k14
15th February 2011, 15:41
Well the first three rounds of the 2011 NZ Championships are over and it has so far been a fairly pleasing set of results.
Going into the season I was eying a top three finish in the Formula 3 class (or now known as Superlite). I knew this wouldn't be an easy result with the three very experienced names of Jason Easton, Glen Williams and Terry Fitzgerald again contesting the championship, all past champions. Also Neil Smith from Blenheim riding a R6/450 and Scott Moir from the North Island was riding a RS125 chassis with CRF450 engine, both of whom would be quality opponents.
Round 1 - Levels
We arrived at the first round at Levels Raceway, Timaru to blue skies and warm south Canterbury temperatures. The test day went well, getting up to speed and making some adjustments to my suspension to suit my Continental race attack slicks. At the end of the day I was happy with the rear setup but was still chasing dodgy brake feel (standard for GSXR600 master cylinders) and lack of confidence on the front end.
A bit of overnight rain meant the track was still partially wet for the practice session on Saturday, so that was a waste of time. Qualifying came around and with a brand new set of Conti's I got my game face on, circulating through the traffic. I was consistently improving around 3-4 tenths a lap and when I came across the line to start the last lap of qualifying I knew I could improve by that margin again. However one too many down changes in to turn 1 put an end to that, changing into first gear bought the rear right around and I nearly ran off the track! When the results came out I was disappointed not to be on the front row, missing out by just over one tenth to current NZ #1 Glen Williams, I guess not the worst result!
Soon enough the race came around and I got a decent start slotting into fifth for the first few laps. I had a quick look over my shoulder a few times and Neil Smith was right on my tail. I just focused on being smooth and consistent with my lines. On the 6th lap I came around the left hander after the hairpin to see a bike in the middle of the track and Terry Fitzgerald lying prone on the grass. Sure enough the red flag was out quick smart and we were into the pits. In pit lane we were advised that 2/3rds race distance was finished so the results would stand. However five minutes later we were called up and informed that the second part of the race would be four laps.
I got an absolutely terrible start and had to work hard just to get back to fifth place with one lap to go. By then Neil had cleared off and with just one lap remaining I had to take that position, slightly disappointing but a good start to the season.
The next morning it was again overcast and a little cool, the Continental softs that I was running prefer a track temp over 25 and with it only being 18 for the mornings race I would have to be careful. The lights went out and I got a good launch into the left/right turns one and two. As I was changing direction to the left I heard a tyre screech and then got smacked on the left side from Neil Smith. I was pushed right off the track to the ripple strip and consequently lost about 5 places. Entering the back straight I used the power of my bike to pass a few guys and passed another 3 in the remainder of that lap. I set into the race but had a few slides which knocked my confidence a bit and in the closing laps my lap times suffered. On the final lap Terry Fitzgerald, who was recovering from his crash the previous day came past and relegated me to fifth. I tried in the last few corners to catch and have a chance to take the position back but it was all in vain, I had missed a good opportunity to get a foot up early on Terry and was a little disappointed at my last few laps.
Coming into the pits the damage from the hit was quite evident. A fist size hole had been punched right through my newly painted fairings by Neil's crash bung. Such is racing :angry: Also the cold track temps were evident on the tyre with the left side showing clear signs of cold tearing. I decided to flip the tyre around for the final race to make use of the relatively unused right side of the tyre. I was also fortunate that Scott Moir had dropped a valve on his bike while leading the race and thus had been elevated a position from what should have been 6th.
This race it was Jason Easton who had problems, not being able to start his bike and thus I had two free grid spots in front of me. I got another good start and managed to get onto the back straight in 3rd position. I was a bit tentative with the throttle in the first few laps and Neil Smith nipped past and went in hot pursuit of Glen Williams. I had a pretty lonely race although looking over my shoulder with three laps to go I saw Glen Agate on his Kawasaki hot on my tail. I quickly focused on pulling a bit of breathing space and bought it home in fourth position.
That bought to an end the first round of the championships. I didn't ride as well as I knew I could but I was lucky a few of my competitors had some bad luck which left my 4th in the championship standings. Teretonga, my favourite track was up next.
