Nicksta
1st November 2011, 21:37
Nicki’s VMCC round 6, 29th October 2011
The last round was held at Taupo this year for a change. It had been about 2 years since I had raced here so I signed up for the track day on the Friday to see what’s new. Everything was as I remembered it; except the seal repairs had become worse with a few more layers put on and worn off in places leaving lumps of seal all over the place! A nice surprise was the shaving off of the corner from the straight, makes it nice and fast into the “S” to the finish line.
As it was the final round, Dave brought the entire Kiwibike Insurance office to Taupo; to see what all the fuss is about!
Qualifying: 4 laps
Weather is sunny and the day was shaping up to be a great one. First lap I noticed the track was a lot warmer than Friday, tyres have lots of grip and I pick up the pace for the second, got past a few slower bikes and tried for a faster 3rd lap. I qualified with a 1:53.9, good enough to be 20th on the grid right next to Stephen Bassett on another Pro Twin.
Race before mine and the heavens open up. They declare the F1 race short and call an early lunch to see if the weather settles. They declare it wet and announce the races will be shortened to 5 laps to allow for tyre changing time.
Race 1: 5 laps
Starting back on the 5th row I had Jon Medlin (2nd in championship) right in front of me. My goal was to give him a run for his money in the wet. Lights go out and I nail the start. I find myself picking off rows of bikes and going round T1 just behind Jon. I latch on behind him; determined not to get left behind by the front pack. I find him a bit slow for the pace and stick my nose in front round the sweeper, he sees and pushes back to put in a faster 2nd lap. We catch some F3 bikes and I manage to block pass him into the sweeper putting the F3 bikes between us. I push through the final 2 laps to get a gap on him and cross the line in 2nd. Fastest lap was a 1:57.7, not bad for the wet.
Race 2: 5 laps
I nail the start again and find myself in the front pack. After lap 1, I realise I’m in the top 5 bunch. I’m comfortable with the pace and enjoying the tussle. Lap 3 and I see Leigh off just before T4 and another bike is off at the hairpin. Race is red-flagged and we are to do a full restart. Bugger!
Race 2: 5 laps - Restart
I get another good start and pass Jon on T1. I chase the front pack of 5 and even get past Sargey on his KTM F3 bike. I’m happy for 2 laps but in lap 3 I quickly realise I am getting tired. I battle through lap 4 and unfortunately Sargey gets past me heading towards the sweeper. I cross the line 2nd in Pro Twins again with a best lap of 1:56.1
We ran out of time for our 3rd race so I finished the day in 2nd place, very happy with the racing in the wet. This placed me 3rd overall for the Championship.
It was a pleasure to have Dave, Donna, Jenna and Louella from Kiwibike Insurance at the track for race day; I am proud to race for Kiwibike Insurance and appreciate all their support and excitement over the winter series. Big thank you to the Vic Club and their volunteers for another awesome series of racing, you guys really put in the hard yards for us racers and we appreciate it. My racing is also made possible by Pirelli Tyres (made a huge step up to my racing this season), EBC brakes, New Plymouth Motorcycles, Future Grafix and Autolink – please support those who support us!
Last but definitely not least, a huge thank you to my partner Frenchy for all your enduring support and for being the best pit crew at the series! The entire pit shed (and others) appreciates all your hard work at the track from changing tyres to fixing bikes from crashes.
I am very happy to wrap up the Winter Series on a high and am looking forward to the North Island National rounds before taking on the Winter Series again next year…. I can’t wait!! :clap:
The last round was held at Taupo this year for a change. It had been about 2 years since I had raced here so I signed up for the track day on the Friday to see what’s new. Everything was as I remembered it; except the seal repairs had become worse with a few more layers put on and worn off in places leaving lumps of seal all over the place! A nice surprise was the shaving off of the corner from the straight, makes it nice and fast into the “S” to the finish line.
As it was the final round, Dave brought the entire Kiwibike Insurance office to Taupo; to see what all the fuss is about!
Qualifying: 4 laps
Weather is sunny and the day was shaping up to be a great one. First lap I noticed the track was a lot warmer than Friday, tyres have lots of grip and I pick up the pace for the second, got past a few slower bikes and tried for a faster 3rd lap. I qualified with a 1:53.9, good enough to be 20th on the grid right next to Stephen Bassett on another Pro Twin.
Race before mine and the heavens open up. They declare the F1 race short and call an early lunch to see if the weather settles. They declare it wet and announce the races will be shortened to 5 laps to allow for tyre changing time.
Race 1: 5 laps
Starting back on the 5th row I had Jon Medlin (2nd in championship) right in front of me. My goal was to give him a run for his money in the wet. Lights go out and I nail the start. I find myself picking off rows of bikes and going round T1 just behind Jon. I latch on behind him; determined not to get left behind by the front pack. I find him a bit slow for the pace and stick my nose in front round the sweeper, he sees and pushes back to put in a faster 2nd lap. We catch some F3 bikes and I manage to block pass him into the sweeper putting the F3 bikes between us. I push through the final 2 laps to get a gap on him and cross the line in 2nd. Fastest lap was a 1:57.7, not bad for the wet.
Race 2: 5 laps
I nail the start again and find myself in the front pack. After lap 1, I realise I’m in the top 5 bunch. I’m comfortable with the pace and enjoying the tussle. Lap 3 and I see Leigh off just before T4 and another bike is off at the hairpin. Race is red-flagged and we are to do a full restart. Bugger!
Race 2: 5 laps - Restart
I get another good start and pass Jon on T1. I chase the front pack of 5 and even get past Sargey on his KTM F3 bike. I’m happy for 2 laps but in lap 3 I quickly realise I am getting tired. I battle through lap 4 and unfortunately Sargey gets past me heading towards the sweeper. I cross the line 2nd in Pro Twins again with a best lap of 1:56.1
We ran out of time for our 3rd race so I finished the day in 2nd place, very happy with the racing in the wet. This placed me 3rd overall for the Championship.
It was a pleasure to have Dave, Donna, Jenna and Louella from Kiwibike Insurance at the track for race day; I am proud to race for Kiwibike Insurance and appreciate all their support and excitement over the winter series. Big thank you to the Vic Club and their volunteers for another awesome series of racing, you guys really put in the hard yards for us racers and we appreciate it. My racing is also made possible by Pirelli Tyres (made a huge step up to my racing this season), EBC brakes, New Plymouth Motorcycles, Future Grafix and Autolink – please support those who support us!
Last but definitely not least, a huge thank you to my partner Frenchy for all your enduring support and for being the best pit crew at the series! The entire pit shed (and others) appreciates all your hard work at the track from changing tyres to fixing bikes from crashes.
I am very happy to wrap up the Winter Series on a high and am looking forward to the North Island National rounds before taking on the Winter Series again next year…. I can’t wait!! :clap: