k14
12th June 2006, 14:20
So I loaded up and had the bikes all prepped on Friday ready for my trip south on Saturday. I left slightly later than scheduled after a little sleep in but wasn’t too far behind schedule. My first point of call was the Edendale flying quarters. These were held on a closed road just out of Edendale.
They had closed off a 3km section of road so there was a 1.5km run up in each direction with a 400m timed section in the middle. I had the RS and the CB in tow so thought I would have a go on both.
I lined up on the RS for the first run, not knowing if the gearing or anything else would be suitable. I got an alright launch and finished the run with a top speed of 187kph. Not too bad, the bike was capable of more though. On the return run I managed to hit 192kph, a bit better effort but I was topped out for a considerable distance so decided to go down 1 tooth on the rear sprocket. I set this up and decided to take the bucket in the next go. The wind had picked up a fraction and this would not help me on the bucket one bit. I ended up with a 112kph up and 120kph down. Pretty average but probably about what it was capable of. I was now ready to have another run on the RS but found out that they had to have the road back open by 2:30 and it was already after 2. Guess I’ll have to wait till next year to give it another crack.
I continued in convoy (with Dangerous and Kickaha) to Invercargill where we would stay the night in readiness for the racing the next day.
The day dawned fine with a bit of high cloud, although the weather reports indicated otherwise we would have to see how the day would go. I got out to the track by 9 and was all setup ready for first practice.
First practice was moderns so F1, F2, F3 and 125’s all were out together for a 10 min practice session. It was my first time on the track so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s a pretty awesome track, with a very long front straight into an equally long, slightly decreasing radius, very fast first corner. In the 6 or so laps I did I never once got this corner even remotely right. I nearly ended up on the grass on the inside of the corner every lap due to taking it sooooo slowly, on a 125 it requires a lot of trust to flick it in doing around 150kph in 4th gear. I was only managing 2nd gear, not to worry though. The rest of the track is fairly flowing with a right hander and a couple of left handers that bring you onto the front straight. It was over fairly quickly so I headed back to the pits to make a few small adjustments and get ready for the bucket session.
The bucket practice session was around soon so I got the bucket fired out and headed out to get a bit more familiar with the track layout. I had a bit of a play with the other bucket boys but was disappointed that I couldn’t keep up with them. Need a bit more power on the bucket, ivan you got any ideas?
There was now about an hour wait till the first 125 race. I finished the adjustments and waited in anticipation of my first “proper” race on my new pride and joy. About 20 mins before the race was due to start the heavens opened and the stereotypical southland weather was with us for the rest of the day. The mercury started its downward spiral (down to around 4 degrees) and persistent rain had set in for the rest of the day. I went about changing to my wets and had them on with plenty of time to spare due to there being a particularly nasty crash in one of the CAMS races.
The time came and it was race time. The rain had abated for the moment so it was just a wet track that I had to contend with. I was fairly anxious seeing as this was the first time at the track, first time on wets and first race on my new bike. Not to worry, that’s what its all about. After the warm up lap had completed I gridded up with the other 125’s at the back of the F3 grid (we were going off the same flag fall as F3). The lights went out and we were off. I got a fairly good start and was first 125 into the first corner. There was a lot of F3 traffic but it wasn’t taking any chances to took it fairly gingerly around that corner. Cam Horgan (2nd in the nationals) picked me off on his 125 coming out of the first corner which put me down to 2nd. I followed the other F3 boys and picked 1 or 2 off very carefully so as to make sure they weren’t holding me up. Next lap I was picked off by 2 of the local 125 guys (Gregor and Ashley) so I wasn’t too worried about that. I was just focussed on keeping it shiny side up and making it to the chequered flag. I got into a bit of a dice with an FZR400 and against all sanity I decided to take up the challenge. I was right on his arse for most of the lap but he would pull away from me down the straight for me to pick him back up again coming out of the first corner and so that went on for 2 laps. On the last lap I got into his slipstream down the main straight and tried to pull out and pass him before the braking markers were upon me. This didn’t happen cause as soon as I pulled out of the slipstream he pulled away from me more. I decided to brake a little later than him and managed to slip up the inside coming into the first corner. An ever so slight front end slide didn’t help the nerves at all but I knew that once ahead he wouldn’t get back past me. I had a quick look over my shoulder as I exited the last corner and he was 20 or 30 meters back so I knew I had him covered. So the race was over and I ended up 4th in 125 (out of 7) and within the top 10 in F3. I was pretty happy with that.
