FROSTY
2nd April 2006, 09:33
What a fantastic day it was yesterday. Dawning a little misty but with clear blue skies and little wind. Wow this is perfect racing weather.
Dougal and I got through the legal beagle stuff pretty quickly and then gave the bikes a bit of a once over.
At AMCC races you only get one practice which doubles as qualifying.(determining your grid position)
So From engine fire up you need to be in race mode.
I decided I wanted clear track in front of me so I shot out of the pits like a bull at a gate. Right behind me was KK on TS's mighty zxr400.
We have 10 minutes practice and during that time you need to lay down the fastest lap you can.
I picked up the pace to what felt like 1minute six second laps and at one stage looked back to see no sighn of KK.
But reality hurt -I qualified in 4th place with a 1.10 second best lap. Proof positive you need to stay focussed right from lap one.
First race and I saw the starters arm twitch so I poured on the gas--Ooops a bit early and had to stop again -just as I stopped he dropped the flag.-result --another frosty shocking start.
Into turn 1 and Im in fourth place behind KK and stu dawe.For 3 laps it was an all out dogfight with any one of the three of us being in front.
Id scream on up to the other two through the esses after jennian into castrol and get a tiny gap. Then KK would dive on past underneath me into the hairpin. Stu got better drive being outside us and would dive on past both of us. Corner after corner this went on
Slowly KK and I pulled away from stu and it was a two way battle.
I saw KK was still struggling with a bike he wasn't familiar with and managed to out run him round castrol and pulled enough of a gap to stay in front right to the finish line. WOOHOOO I punched the air I was well pleased with that --and better to come --I posted an official PB (personal best lap time) of 1.08.05. (one minute eight point zero five seconds
Second race and I had a better start but then so did KK. Now he was better aquainted with the bike and we picked the pace up a bit. This was just a pure two way battle with both of us trying to avoid being drafted (thats when you literally tow the other bike along) and riding defensively to stop the other passing easily.
It came down literally to the last series of corners before the flag. I was behind KK but drafting him. He gave me a tow up through turn 6 and over the hill.I bust free of him on the crest of the hill. It was a straight out drag race to the line.Goldarn it that 400 is quick.I beat KK by maybee 300mm.
(yup one foot) So another win --but soo sooo close --
More fantastic news -I posted another PB of 1.07.45 Yehaa Im officially in the 1.07's
Last race of the day and I actually got a not bad start.I knew darn well KK wanted to win real bad but then so did I.
Right from lap 1 it was down to KK and I so we had a whole race to sort out who was faster. I lost count of how many times we swapped places during that 6 laps Id catch KK over the hill and through the esses but he stayed on the gas about 30m longer into the hairpin and got back on the gas a tiny bit quicker than me. everywhere else we were evenly matched.
Man it was just fantastic racing.
It was so close it once again came down to a drag race to the line.I was on the right KK on the left as we crossed the line. Neither of us had a clue who had actually won the race.
I made a bit of a mistake heading to the line In trying to get as much of a tow off of KK as I could I "leaned " on him as we were crossing the line and he had to pull to the left to avoid me.
Result being on the video I won by a knats whisker. But quite rightly they gave the win to KK.
Apsolutely fantastic race that one. KK and I both posted in the 1.07's with me now down to regular high 1.07 and one 1.07.29
I had a great days racing thanks folks.
I gotta say now I was really Impressed by a few peoples riding.
First and foremost KK.-man dude that was a heck of an ask -learning a new bike in practice then riding the wheels off it all day. He scared the beegeebers outa me with little fireworks displays ever time he went round the hairpin.-the fireworks were from the exhaust scrapeing on the deck.
DSS3 --4th place in formula auckland. Bloody stunning.
But to me the star was young Vtec - On a lil 250 four stroke and at a track known to be a horsepower track he did himself proud.
Comeon guys lets hear your reports
Thanks again to my team mates who were there for me all day -Madduck and doogal.
Thanks to all the KBers who urned up to marshal.
Just a little note--There was a ducati 900 out on the track with us.He took off in front of us riding reallly well.
