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sugilite
27th December 2006, 22:35
The last street circuit I'd done was Wanganui Cemetery circuit in 1991, and as I got taken out and knocked unconscious in practise, I worked out I'd actually last raced there in 1989 on a GSXR1100K :gob:

I got out the trusty ZXR750 for post classics and bought along the shiny new ZX10R as well for a double helping of street racing action!
The 1st thing I noticed that I'd not seen before in my early twenties was things like man hole covers, gutters, hay bales and the like :lol:

Post Classic ZXR750H1:
Practice/Qualifying. Time:56.059
I was expecting big things with the 750 as I'd gone all out hotting it up, OK, all I'd done was just take out the washers from under the carburetor needles I'd placed there during the freezing Actrix winter races :lol:
I went out for the 1st 3 lap session and as mentioned noticed all these interesting obstacles and little else!
In the 2nd session I upped the pace a little and qualified in 3rd with just Steve Bridge and Richard Scott in front of me on their reportedly 30K plus bikes, the ole 750 is a 3k bike, so no shame there hehehe

Race one: They held us a long time at the dummy grid and I was a bit too tentative on cold tyres and dropped a long way back from the top 3. I managed to catch up to Sean Donnelly on the last lap, but ran out of time to mount a challenge so finished 4th. Best lap time: 56.280

Race two: I got a better start and got in behind Sean Donnelly again. On the last lap going into the Rose Garden (prob old school name, no idea what new name is) I put a pass on him, coming into the next corner he cut across me and my front tyre hit his bike hard! I managed to stay upright and finished 4th, again. Best lap time: 55.839

Next year the 750 should have all the hot up parts I've got for it installed and I'll be able to play with the big boys. I was just over a second slower than the leaders in race 2.

Formula One, ZX10R:
Practice/Qualifying. Time:53.042
For the 1st three lap session I was wondering what I'd got myself into, The 10 definitly had a bull in a china shop feel to it!

In the 2nd session I deliberately let everyone go ahead of me and just cruised around slowly looking for the best lines through all the obstacles and then upped the pace for the final few laps. I qualified in 7th, 1st Kawasaki rider too, so I was happy enough with that. Unfortunately I was on max on the rear shock compression and it was still wallowing around. Ohlins guru Robert Taylor had been watching me over the bridge and said it was clearly a valving issue and he could fix it down south for me. I mentioned to him my forks were bottoming out and I was going to increase compression on them and he said it would make the rear worse, and it did :doh:
On the good news front, The new pirellis I was running were bloody awesome and the EBC brake pads I was trying banished all my prior braking problems, the brakes were now fantastic!

Race one: I got a half way decent start and was in 5th place for the first four laps. I was passed by Haden, Love and Williams as I was fighting suspension related blues. I was getting to ready to mount a challenge on Williams under brakes into the Rose Garden and he braked earlier than usual baulking me and I made a poor race craft decision and went to the outside of him where upon Lance Lowe promptly passed me on the inside, yep, another :doh: moment. So I'd manged to mangle a perfectly good 5th place down to 9th in 3 odd laps! Best Lap:52.771

Race Two: I got an average start and was mobbed in the 1st corner. I started to get into it and I noticed the rear tyre starting to slide a lot sooner than it had and assumed the tyre was going off so took it easy. Turns out the rear brake line had developed a leak spewing brake fluid onto the tyre, drats! I finished that race in 11th. Best lap time:52.933

Robert Holden Memorial Races
Race One. Amazingly I qualified on the 2nd row in 9th slot on the grid. I got a less than stellar start and was again mobbed in the 1st corner, then again at the 2nd corner :gob: I made my way through a series of riders. I'm not sure where I finished, but it would have been outside of the top 10 for sure. I put in my fastest lap on lap 10, so my fitness was not to shabby. Fastest lap:52.601

Race Two: This was the last race of the day for me and I was definitly in survival mode after nearly crashing the 750 just prior! It was a 4th row start (all my other races on the 10 were 2nd row starts) so I just took it easy for the 1st laps. I got into it but had to run off jest before the turn in to the esses as my suspension had the bike in knots so braking was not an option. I got the bike turned around and back onto the track and worked on upping the pace again. I passed a few riders and put in some faster laps chasing that very fast Aussie Chris Seaton in the last few laps as he went passed me. Again, I'm not sure where I finished, but suffice to say, again out of the top ten. Fastest lap: 53.197 on lap 10.

