn’t confident, but it was just as bad or worse for everyone else. I was quite stoked to see that I got 7th fastest in Super Stock Ltd (my bikes main class) with a front row start, and 17th in F2. Both fields had something like 45+ bikes
SS Ltd Race 1. Got a good start but then got swamped at turn one due to lack of aggression. Was absolutely astounded and somewhat humbled when Nick Cain made life very difficult for me on a Husky 125 2 stroke Motard. He definitely made me ride faster! AT one stage I was breaking into the hairpin, the bike getting out of shape slightly, and the front tyre protesting, when the little bugger effortlessly out braked me! We did however establish that his bike and rider combo were lighter then my bike on its own…In the end I was able to lap about 3 seconds faster than him…Fought back a bit during the race to finish 18th. Bugger!
F2 Race 1. I was actually happy starting back a bit further, but still lost out a bit into turn one. Ended up having a great race trying to clear some Motards, and only at the end of the race did I realize that there were two other Ducati 750’s trying to get by me. Got 22nd of 51 finishers (if my laps is right) A fun race- in about the 3rd lap I was running WAY wide on the exit of the sweeper and I had to yank on the inside bar to stand the bike up. The left clip on rotated on the fork and I did the rest of the race with it about 30° further back than the other one.
]198830[
Could have done 'Best of Italian' but chose not to as I still wasn't 100% sure the bike would last the weekend.
Sunday
SS Ltd Race 2. Got a 14th in this one, but it was evident that my race craft has a long way to go as there were a few bikes in front of me that were a second or 2 slower but I couldn’t do much about it.
F2 Race 2. More fun and games and a 22nd. No recollection of specific events…can you tell it’s all becoming a bit of a blur?
At about this point, I became a tad concerned about the front brakes. They were making a small 'squishing' noise which shouldn't have been there. One of the gys from KTL (sorry- useless with names) spent quite a bit of time trying to get to the bottom of it. He discovered that there was a gel like substance floating around in the master cylinder resevoir. Further investigation showed that it was coating the entire resevoir and could be seen 'blowing back' when the lever was first pulled. Still don'y know what it was. Andy from AB's assured me that the noise and blowback would be caused by a bit of the gel blocking a small relief valve or port in the master cylinder, and that it would be fine.
Bracket racing:
They take your best time and sort you into A, B or C. I was in B, supposedly near the back. So for race one I decided to grid up on the back row.
Race 1: The field was massive- somewhere around 60 bikes. When the flag dropped, I couldn’t even see it, I just watched the riders in front. It was pretty full on, with dust clouds erupting on several corners as riders went off. Did it get red flagged? I forget- I think it did. Anyway for the first lap or two there were times when you literally couldn’t see the track ahead- bikes everywhere. Eventually things started to spread out, and I got behind a train of Motards- probably 6 or 7- all racing nose to tail. They were circulating slower than I wanted, but every time I picked a couple off, then went to make a move on the next one, the gaps would close and I’d get shuffled back. Oh well. No idea where I finished- results not on MyLaps yet.
Race 2. After the entertainment in the Conti Cup (see below) I decided to try for a better grid posi. Managed to get around mid field, and was much better aggression-wise at the start. One guy demonstrated there was still room for improvement though- I was covering the rider in front at Pothole, thinking that would be enough to stop a pass (we were 3 or 4 wide) when this dude just shot around the outside of all of us. Classic. Had a great race, chasing a couple of quicker Motards, the guys I was having trouble with before were now behind). Every now and then a bike that really should have been well in front of me would find its way through the traffic and blast past down the straight. Again- no mylaps so no idea of position. Fun though! A Ducati 851 passed me in the last coule of laps and I was just about able to stay with him.
Conti Cup. As mentioned above, this was FUN! This race fell between the bracket Races, and after the first one, I decided I’d go for a decent grid spot. Arrived on the third row, noticed a spot on the second so I grabbed that. There was a spare spot on the front row….Steve Longley pointed at me, then the spare spot. I pointed at myself, cocked my head, then shook it….vigorously. Again Steve pointed at me, then at the grid spot…this time with some conviction. So I shuffled up….parked on the front row next to the Millona One Shot NCR Ducati, and with other exotic and vastly more powerful bikes both beside and behind me. “This should be interesting…”. The flag dropped and I nailed it. A friend on the bank said it looked hilarious because I had a clear holeshot for maybe 70 metres until the big bikes hooked second, selected warp drive and left my little 62hp Ducati in the dust. From my point of view there were multi coloured blurs erupting out of my peripheral vision then disappearing in front of me. It was awesome! Got a good entry into turn one and set about going as hard as I could. Through out the race, every now and then a vastly more expensive and powerful bike would come past on the straight. An early 675 and an 8 Valve Monster of some description came past and I was able to just about stay with them over the course of a lap- they would gap me by a fair margin down the straight, then for the rest of the lap i would pull them back in, pretty much passing them at the sweeper, only to have them blast away and start the process again. The funniest part had to be passing a tri-colour 848/1098 in the infield at one stage, and having a 1098R finally get me on the last lap. Excellent fun
So I learnt a few things over the weekend. I need to stop comparing the Ducati to F3/Protwins bikes- it goes very well in its intended class BEARS SS Ltd, and pretty good in BEARS F2. I also need to stop listening to people who tell me about its many faults. It gets the job done, and leaves me with a hell of a big smile…not counting Friday.