He was allowed on the track but he diddn't get points.
Dougal and I got through the legal beagle stuff pretty quickly and then gave the bikes a bit of a once over.
At AMCC races you only get one practice which doubles as qualifying.(determining your grid position)
So From engine fire up you need to be in race mode.
I decided I wanted clear track in front of me so I shot out of the pits like a bull at a gate. Right behind me was KK on TS's mighty zxr400.
We have 10 minutes practice and during that time you need to lay down the fastest lap you can.
I picked up the pace to what felt like 1minute six second laps and at one stage looked back to see no sighn of KK.
But reality hurt -I qualified in 4th place with a 1.10 second best lap. Proof positive you need to stay focussed right from lap one.
First race and I saw the starters arm twitch so I poured on the gas--Ooops a bit early and had to stop again -just as I stopped he dropped the flag.-result --another frosty shocking start.
Into turn 1 and Im in fourth place behind KK and stu dawe.For 3 laps it was an all out dogfight with any one of the three of us being in front.
Id scream on up to the other two through the esses after jennian into castrol and get a tiny gap. Then KK would dive on past underneath me into the hairpin. Stu got better drive being outside us and would dive on past both of us. Corner after corner this went on
Slowly KK and I pulled away from stu and it was a two way battle.
I saw KK was still struggling with a bike he wasn't familiar with and managed to out run him round castrol and pulled enough of a gap to stay in front right to the finish line. WOOHOOO I punched the air I was well pleased with that --and better to come --I posted an official PB (personal best lap time) of 1.08.05. (one minute eight point zero five seconds
Second race and I had a better start but then so did KK. Now he was better aquainted with the bike and we picked the pace up a bit. This was just a pure two way battle with both of us trying to avoid being drafted (thats when you literally tow the other bike along) and riding defensively to stop the other passing easily.
It came down literally to the last series of corners before the flag. I was behind KK but drafting him. He gave me a tow up through turn 6 and over the hill.I bust free of him on the crest of the hill. It was a straight out drag race to the line.Goldarn it that 400 is quick.I beat KK by maybee 300mm.
(yup one foot) So another win --but soo sooo close --
More fantastic news -I posted another PB of 1.07.45 Yehaa Im officially in the 1.07's
Last race of the day and I actually got a not bad start.I knew darn well KK wanted to win real bad but then so did I.
Right from lap 1 it was down to KK and I so we had a whole race to sort out who was faster. I lost count of how many times we swapped places during that 6 laps Id catch KK over the hill and through the esses but he stayed on the gas about 30m longer into the hairpin and got back on the gas a tiny bit quicker than me. everywhere else we were evenly matched.
Man it was just fantastic racing.
It was so close it once again came down to a drag race to the line.I was on the right KK on the left as we crossed the line. Neither of us had a clue who had actually won the race.
I made a bit of a mistake heading to the line In trying to get as much of a tow off of KK as I could I "leaned " on him as we were crossing the line and he had to pull to the left to avoid me.
Result being on the video I won by a knats whisker. But quite rightly they gave the win to KK.
Apsolutely fantastic race that one. KK and I both posted in the 1.07's with me now down to regular high 1.07 and one 1.07.29
I had a great days racing thanks folks.
I gotta say now I was really Impressed by a few peoples riding.
First and foremost KK.-man dude that was a heck of an ask -learning a new bike in practice then riding the wheels off it all day. He scared the beegeebers outa me with little fireworks displays ever time he went round the hairpin.-the fireworks were from the exhaust scrapeing on the deck.
DSS3 --4th place in formula auckland. Bloody stunning.
But to me the star was young Vtec - On a lil 250 four stroke and at a track known to be a horsepower track he did himself proud.
Comeon guys lets hear your reports
Thanks again to my team mates who were there for me all day -Madduck and doogal.
Thanks to all the KBers who urned up to marshal.
Just a little note--There was a ducati 900 out on the track with us.He took off in front of us riding reallly well.
He was allowed on the track but he diddn't get points.