PDA

View Full Version : Race Reports



texmo
18th June 2006, 16:09
This blurb is based around - Manfeild, Street Stock Round two, 17th of June 2006.

I am doing this more for my own good than anybody else's so in a Few years time I can look back and read this and think man I was a newbie.
*note this is long and boring stop reading here and go down to race unless you care*
I also did shit in engrish at school. and this wont make much sense toanybody but me...

04/06/06: Coroloop with Toast, Motoracer, HDTboy and Vtec. (This was my 3rd Ride on my new zxr250 1993, Its the second bike I have owned my first was a cbr250rr which I owned for 6weeks before writing off 7months ago.) After doing this ride and holding my own against some of the faster smaller cc bike riders on kiwibiker and with a little encourgment from the above while discussing the domio grim I decided to race in street stock round two. I contacted SVS who without the help of I wouldnt have been able to race so a big thanks to him. I sent my vic club membership form and race form away on the tuesday as it was a public holiday and got the ball rolling. The week after I started to set my bike up for racing, Well I went to sudeeps and he did it all for me while I drank the beers I brought him and listened to all the advice he gave me. He changed the raditaor coolant for water and lock wired certain things as well as chaging the air filter and motor oil. The bike was all ready to go on the friday(16th) morning at 1:30am. I had the friday off so I loaded up the bikes (mine and mikeys new bike a gixxer 600 k2 race bike that used to belong to sudeep) and set off at around 1:30pm with my Dad for feilding race court motel. We arrived at about 9:30pm (we stopped for a sit down dinner) and I dropped off like a light only to be woken up by drew and mikey at 2am to get the gixxer, after they left at 3am I fell asleep again no problems and had one of the best sleeps in my life. I woke up at 6:30 and was at the track by 7:45 where vtec saved me a place in the stables (good on ya mate). I sgined in and put a transponder on my bike and that was it everything was set for my first race. I got a txt at about 8pm from my pitt bitch HDTboy saying he was thawing at at taupo when he did arrive I found out he got a ticket for doing 139km/hr. I meet some more kiwibikers all of whom were really cool people... The weather was absoulte shit with hail and rain to begin with setting in to shower all day long. I went out for the scrub in lap and went as slow as I could and did the same in pratice with a few faster laps near the end of pratice just to learn to track so that when I make a misstake and freak out and get dissorentated It would take me as long to get my groundings. I got 9th fastest quailifying time out of 11 street stock racers. and I got beaten by all of them off the line due to a shit launch and shit clutch I ended up passing some people and finnishing 5th I did pretty much the same in race 2 with another 5th place.


I have heaps to improve on as I didnt do very well, Below is a picture of manfeild and the lines I should be taking along with braking points.
What I did wrong and things to improve my lap times.
First off my starts were crap, this is because I am a shit launcher and because my clutch was slipping really badly the whole day, I also raced the whole day with a full fuel tank which is adding another 12 unwanted kgs to my bike (I am already about 20kgs heavyer than vtec), I wasnt aggressive enough entering the first corner and lost places here too, I wasnt entering this corner wide enough as there was a puddel on the out side but I was cutting across on the inside of the pothole and trying to get the gas on early, I would enter the corner slightly too soon making for a good passing opportunity, when I left the corner I would stay tight to the inside of the track rather than drift out for castrol I would also slightly back off the throtle rather than stay full tit and changing up a gear (I also use my clutch for upchanges I need to get out of this habbit) I would then come into castrol too slowly braking a bit to eairly and turn to soon rather than going out and back in I was messing up this corner badly I would then coast along the the hairpin, from castorl I wasnt pushing the bike enough and exiting wide enough limiting the speed I could carry. I wasnt gettin g off the bike enoug hhere and getting the bike over enough either. I would then enter husqvarna way to slowly and not go deep enough then when in the hair pin I didnt have the gas on soon enough and I would look at the ground because of the potholes I would then go to wide on exit rather than drift out limiting the amount of throtle I was able to put on. coming up to higgins I would brak slightly to early and not drop enough gears but other than that this corner was good I was passing people on this one. I wouldnt exit it right how ever I would caing up to dunlop then cut across to the out side of the track rather than drift across and I would brake to early I was going deep enough but turning before I had to I was hard on the gas and had a good body position that I should try and keep for the other corners I was exiting wide but I could probbly exit wider with more gas on then I would sit up off the seat and put weight on my right foot peg to turn rather than steer with my arms I was then not braking late enough for coke.
In all I didnt do very well ass I made way to many misstakes I need to thrash the bike more and keep on the throtle longer than brake harder and stop using the clutch while up shifting I also need to brake later and stay on brake a little more entering corners while getting on throtle quicker I wasnt getting off the bike enoug hand turing in hard enough nore was I keeping enough weight on the out side I was using all four finger on my front brake which gave me more feeling my best two lap times were 1:41 which I should be able to do every lap in the wet consitantly if I fix my errors I have made I also need to stop looking at the rev gauge and change my rear shock setting.
I have left out some of the misstake I have made about 1/3 that I spotted but I will try and fix them as well, I am going down this friday for a track day at manfeild hopefully its dry and I can fix some of these things I was doing wrong the day after is the shaun harris track day which should help improve my lap times too.


I will put my other race reports in here too when I or if I go back which depends on my money situation...