A huge thanks to Darryl Cotton from Advanced Motorhomes Ltd for saving my weekend. To be honest I nearly threw in the towel on about 5 separate occasions, as the damage seemed too extensive, or the risks involved in running the bike seemed too great. As much as anything, it was Darryl's 'can do' attitude that kept me going and positive. I'm really glad he was there to help, otherwise I would have spent the next year regetting not racing.
And thanks again to Rob and the team from KTL for helping me out. The minor dramas with the brakes could have been a show stopper. And I must also thank Andy from AB's Motorcycles in Nelson for offering advice throughout the weekend- it was only his final word on what to look for with the crank bearings that won me over and made me decide to risk racing the bike.
Friday Practice
Friday was one of the more stressful days I have experienced while racing. After two practice sessions the alternator casing was found to be cracked and leaking oil. “That’s my weekend stuffed” I thought. The damaged had happened a year ago at the last SOT. I had raced the bike all year with no issues! Nobody had a spare casing.
After dithering for a bit I called Darryl Cotton at Advanced Motor Homes Ltd, to see if he could weld it. “Bring it over” he said. It was about 2:30pm. Darryl was on the other side of town and I had to sort a car and go get my trailer back (long story), but I at least had hope that it could be fixed.
Finally got to Darryl’s at maybe 3:45, feeling VERY stressed. The boys at the track reckoned it could be welded on the bike, but Darryl noticed the crack was very extensive- all the way around the inspection cover. We decided to take it off, which meant removing the stator, oil seals and inspection window. Darryl showed me what to do and then did his magic with the welder, and we were about to put it on when he noticed ANOTHER crack. More welding. Finally the bike was back together and back at the pits at around 6:30 PM. I had missed sign in and scrutineering…
I spoke to Andy from AB's motorcycles about the risk of damaging the crankshaft or bearings. After some discussion we decided it was 'probably' OK, and that I needed to keep an eye out for discolouration of the inspection cover.
199436
(well its definitely a Monster now...kinda like Frankenstein. With scars like that, some would argue that it suits the owner well....)
The most amusing part of the day was realizing that my pit garage was between to Rob Taylor’s KTL team (999R, 748R and RSV4 Factory) and Malcolm Bells NCR Millona One Shot. Actually for a few minutes I felt distinctly uncomfortable, but quickly saw the funny side of it. Bells team had spare wheels that were worth more than my bike….2 sets of spares….
198828198829198831198832
Saturday
Woke up early and couldn’t sleep. Got to the track fairly early, and then sorted myself out for the day.
Practices/Qualifying were combined, and in my case I had one shot at it for 2 classes. Huge numbers of bikes were cued up to go out, so I waited for them to get away, and then went out. Even then I got caught in the traffic jam, so I wasn’t confident, but it was just as bad or worse for everyone else. I was quite stoked to see that I got 7th fastest in Super Stock Ltd (my bikes main class) with a front row start, and 17th in F2. Both fields had something like 45+ bikes
SS Ltd Race 1. Got a good start but then got swamped at turn one due to lack of aggression. Was absolutely astounded and somewhat humbled when Nick Cain made life very difficult for me on a Husky 125 2 stroke Motard. He definitely made me ride faster! AT one stage I was breaking into the hairpin, the bike getting out of shape slightly, and the front tyre protesting, when the little bugger effortlessly out braked me! We did however establish that his bike and rider combo were lighter then my bike on its own…In the end I was able to lap about 3 seconds faster than him…Fought back a bit during the race to finish 18th. Bugger!
F2 Race 1. I was actually happy starting back a bit further, but still lost out a bit into turn one. Ended up having a great race trying to clear some Motards, and only at the end of the race did I realize that there were two other Ducati 750’s trying to get by me. Got 22nd of 51 finishers (if my laps is right) A fun race- in about the 3rd lap I was running WAY wide on the exit of the sweeper and I had to yank on the inside bar to stand the bike up. The left clip on rotated on the fork and I did the rest of the race with it about 30° further back than the other one.
]198830[
Could have done 'Best of Italian' but chose not to as I still wasn't 100% sure the bike would last the weekend.
