Nicksta
20th July 2011, 22:10
Nicki’s VMCC round 3, 16th July 2011
Round 3 and the promise of sunshine had me happy going to bed Friday night, however the layer of ice building up in the van was concerning. We woke to a chilly 1-degree or so, after being in the minus’ overnight. Mr Taylor measured the track temp as the F1 boys rolled out to qualify first at 0.1 degrees, brrrrr.
Qualifying: 4 laps
I was excited to see how my new Pirelli Supercorsas would go, with only 4 laps to scrub them in and qualify well on a cold track. First lap, I focussed on scrubbing my tyres, 2nd; I sped up and started to test the grip on the cold track. I felt comfortable so picked up the pace, 4th lap I qualified with a 1:26.9, good enough fir 14th on the grid and 3rd in Protwins.
Race 1: 6 laps
4th row on the grid, the track was still very cold, lights go out and I launch, a bit hard as the ER6 wheelied under power, I held it for a moment before dropping it down to switch to 2nd gear and I lost a few places. I spent the first lap picking off slower bikes as I tried to catch up to Mark Bennett, the next Protwin. Coming round Higgins, a F3 bike crashes and the bike is still on the track, the race is red flagged. Restart and I nurse the launch, Jason gets past me and I take a lap to catch him. 2nd lap and Mark Bennett sneaks by. I battle past but he takes me again, I stay behind him till the end crossing the line 7th overall and 3rd in Protwins with a PB of 1:22.2. I’m very happy with my first podium finish in Pro Twins and very happy with my time in the dry.
Race 2: 6 laps
I’m determined to launch well, I do and find myself in the first bunch to turn 1. The track is warming up and I’m in a really good rhythm, Mark passes me again and I set about hunting him down, he’s caught up in a bunch of F3 bikes and they constantly battle as I watch from just behind, I catch them on the straights but am hitting false neutrals under breaking so lose what I gain each lap. I cross the finish in 6th overall, 1.3 seconds behind Mark and I’m 3rd again in Protwins. I had a blinder of a race and best yet, I have a new PB on the ER6 of 1:20.7. I’m very happy with my performance in the dry and cant fault the new Pirelli tyres.
Race 3: 6 laps
F1 raced before us and unfortunately John Baker had a bad crash. My thoughts have been with you and your family; heal up quick John as its great seeing you at the track each round with Tim.
Unfortunately John’s crash weighed on my mind in the last race. I got a good start but focussed on finishing comfortably and was 2 seconds off my pace. What I didn’t realise was I did well at the start and was in front of Mark, but behind another Protwin. I crossed the line 4th in Protwins.
I finished the day 3rd overall in Pro Twins with a new PB of 1:20.7 :woohoo: which isn’t far behind my best of the VFR400 of 1:19.5. I’m confident to say I have my mojo back and can’t wait till the august round.
Big thank you to VMCC and volunteers for putting on another awesome day. To KIwibike Insurance, thank you for your ongoing support and Pirelli Tyres for being awesome in the dry. Last but never least, thanks to Frenchy for your support, and my family for coming down to watch!
Roll on round 4! :yes:
Round 3 and the promise of sunshine had me happy going to bed Friday night, however the layer of ice building up in the van was concerning. We woke to a chilly 1-degree or so, after being in the minus’ overnight. Mr Taylor measured the track temp as the F1 boys rolled out to qualify first at 0.1 degrees, brrrrr.
Qualifying: 4 laps
I was excited to see how my new Pirelli Supercorsas would go, with only 4 laps to scrub them in and qualify well on a cold track. First lap, I focussed on scrubbing my tyres, 2nd; I sped up and started to test the grip on the cold track. I felt comfortable so picked up the pace, 4th lap I qualified with a 1:26.9, good enough fir 14th on the grid and 3rd in Protwins.
Race 1: 6 laps
4th row on the grid, the track was still very cold, lights go out and I launch, a bit hard as the ER6 wheelied under power, I held it for a moment before dropping it down to switch to 2nd gear and I lost a few places. I spent the first lap picking off slower bikes as I tried to catch up to Mark Bennett, the next Protwin. Coming round Higgins, a F3 bike crashes and the bike is still on the track, the race is red flagged. Restart and I nurse the launch, Jason gets past me and I take a lap to catch him. 2nd lap and Mark Bennett sneaks by. I battle past but he takes me again, I stay behind him till the end crossing the line 7th overall and 3rd in Protwins with a PB of 1:22.2. I’m very happy with my first podium finish in Pro Twins and very happy with my time in the dry.
Race 2: 6 laps
I’m determined to launch well, I do and find myself in the first bunch to turn 1. The track is warming up and I’m in a really good rhythm, Mark passes me again and I set about hunting him down, he’s caught up in a bunch of F3 bikes and they constantly battle as I watch from just behind, I catch them on the straights but am hitting false neutrals under breaking so lose what I gain each lap. I cross the finish in 6th overall, 1.3 seconds behind Mark and I’m 3rd again in Protwins. I had a blinder of a race and best yet, I have a new PB on the ER6 of 1:20.7. I’m very happy with my performance in the dry and cant fault the new Pirelli tyres.
Race 3: 6 laps
F1 raced before us and unfortunately John Baker had a bad crash. My thoughts have been with you and your family; heal up quick John as its great seeing you at the track each round with Tim.
Unfortunately John’s crash weighed on my mind in the last race. I got a good start but focussed on finishing comfortably and was 2 seconds off my pace. What I didn’t realise was I did well at the start and was in front of Mark, but behind another Protwin. I crossed the line 4th in Protwins.
I finished the day 3rd overall in Pro Twins with a new PB of 1:20.7 :woohoo: which isn’t far behind my best of the VFR400 of 1:19.5. I’m confident to say I have my mojo back and can’t wait till the august round.
Big thank you to VMCC and volunteers for putting on another awesome day. To KIwibike Insurance, thank you for your ongoing support and Pirelli Tyres for being awesome in the dry. Last but never least, thanks to Frenchy for your support, and my family for coming down to watch!
Roll on round 4! :yes: