Punchy
13th June 2012, 15:12
Suppose it is about time for my first write up!
Qualifying - Dryish?
We took a bit of a gamble on tire choice for qualifying, it seemed dry enough to try our luck with supercorsa's but true to form there was a quick shower just prior to heading out. Too late to change tires, so I went out to at least put in a lap to get on the board. Certainly made for an interesting lap, with the bars doing whatever they liked on the way into corners. Managed to not put it in the gravel trap, and ended up 18th on the grid with a pretty horrific lap time.
Race 1 - Wet
Weather had been showering on and off all morning, so along with the rest of the field, we were on full wets. Having never ridden on wets, or on a wet track, I was a little nervous, but looking foward to it. Unfortunately my pit team took a little too long giving me advice, and we missed the gate for the warm up lap. So, a start from pitlane it was. Once everyone had started, and I was allowed to go, I was already 200m behind last place. Not really an ideal start to the day. Straight away I felt very comfortable and confident in the wet however, and began picking people off. I was making a lot of ground but with only 6 laps you can only do so much. Finished in 7th.
Race 2 - Dry
Managed to make it out onto the grid this time, but got a terrible start. So we were dead last going into turn 1 again. Right away made up 3 places around the outside at turn 2 however. Being a dry race, the pace was pretty hot with everyone, but again, we just kept picked our way forward. Finished in 8th. Big thanks to Robert Taylor for setting our rear shock up for the dry, as we put a brand new tire on before the race, and after the race it still looked brand new.
Race 3 - Wet
Finally, a good start! Went into turn 1 perhaps 3rd to last this time! Again, really enjoying the wet track. By lap 3 we were in 6th. Was now chasing Pete Butler hard for 5th. However I went into Higgins a little too hard trying to make some meters on the brakes, as his bike is faster, and went too deep. As I tried to square it off and get on the power to salvage something out of the corner, I lit up the rear and nearly highsided off. Once I realised I was still on the bike, I decided to keep it steady and make sure we got the points. Lost a place before the end of the race, but was happy to finish. Another 7th.
So after Round 2 we are now sitting in 9th place in F2.
Not bad for our 3rd day of racing, ever!
Looking foward to the rest of the season and seeing where we can go from here!
Big thanks to Dan Plaisted from Red Devil Racing for all the advice and time he is spending helping me turn my bog stock bike into something a bit better.
Qualifying - Dryish?
We took a bit of a gamble on tire choice for qualifying, it seemed dry enough to try our luck with supercorsa's but true to form there was a quick shower just prior to heading out. Too late to change tires, so I went out to at least put in a lap to get on the board. Certainly made for an interesting lap, with the bars doing whatever they liked on the way into corners. Managed to not put it in the gravel trap, and ended up 18th on the grid with a pretty horrific lap time.
Race 1 - Wet
Weather had been showering on and off all morning, so along with the rest of the field, we were on full wets. Having never ridden on wets, or on a wet track, I was a little nervous, but looking foward to it. Unfortunately my pit team took a little too long giving me advice, and we missed the gate for the warm up lap. So, a start from pitlane it was. Once everyone had started, and I was allowed to go, I was already 200m behind last place. Not really an ideal start to the day. Straight away I felt very comfortable and confident in the wet however, and began picking people off. I was making a lot of ground but with only 6 laps you can only do so much. Finished in 7th.
Race 2 - Dry
Managed to make it out onto the grid this time, but got a terrible start. So we were dead last going into turn 1 again. Right away made up 3 places around the outside at turn 2 however. Being a dry race, the pace was pretty hot with everyone, but again, we just kept picked our way forward. Finished in 8th. Big thanks to Robert Taylor for setting our rear shock up for the dry, as we put a brand new tire on before the race, and after the race it still looked brand new.
Race 3 - Wet
Finally, a good start! Went into turn 1 perhaps 3rd to last this time! Again, really enjoying the wet track. By lap 3 we were in 6th. Was now chasing Pete Butler hard for 5th. However I went into Higgins a little too hard trying to make some meters on the brakes, as his bike is faster, and went too deep. As I tried to square it off and get on the power to salvage something out of the corner, I lit up the rear and nearly highsided off. Once I realised I was still on the bike, I decided to keep it steady and make sure we got the points. Lost a place before the end of the race, but was happy to finish. Another 7th.
So after Round 2 we are now sitting in 9th place in F2.
Not bad for our 3rd day of racing, ever!
Looking foward to the rest of the season and seeing where we can go from here!
Big thanks to Dan Plaisted from Red Devil Racing for all the advice and time he is spending helping me turn my bog stock bike into something a bit better.