Sunday
SS Ltd Race 2. Got a 14th in this one, but it was evident that my race craft has a long way to go as there were a few bikes in front of me that were a second or 2 slower but I couldn’t do much about it.
F2 Race 2. More fun and games and a 22nd. No recollection of specific events…can you tell it’s all becoming a bit of a blur?
At about this point, I became a tad concerned about the front brakes. They were making a small 'squishing' noise which shouldn't have been there. One of the gys from KTL (sorry- useless with names) spent quite a bit of time trying to get to the bottom of it. He discovered that there was a gel like substance floating around in the master cylinder resevoir. Further investigation showed that it was coating the entire resevoir and could be seen 'blowing back' when the lever was first pulled. Still don'y know what it was. Andy from AB's assured me that the noise and blowback would be caused by a bit of the gel blocking a small relief valve or port in the master cylinder, and that it would be fine.
Bracket racing:
They take your best time and sort you into A, B or C. I was in B, supposedly near the back. So for race one I decided to grid up on the back row.
Race 1: The field was massive- somewhere around 60 bikes. When the flag dropped, I couldn’t even see it, I just watched the riders in front. It was pretty full on, with dust clouds erupting on several corners as riders went off. Did it get red flagged? I forget- I think it did. Anyway for the first lap or two there were times when you literally couldn’t see the track ahead- bikes everywhere. Eventually things started to spread out, and I got behind a train of Motards- probably 6 or 7- all racing nose to tail. They were circulating slower than I wanted, but every time I picked a couple off, then went to make a move on the next one, the gaps would close and I’d get shuffled back. Oh well. No idea where I finished- results not on MyLaps yet.
Race 2. After the entertainment in the Conti Cup (see below) I decided to try for a better grid posi. Managed to get around mid field, and was much better aggression-wise at the start. One guy demonstrated there was still room for improvement though- I was covering the rider in front at Pothole, thinking that would be enough to stop a pass (we were 3 or 4 wide) when this dude just shot around the outside of all of us. Classic. Had a great race, chasing a couple of quicker Motards, the guys I was having trouble with before were now behind). Every now and then a bike that really should have been well in front of me would find its way through the traffic and blast past down the straight. Again- no mylaps so no idea of position. Fun though! A Ducati 851 passed me in the last coule of laps and I was just about able to stay with him.
Conti Cup. As mentioned above, this was FUN! This race fell between the bracket Races, and after the first one, I decided I’d go for a decent grid spot. Arrived on the third row, noticed a spot on the second so I grabbed that. There was a spare spot on the front row….Steve Longley pointed at me, then the spare spot. I pointed at myself, cocked my head, then shook it….vigorously. Again Steve pointed at me, then at the grid spot…this time with some conviction. So I shuffled up….parked on the front row next to the Millona One Shot NCR Ducati, and with other exotic and vastly more powerful bikes both beside and behind me. “This should be interesting…”. The flag dropped and I nailed it. A friend on the bank said it looked hilarious because I had a clear holeshot for maybe 70 metres until the big bikes hooked second, selected warp drive and left my little 62hp Ducati in the dust. From my point of view there were multi coloured blurs erupting out of my peripheral vision then disappearing in front of me. It was awesome! Got a good entry into turn one and set about going as hard as I could. Through out the race, every now and then a vastly more expensive and powerful bike would come past on the straight. An early 675 and an 8 Valve Monster of some description came past and I was able to just about stay with them over the course of a lap- they would gap me by a fair margin down the straight, then for the rest of the lap i would pull them back in, pretty much passing them at the sweeper, only to have them blast away and start the process again. The funniest part had to be passing a tri-colour 848/1098 in the infield at one stage, and having a 1098R finally get me on the last lap. Excellent fun
So I learnt a few things over the weekend. I need to stop comparing the Ducati to F3/Protwins bikes- it goes very well in its intended class BEARS SS Ltd, and pretty good in BEARS F2. I also need to stop listening to people who tell me about its many faults. It gets the job done, and leaves me with a hell of a big smile…not counting Friday.
A huge thanks to Darryl Cotton from Advanced Motorhomes Ltd for saving my weekend. To be honest I nearly threw in the towel on about 5 separate occasions, as the damage seemed too extensive, or the risks involved in running the bike seemed too great. As much as anything, it was Darryl's 'can do' attitude that kept me going and positive. I'm really glad he was there to help, otherwise I would have spent the next year regetting not racing.
And thanks again to Rob and the team from KTL for helping me out. The minor dramas with the brakes could have been a show stopper. And I must also thank Andy from AB's Motorcycles in Nelson for offering advice throughout the weekend- it was only his final word on what to look for with the crank bearings that won me over and made me decide to risk racing the bike.