Going into the season I was eying a top three finish in the Formula 3 class (or now known as Superlite). I knew this wouldn't be an easy result with the three very experienced names of Jason Easton, Glen Williams and Terry Fitzgerald again contesting the championship, all past champions. Also Neil Smith from Blenheim riding a R6/450 and Scott Moir from the North Island was riding a RS125 chassis with CRF450 engine, both of whom would be quality opponents.
Round 1 - Levels
We arrived at the first round at Levels Raceway, Timaru to blue skies and warm south Canterbury temperatures. The test day went well, getting up to speed and making some adjustments to my suspension to suit my Continental race attack slicks. At the end of the day I was happy with the rear setup but was still chasing dodgy brake feel (standard for GSXR600 master cylinders) and lack of confidence on the front end.
A bit of overnight rain meant the track was still partially wet for the practice session on Saturday, so that was a waste of time. Qualifying came around and with a brand new set of Conti's I got my game face on, circulating through the traffic. I was consistently improving around 3-4 tenths a lap and when I came across the line to start the last lap of qualifying I knew I could improve by that margin again. However one too many down changes in to turn 1 put an end to that, changing into first gear bought the rear right around and I nearly ran off the track! When the results came out I was disappointed not to be on the front row, missing out by just over one tenth to current NZ #1 Glen Williams, I guess not the worst result!
Soon enough the race came around and I got a decent start slotting into fifth for the first few laps. I had a quick look over my shoulder a few times and Neil Smith was right on my tail. I just focused on being smooth and consistent with my lines. On the 6th lap I came around the left hander after the hairpin to see a bike in the middle of the track and Terry Fitzgerald lying prone on the grass. Sure enough the red flag was out quick smart and we were into the pits. In pit lane we were advised that 2/3rds race distance was finished so the results would stand. However five minutes later we were called up and informed that the second part of the race would be four laps.
I got an absolutely terrible start and had to work hard just to get back to fifth place with one lap to go. By then Neil had cleared off and with just one lap remaining I had to take that position, slightly disappointing but a good start to the season.
The next morning it was again overcast and a little cool, the Continental softs that I was running prefer a track temp over 25 and with it only being 18 for the mornings race I would have to be careful. The lights went out and I got a good launch into the left/right turns one and two. As I was changing direction to the left I heard a tyre screech and then got smacked on the left side from Neil Smith. I was pushed right off the track to the ripple strip and consequently lost about 5 places. Entering the back straight I used the power of my bike to pass a few guys and passed another 3 in the remainder of that lap. I set into the race but had a few slides which knocked my confidence a bit and in the closing laps my lap times suffered. On the final lap Terry Fitzgerald, who was recovering from his crash the previous day came past and relegated me to fifth. I tried in the last few corners to catch and have a chance to take the position back but it was all in vain, I had missed a good opportunity to get a foot up early on Terry and was a little disappointed at my last few laps.
Coming into the pits the damage from the hit was quite evident. A fist size hole had been punched right through my newly painted fairings by Neil's crash bung. Such is racing :angry: Also the cold track temps were evident on the tyre with the left side showing clear signs of cold tearing. I decided to flip the tyre around for the final race to make use of the relatively unused right side of the tyre. I was also fortunate that Scott Moir had dropped a valve on his bike while leading the race and thus had been elevated a position from what should have been 6th.
This race it was Jason Easton who had problems, not being able to start his bike and thus I had two free grid spots in front of me. I got another good start and managed to get onto the back straight in 3rd position. I was a bit tentative with the throttle in the first few laps and Neil Smith nipped past and went in hot pursuit of Glen Williams. I had a pretty lonely race although looking over my shoulder with three laps to go I saw Glen Agate on his Kawasaki hot on my tail. I quickly focused on pulling a bit of breathing space and bought it home in fourth position.
That bought to an end the first round of the championships. I didn't ride as well as I knew I could but I was lucky a few of my competitors had some bad luck which left my 4th in the championship standings. Teretonga, my favourite track was up next.