gpercivl
23rd November 2005, 09:07
No Hair Racing Race Report from Greg
AMCC #2
November 20th saw Logan & I back at Pukekohe for another round of the Auckland Club series. At the last round the 450 died on Logan and I only had one race before heavy rain set in so we were both hoping for better luck this time.
I had been up to 1am the night before finishing off putting the old '87 1WG 400 motor in the lightweight 3TJ frame which has better brakes and front suspension and wider rear rim for Logan but I also had a few things to do in the morning to help Jane get ready for lap scoring the Bel Ray cross country round the same day.
I got to Pukekohe a little later than I hoped. Logan & Hamish quickly added the newly painted fairings to the 450 but was knocked back in scrutineering due to the front forks being too firm and concerns that the exhaust would fall off. After some more frantic effort in the pits Logan successfully passed scrutineering and was allowed out on the track. The next day I stripped down the right hand fork leg and found a 2 to 3mm bend over its length causing it to bind at the bottom of its stroke. It's away being straightened ready for the Nationals in 2 1/2 weeks time.
Logan's already written his report so you can read about the fun he had on the track in his report.
As this was the last motorcycle race at Pukekohe before the 1st round of the nationals, a lot more riders had turned up to get some practice and set up time so all the double classes had to be split in two to reduce the numbers on the track. There were quite a few crashes which slowed the day but I managed to get out for 1 practice session and 2 races in the Formula 2 class.
At the last round I qualified 5th but with the 'young guns' back from Aussie plus some of the older Nat's contenders showing up I only managed 13th on the grid even though my time was a full second faster than the last round.
In the first race I had a poor start being held up by the guy in front arriving late to his grid position and lined up diagonally blocking my exit a little...I think I finished in about 12th or 13th place out of 18 with a best lap time in the low 1 min 6's close to my PB. I had hoped to get into the 5's but I'm taking too long to get smooth and consistent within the short 6 lap races.
In the 2nd race I had a much better start and passed the rider in front on the inside, in the 5th lap the white flag came out and one of the Honda's passed me on the inside turning into turn 1 then we spotted the yellow flags out at Castrol corner with a lot of dirt and debris across the track where Hayden Fitzgerald & Nck Cole(?) had gone down. We both slowed down around Castrol and as I exitted I was a bit slow getting back on the power and another Honda came past. I was annoyed with myself as it was the last lap and I had just lost another 2 places but as we got down to the hairpin, the red flags were out and the race was over which meant positions would be taken back to the previous lap where I was in front ;-)
The pace of the front runners was very fast with the top 4 all very close together. Craig Shirriffs went under the 60 second mark which must be very close to the lap record for the 600 class (although some of the bikes were in F2 engine spec.).
Needless to say I've got a long way to go to catch those guys but I have a few ideas for improvement...I'll find out in December!
Thanks again to our major sponsors: Henderson Motorcycles & Pirelli Tyres.
And,
SSSLodge,
www.ezSite.co.nz,
New Zealand Towing ltd,
Golden Gun Panel and Paint,
Glen Eden Pallet Company,
Autostop
Cheers,
Greg
No Hair Racing
http://www.nohair.co.nz
AMCC #2
November 20th saw Logan & I back at Pukekohe for another round of the Auckland Club series. At the last round the 450 died on Logan and I only had one race before heavy rain set in so we were both hoping for better luck this time.
I had been up to 1am the night before finishing off putting the old '87 1WG 400 motor in the lightweight 3TJ frame which has better brakes and front suspension and wider rear rim for Logan but I also had a few things to do in the morning to help Jane get ready for lap scoring the Bel Ray cross country round the same day.
I got to Pukekohe a little later than I hoped. Logan & Hamish quickly added the newly painted fairings to the 450 but was knocked back in scrutineering due to the front forks being too firm and concerns that the exhaust would fall off. After some more frantic effort in the pits Logan successfully passed scrutineering and was allowed out on the track. The next day I stripped down the right hand fork leg and found a 2 to 3mm bend over its length causing it to bind at the bottom of its stroke. It's away being straightened ready for the Nationals in 2 1/2 weeks time.
Logan's already written his report so you can read about the fun he had on the track in his report.
As this was the last motorcycle race at Pukekohe before the 1st round of the nationals, a lot more riders had turned up to get some practice and set up time so all the double classes had to be split in two to reduce the numbers on the track. There were quite a few crashes which slowed the day but I managed to get out for 1 practice session and 2 races in the Formula 2 class.
At the last round I qualified 5th but with the 'young guns' back from Aussie plus some of the older Nat's contenders showing up I only managed 13th on the grid even though my time was a full second faster than the last round.
In the first race I had a poor start being held up by the guy in front arriving late to his grid position and lined up diagonally blocking my exit a little...I think I finished in about 12th or 13th place out of 18 with a best lap time in the low 1 min 6's close to my PB. I had hoped to get into the 5's but I'm taking too long to get smooth and consistent within the short 6 lap races.
In the 2nd race I had a much better start and passed the rider in front on the inside, in the 5th lap the white flag came out and one of the Honda's passed me on the inside turning into turn 1 then we spotted the yellow flags out at Castrol corner with a lot of dirt and debris across the track where Hayden Fitzgerald & Nck Cole(?) had gone down. We both slowed down around Castrol and as I exitted I was a bit slow getting back on the power and another Honda came past. I was annoyed with myself as it was the last lap and I had just lost another 2 places but as we got down to the hairpin, the red flags were out and the race was over which meant positions would be taken back to the previous lap where I was in front ;-)
The pace of the front runners was very fast with the top 4 all very close together. Craig Shirriffs went under the 60 second mark which must be very close to the lap record for the 600 class (although some of the bikes were in F2 engine spec.).
Needless to say I've got a long way to go to catch those guys but I have a few ideas for improvement...I'll find out in December!
Thanks again to our major sponsors: Henderson Motorcycles & Pirelli Tyres.
And,
SSSLodge,
www.ezSite.co.nz,
New Zealand Towing ltd,
Golden Gun Panel and Paint,
Glen Eden Pallet Company,
Autostop
Cheers,
Greg
No Hair Racing
http://www.nohair.co.nz