I made my way back to the pits and quickly jumped onto the bucket as that race was straight after the 125 race. I went out for the warmup lap and tested the conditions on the slicks. Not too bad but didn’t have a clue how they would go in the race. The lights went out and I was off. I was 3rd into the first corner behind Kickaha and Dangerous. I was passed by an FXR out of the first corner so demoted to 4th. Spud racer also went around the outside of me coming out of the infield right hander so I was down to 5th. I got into Spud Racers slipstream (it’s a massive effect, can be felt from over 50m away) and was back into 4th. Next lap round I was ahead of SR coming into the straight and gradually increasing the gap when all of a sudden the CB decided to free rev and cut out. I immediately stopped it and pushed her back to the pits. Possible a terminal problem, have to do more investigation in the next weeks. That was buckets over for the day for me, so it was only the 125’s left.
By the second race the rain had well and truly set in for the rest of the day. Just a consistent spattering of rain, enough to piss you off well and truly. After the warm up lap I came into the pits and had a quick chat to the RS guru (Steve Ward) seeing as I was worried that it was running at around 32 degrees. They should run between 50 and 55 degrees, anything below that is cold seizure territory so low 30’s was nearing suicide territory. However he said it was ok so I went back out of the pits and the marshals let me grid up with the rest of the 125’s so I didn’t loose anything. The lights went out and again I was playing dodge’ems trying to avoid all the F3 bikes. I was 3rd 125 into the first corner and 2nd out seeing as Gregor was run off by some novice ZXR rider trying to ride motard styles with his leg out. So again I was taking it very very cautiously. There was a lot of standing water now and with my engine temp being so low it was a very dodgy race. Ashley passed me in the 2nd lap and I was down to 3rd in the 125’s. By about the second lap my hands and feet were totally numb but I just continued lapping making sure I kept a sufficient buffer to the remaining 125’s. On the 2nd to last lap I saw Ashley standing on the side of the track which put me up to 2nd place. I just kept it on 2 wheels and rode the slowest of my life to finish the race. Happy with that race, no dodgy moment and 2nd in 125’s I was pretty stoked.
An hour later it was time for the third and final race of the meeting. The weather hadn’t changed and so it was again caution to be thrown to the wind. I got an alright start and was 2nd 125 into the first corner again. I kept a steady pace and was passed by Gregor coming out of the first corner on the 2nd lap. I kept on his tail through the next right hander and was determined to keep on his arse. On the 3rd corner I again was ready on the gas to keep the gap as small as possible when bam. Superman impressions anonymous here I come. I landed with a bit of a thud infront of my bike and was sliding for what felt about 500m and was still around 50m in reality. I could see my bike sliding in exactly the same path as me and I just wanted to stop and stop my baby from getting any damage. We both came to a stop just by the marshal’s post and I quickly got up and got my bike off the track, the last thing I wanted was for someone to come along and collect the bike seeing as visibility was atrocious. I inspected the damage and had to think twice as to which side actually slid along the track. It was remarkable, practically no visible damage at all. A bent clutch lever and cracked screen was about all that was wrong. I though screw this and decided to jump back on and finish the race. Seeing as Ashley had a footpeg break on the first lap I was currently 6th still, even though I was about a lap down on most of the other guys. I finished the last 2 laps and even managed to pass one of the other 125’s just before the finish line which left me 5th for that race. This meant I took out 2nd placing for 125’s at the meeting.
Pretty happy how things went on a whole. First rain riding experience was eventful to say the least. A wide variety of results and good experience for meetings to come.
