quickbuck
20th December 2011, 14:12
The second round of the Suzuki Tri Series took us to Manfeild, in Feilding. For the Ultralite Class this is the Final round, as our class is replaced with Classic Sidecars for the Wanganui Street Races. So this means I was hoping to improve on my 9th position in the championship.
As Feilding is only 20 minutes away I left the loading of the bike until the morning. The weather forecast looked really bad, and I didn’t particularly like the idea of loading a bike onto the trailer in a shower, just to leave it to get totally wet over night. I was intending to run taller gearing as a bit of an experiment to see if I could maintain some higher corner speed, and get some higher top speed out of the Ninja down the straights. However as the forecast was for rain, I decided to stick with what I knew, and left it as was from Hampton Downs.
So, I loaded the gear into the ute, and the bike remained in the shed. The next morning was a relatively late start, and I got the bike on the trailer, headed to get fuel, and made my way to the track. The first thing I noticed was there were much more cars than usual, so had to fight for a spot to get into the pit garage that Eamon Timms had organised for us. Once I got the bike and gear unloaded, it was registration time, and then Riders Brief. Things seemed to be moving along quickly. We were up for practice straight after the Motards and Superbikes.
Practice/ Qualifying:
I got to the dummy grid shortly after the 3 minute call up, and waited patiently to be let out. I had fitted a camera to my bike for this round, and was keen to get some good footage. I followed a few bikes out, but not too many, and proceeded to warm everything up. After a lap I went for it, and tried to get some good laps in. I ended up in a battle with Andy Croft on another Ninja 250R. We were using a bit of drafting to battle the very strong wind down 2 of the 3 straights at Manfeild. After swapping leads, and trying to set a fast time the 8 laps seemed to go really fast! We came in to look at the times. I managed a 1:32.724, and that put me 10th on the grid. Andy managed to get slightly faster, but not by much!
Race 1:
The Superbikes had just been out in a Wet race and the track had dried while they were out there. So the conditions of the track were a little suspect with the potential for a few wet patches to still be on the track. Although watching Nick Cole take the win on the ZX10 from the pit gate was a true inspiration. All the Kawasaki Riders in the Ultralite class clapped and cheered him as he came in for his post race interview.
I left the pits and got some heat into the tyres, suspension and brakes, and found my way to the grid. After the flag dropped I got a reasonable start, but I much prefer lights! Not to worry, I joined the “lolly scramble” at turn one, and got the hammer down. For some reason I don’t feel as nervous about turn 1 like I used to. After a little chaos through the first lap I continued with my dice with Andy Croft. Alex Hockley was also there on a KR150. We were swapping places all over the place. Then on lap 4 going through turn 3 (Splash) Andy dropped the bike right in front of me. I managed to avoid riding over Andy and his bike as they slid off to the gravel trap. Alex and I continued to battle for a few more laps, and he managed to get in front of me coming into the last corner before the line, and made it stick. I managed a 1:31.679, which is 0.191 off my PB. I did my PB in calm conditions on a still day. Unfortunately I had finger trouble with my camera, so missed some great footage.
Race 2:
After watching a few races from the stands I decided to get myself ready during the Motards, and watch the Superbike race from the dummy grid. So, I was first on the grid, and waited there for 15 minutes while watching a battle of the big bikes. Nick Cole couldn’t pull off the double, but it was a great battle to watch.
When it came time to head out I set my camera going and got out on the track. I got plenty of heat into my tyres, brakes, and suspension. Then I lined up on the grid. I was so keen to get out; I was one of the first there, so I had a little wait for everybody else.
Once the flag dropped, I was a little keen on the revs, and the front of the Ninja popped into the air! Once I settled that down I was a little swamped at the start. I left the brakes well alone into turn one, and went up the inside of Andy Croft, and followed Aaron Hassen through turn 1 on another Ninja 250R. Alex Hockley then came around the outside of me on his KR150, and Andy followed him! Talk about the usual suspects! Heading down to Higgans, I got a draft off Andy, and got passed him, but Jacob Stroud (son of 8 time NZ Superbike Champ, Andrew) came up the inside of me, and proceeded to disappear on his RG150. I run a little wide on turn 1, like down the rumble strip, and Andy got passed me as well! I got passed Andy down Denny Hulme straight and proceeded to chase the 13 year olds (Aaron and Jacob). Alex was dicing with them too.
Andy then drafted me down the front straight and passed me into turn 1! I followed him and got passed in turn 3. Mean time Jacob had got ahead of Alex, and was off after Aaron Hassen. I could see Alex just up the road, so proceeded to chase him down. I knew if I worried more about Alex, and less about Andy behind me, then I will be going forward. I managed to keep Andy behind me for a couple of laps. However, he was still very much in touch. He finally passed me down the front straight. A few laps later. I was right on Alex’s tail by this stage, so turn 1 was going to be really interesting!! Andy passed me up the inside at turn 2, and proceeded to battle with Alex. Andy got a draft of Alex down Denny Hulme, and passed him going into Higgins. I then sat there and watched them battle, using all the slip streams I could to keep in touch. I then got passed them down the front straight, and was leading them into turn 1 around the outside, and lead all the way until the braking point for Higgans (Turn 5), where Andy had been sitting behind me the whole time. I followed him up the back straight and lead him into Dunlop, but he took a tighter line, and got passed me there. I followed him over the line to record a 1:31.731 best lap, but the race wasn’t over! That was the White Flag. Alex then passed us both into turn 1, and Andy followed him through. They slowed me up in the esses a little, but had to stay in position. By this time things were starting to ache, and I had almost chucked in the towel. However I got out of the hairpin quickly, and drafted Andy down Denny Hulme again. As I raced down the back straight I come up with a plan. I was going to pass Andy going into Dunlop on the tight line he used on me, and then see if I can exit fast enough to challenge Alex over the line. As it turns out after I got passed Andy, he run wide trying to go around me, and Alex had a moment in front of me on the exit, so I managed to cross the line in front of them.
This result put me in 7th place in the race, and 7th in the championship this put $150 into my pocket $100 more than I was looking like getting at the start of the day. I was also 3rd Prolite on the day behind Sam Croft, and Aaron Hassen. Note the absence of NZ#1? Seth had the worst day possible. That is motor sport though.
It was another great day racing for me at Manfeild, and race reports are so much easier to write when there is video footage ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb3EdymTQV0
Thanks go out to:
Pro-Rider – for the fuel vouchers, and the track time on Manfeild.
Kawasaki New Zealand – For the flash Shirts. Team Green looks awesome, and achieved some great results
Dunlop – The new tyres are working really well.
City Honda – The team there were most helpful in getting me sorted for the weekend.
Neil Chappell – For the use of his Transponder for the series.
Race Fairings
Celtic Leathers
RNZAF for all their support
As Feilding is only 20 minutes away I left the loading of the bike until the morning. The weather forecast looked really bad, and I didn’t particularly like the idea of loading a bike onto the trailer in a shower, just to leave it to get totally wet over night. I was intending to run taller gearing as a bit of an experiment to see if I could maintain some higher corner speed, and get some higher top speed out of the Ninja down the straights. However as the forecast was for rain, I decided to stick with what I knew, and left it as was from Hampton Downs.
So, I loaded the gear into the ute, and the bike remained in the shed. The next morning was a relatively late start, and I got the bike on the trailer, headed to get fuel, and made my way to the track. The first thing I noticed was there were much more cars than usual, so had to fight for a spot to get into the pit garage that Eamon Timms had organised for us. Once I got the bike and gear unloaded, it was registration time, and then Riders Brief. Things seemed to be moving along quickly. We were up for practice straight after the Motards and Superbikes.
Practice/ Qualifying:
I got to the dummy grid shortly after the 3 minute call up, and waited patiently to be let out. I had fitted a camera to my bike for this round, and was keen to get some good footage. I followed a few bikes out, but not too many, and proceeded to warm everything up. After a lap I went for it, and tried to get some good laps in. I ended up in a battle with Andy Croft on another Ninja 250R. We were using a bit of drafting to battle the very strong wind down 2 of the 3 straights at Manfeild. After swapping leads, and trying to set a fast time the 8 laps seemed to go really fast! We came in to look at the times. I managed a 1:32.724, and that put me 10th on the grid. Andy managed to get slightly faster, but not by much!
Race 1:
The Superbikes had just been out in a Wet race and the track had dried while they were out there. So the conditions of the track were a little suspect with the potential for a few wet patches to still be on the track. Although watching Nick Cole take the win on the ZX10 from the pit gate was a true inspiration. All the Kawasaki Riders in the Ultralite class clapped and cheered him as he came in for his post race interview.