Big thanks goes out to Motoequip, Quasimoto and Sawyers and all the others that have encouraged and helped me out. Next meeting is next month at Levels, first round of the winter series.
They had closed off a 3km section of road so there was a 1.5km run up in each direction with a 400m timed section in the middle. I had the RS and the CB in tow so thought I would have a go on both.
I lined up on the RS for the first run, not knowing if the gearing or anything else would be suitable. I got an alright launch and finished the run with a top speed of 187kph. Not too bad, the bike was capable of more though. On the return run I managed to hit 192kph, a bit better effort but I was topped out for a considerable distance so decided to go down 1 tooth on the rear sprocket. I set this up and decided to take the bucket in the next go. The wind had picked up a fraction and this would not help me on the bucket one bit. I ended up with a 112kph up and 120kph down. Pretty average but probably about what it was capable of. I was now ready to have another run on the RS but found out that they had to have the road back open by 2:30 and it was already after 2. Guess I’ll have to wait till next year to give it another crack.
I continued in convoy (with Dangerous and Kickaha) to Invercargill where we would stay the night in readiness for the racing the next day.
The day dawned fine with a bit of high cloud, although the weather reports indicated otherwise we would have to see how the day would go. I got out to the track by 9 and was all setup ready for first practice.
First practice was moderns so F1, F2, F3 and 125’s all were out together for a 10 min practice session. It was my first time on the track so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s a pretty awesome track, with a very long front straight into an equally long, slightly decreasing radius, very fast first corner. In the 6 or so laps I did I never once got this corner even remotely right. I nearly ended up on the grass on the inside of the corner every lap due to taking it sooooo slowly, on a 125 it requires a lot of trust to flick it in doing around 150kph in 4th gear. I was only managing 2nd gear, not to worry though. The rest of the track is fairly flowing with a right hander and a couple of left handers that bring you onto the front straight. It was over fairly quickly so I headed back to the pits to make a few small adjustments and get ready for the bucket session.
The bucket practice session was around soon so I got the bucket fired out and headed out to get a bit more familiar with the track layout. I had a bit of a play with the other bucket boys but was disappointed that I couldn’t keep up with them. Need a bit more power on the bucket, ivan you got any ideas?
There was now about an hour wait till the first 125 race. I finished the adjustments and waited in anticipation of my first “proper” race on my new pride and joy. About 20 mins before the race was due to start the heavens opened and the stereotypical southland weather was with us for the rest of the day. The mercury started its downward spiral (down to around 4 degrees) and persistent rain had set in for the rest of the day. I went about changing to my wets and had them on with plenty of time to spare due to there being a particularly nasty crash in one of the CAMS races.
The time came and it was race time. The rain had abated for the moment so it was just a wet track that I had to contend with. I was fairly anxious seeing as this was the first time at the track, first time on wets and first race on my new bike. Not to worry, that’s what its all about. After the warm up lap had completed I gridded up with the other 125’s at the back of the F3 grid (we were going off the same flag fall as F3). The lights went out and we were off. I got a fairly good start and was first 125 into the first corner. There was a lot of F3 traffic but it wasn’t taking any chances to took it fairly gingerly around that corner. Cam Horgan (2nd in the nationals) picked me off on his 125 coming out of the first corner which put me down to 2nd. I followed the other F3 boys and picked 1 or 2 off very carefully so as to make sure they weren’t holding me up. Next lap I was picked off by 2 of the local 125 guys (Gregor and Ashley) so I wasn’t too worried about that. I was just focussed on keeping it shiny side up and making it to the chequered flag. I got into a bit of a dice with an FZR400 and against all sanity I decided to take up the challenge. I was right on his arse for most of the lap but he would pull away from me down the straight for me to pick him back up again coming out of the first corner and so that went on for 2 laps. On the last lap I got into his slipstream down the main straight and tried to pull out and pass him before the braking markers were upon me. This didn’t happen cause as soon as I pulled out of the slipstream he pulled away from me more. I decided to brake a little later than him and managed to slip up the inside coming into the first corner. An ever so slight front end slide didn’t help the nerves at all but I knew that once ahead he wouldn’t get back past me. I had a quick look over my shoulder as I exited the last corner and he was 20 or 30 meters back so I knew I had him covered. So the race was over and I ended up 4th in 125 (out of 7) and within the top 10 in F3. I was pretty happy with that.