I left the pits and got some heat into the tyres, suspension and brakes, and found my way to the grid. After the flag dropped I got a reasonable start, but I much prefer lights! Not to worry, I joined the “lolly scramble” at turn one, and got the hammer down. For some reason I don’t feel as nervous about turn 1 like I used to. After a little chaos through the first lap I continued with my dice with Andy Croft. Alex Hockley was also there on a KR150. We were swapping places all over the place. Then on lap 4 going through turn 3 (Splash) Andy dropped the bike right in front of me. I managed to avoid riding over Andy and his bike as they slid off to the gravel trap. Alex and I continued to battle for a few more laps, and he managed to get in front of me coming into the last corner before the line, and made it stick. I managed a 1:31.679, which is 0.191 off my PB. I did my PB in calm conditions on a still day. Unfortunately I had finger trouble with my camera, so missed some great footage.
Race 2:
After watching a few races from the stands I decided to get myself ready during the Motards, and watch the Superbike race from the dummy grid. So, I was first on the grid, and waited there for 15 minutes while watching a battle of the big bikes. Nick Cole couldn’t pull off the double, but it was a great battle to watch.
When it came time to head out I set my camera going and got out on the track. I got plenty of heat into my tyres, brakes, and suspension. Then I lined up on the grid. I was so keen to get out; I was one of the first there, so I had a little wait for everybody else.
Once the flag dropped, I was a little keen on the revs, and the front of the Ninja popped into the air! Once I settled that down I was a little swamped at the start. I left the brakes well alone into turn one, and went up the inside of Andy Croft, and followed Aaron Hassen through turn 1 on another Ninja 250R. Alex Hockley then came around the outside of me on his KR150, and Andy followed him! Talk about the usual suspects! Heading down to Higgans, I got a draft off Andy, and got passed him, but Jacob Stroud (son of 8 time NZ Superbike Champ, Andrew) came up the inside of me, and proceeded to disappear on his RG150. I run a little wide on turn 1, like down the rumble strip, and Andy got passed me as well! I got passed Andy down Denny Hulme straight and proceeded to chase the 13 year olds (Aaron and Jacob). Alex was dicing with them too.
Andy then drafted me down the front straight and passed me into turn 1! I followed him and got passed in turn 3. Mean time Jacob had got ahead of Alex, and was off after Aaron Hassen. I could see Alex just up the road, so proceeded to chase him down. I knew if I worried more about Alex, and less about Andy behind me, then I will be going forward. I managed to keep Andy behind me for a couple of laps. However, he was still very much in touch. He finally passed me down the front straight. A few laps later. I was right on Alex’s tail by this stage, so turn 1 was going to be really interesting!! Andy passed me up the inside at turn 2, and proceeded to battle with Alex. Andy got a draft of Alex down Denny Hulme, and passed him going into Higgins. I then sat there and watched them battle, using all the slip streams I could to keep in touch. I then got passed them down the front straight, and was leading them into turn 1 around the outside, and lead all the way until the braking point for Higgans (Turn 5), where Andy had been sitting behind me the whole time. I followed him up the back straight and lead him into Dunlop, but he took a tighter line, and got passed me there. I followed him over the line to record a 1:31.731 best lap, but the race wasn’t over! That was the White Flag. Alex then passed us both into turn 1, and Andy followed him through. They slowed me up in the esses a little, but had to stay in position. By this time things were starting to ache, and I had almost chucked in the towel. However I got out of the hairpin quickly, and drafted Andy down Denny Hulme again. As I raced down the back straight I come up with a plan. I was going to pass Andy going into Dunlop on the tight line he used on me, and then see if I can exit fast enough to challenge Alex over the line. As it turns out after I got passed Andy, he run wide trying to go around me, and Alex had a moment in front of me on the exit, so I managed to cross the line in front of them.
This result put me in 7th place in the race, and 7th in the championship this put $150 into my pocket $100 more than I was looking like getting at the start of the day. I was also 3rd Prolite on the day behind Sam Croft, and Aaron Hassen. Note the absence of NZ#1? Seth had the worst day possible. That is motor sport though.
It was another great day racing for me at Manfeild, and race reports are so much easier to write when there is video footage ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb3EdymTQV0
Thanks go out to:
Pro-Rider – for the fuel vouchers, and the track time on Manfeild.
Kawasaki New Zealand – For the flash Shirts. Team Green looks awesome, and achieved some great results
Dunlop – The new tyres are working really well.
City Honda – The team there were most helpful in getting me sorted for the weekend.
Neil Chappell – For the use of his Transponder for the series.
Race Fairings
Celtic Leathers
RNZAF for all their support