I made my way back to the pits and quickly jumped onto the bucket as that race was straight after the 125 race. I went out for the warmup lap and tested the conditions on the slicks. Not too bad but didn’t have a clue how they would go in the race. The lights went out and I was off. I was 3rd into the first corner behind Kickaha and Dangerous. I was passed by an FXR out of the first corner so demoted to 4th. Spud racer also went around the outside of me coming out of the infield right hander so I was down to 5th. I got into Spud Racers slipstream (it’s a massive effect, can be felt from over 50m away) and was back into 4th. Next lap round I was ahead of SR coming into the straight and gradually increasing the gap when all of a sudden the CB decided to free rev and cut out. I immediately stopped it and pushed her back to the pits. Possible a terminal problem, have to do more investigation in the next weeks. That was buckets over for the day for me, so it was only the 125’s left.
By the second race the rain had well and truly set in for the rest of the day. Just a consistent spattering of rain, enough to piss you off well and truly. After the warm up lap I came into the pits and had a quick chat to the RS guru (Steve Ward) seeing as I was worried that it was running at around 32 degrees. They should run between 50 and 55 degrees, anything below that is cold seizure territory so low 30’s was nearing suicide territory. However he said it was ok so I went back out of the pits and the marshals let me grid up with the rest of the 125’s so I didn’t loose anything. The lights went out and again I was playing dodge’ems trying to avoid all the F3 bikes. I was 3rd 125 into the first corner and 2nd out seeing as Gregor was run off by some novice ZXR rider trying to ride motard styles with his leg out. So again I was taking it very very cautiously. There was a lot of standing water now and with my engine temp being so low it was a very dodgy race. Ashley passed me in the 2nd lap and I was down to 3rd in the 125’s. By about the second lap my hands and feet were totally numb but I just continued lapping making sure I kept a sufficient buffer to the remaining 125’s. On the 2nd to last lap I saw Ashley standing on the side of the track which put me up to 2nd place. I just kept it on 2 wheels and rode the slowest of my life to finish the race. Happy with that race, no dodgy moment and 2nd in 125’s I was pretty stoked.
An hour later it was time for the third and final race of the meeting. The weather hadn’t changed and so it was again caution to be thrown to the wind. I got an alright start and was 2nd 125 into the first corner again. I kept a steady pace and was passed by Gregor coming out of the first corner on the 2nd lap. I kept on his tail through the next right hander and was determined to keep on his arse. On the 3rd corner I again was ready on the gas to keep the gap as small as possible when bam. Superman impressions anonymous here I come. I landed with a bit of a thud infront of my bike and was sliding for what felt about 500m and was still around 50m in reality. I could see my bike sliding in exactly the same path as me and I just wanted to stop and stop my baby from getting any damage. We both came to a stop just by the marshal’s post and I quickly got up and got my bike off the track, the last thing I wanted was for someone to come along and collect the bike seeing as visibility was atrocious. I inspected the damage and had to think twice as to which side actually slid along the track. It was remarkable, practically no visible damage at all. A bent clutch lever and cracked screen was about all that was wrong. I though screw this and decided to jump back on and finish the race. Seeing as Ashley had a footpeg break on the first lap I was currently 6th still, even though I was about a lap down on most of the other guys. I finished the last 2 laps and even managed to pass one of the other 125’s just before the finish line which left me 5th for that race. This meant I took out 2nd placing for 125’s at the meeting.
Pretty happy how things went on a whole. First rain riding experience was eventful to say the least. A wide variety of results and good experience for meetings to come.
Big thanks goes out to Motoequip, Quasimoto and Sawyers and all the others that have encouraged and helped me out. Next meeting is next month at Levels, first round of the winter series.