While not getting the results I was hoping for I can take a lot out of this meeting heading for the nats rounds down south in 2 weeks time. I'm really pleased with the front end feel I have with the bike, I tortured the hell out of it through out the meeting having at least 10 front end saves due to forks bottoming out and front tyre skipping sideways, always re-gripping and letting me regain control. As mentioned the Pirelli tyres and EBC brake pads were working awesome and I learned shit loads about the ZX10R and how it behaves under duress! I'm confident my fitness is up to the 20 lap nats races after surviving 80 odd laps of bumpy wangas and setting my fastest laps near the end of each race :yes:

As for my impressions on Street racing, I think T.W.R summed it up best in a PM to me. If road racing is a boxing ring, Street racing is a cage fight! The opposition is just so much more aggressive for sure and the ride style to succeed needs to be as well.

Uncle Chopper says Sugilite will need to have a stiff can of HARDEN THE FUCK UP next year to do better!

Thank You to my sponsors
Richard Leong Racing
Hewitts Motorcycles
Pirelli
EBC
Thank You also to Derek McAdam for sorting my forks out once and for all.
Thanks to Brendon Stephenson for sharing his pit with me and his generator!

Thanks to Goblin and A J turbo for helping me with tyre warmers for some of the races.
Thanks to Todd Sutherland for the much needed banana before the Robert Holden memorial race!
Thanks to all the KBers who supported me through out the day :sunny:

Joni
28th December 2006, 07:29
Was really good to eventually meet you and see you out there.

Well done! :sunny:

James Deuce
28th December 2006, 07:34
So did you take the ladder so you could talk to him without shouting Joni?

Nice write up and well done Sth African Rockman!

Joni
28th December 2006, 07:38
So did you take the ladder so you could talk to him without shouting Joni?Umm... I giggled to myself, we could not be more opposites if we tried...

but always nice to meet someone face to face and they turn out to be nicer in person than you ever expected :sunny:

James Deuce
28th December 2006, 07:42
Isn't that the truth. I always expect racers to be hard bitten nuggety bastards like Bistard, and Stew, but Sugilite is tall, gentle and graceful.

He's still a bastard though.

More talent in his little finger than I have in my entire body and/or wardrobe.

emaN
28th December 2006, 07:51
Was great seeing you out there man!!
We watched the 2nd F1 race just before the bridge, on the pits side. Saw you lining up a few peeps, ready to take em on the inside, but couldn't see anymore after that.
Must be a wikkid feeling opening the '10 up heading down the front straight hill!
Well done dude, a 52.6! geez...

saul
28th December 2006, 07:59
Well done mate.
Thanks for the write up:rockon: As I have never raced I love reading what happens out there from a real riders perspective.

Regards

TonyB
28th December 2006, 08:05
Wow! Good results- gotta wonder how the 10 would have gone if it had some well sorted suspension. So when you were 21 and didn't notice all the obstacles, how did you go?

Scouse
28th December 2006, 08:07
Good on ya Sugi it takes big balls to ride fast around there

Matt Bleck
28th December 2006, 09:32
Great effort Ant!

ajturbo
28th December 2006, 09:45
hell man.. you must have lost atleast 5kgs in sweat!!!!

goblin was great!!!lol

good to see you had fun, and know what is needed to sort the bike out for the nationals....

babyB
28th December 2006, 09:48
cool write up as always. good on ya and well done:Punk:

DMNTD
28th December 2006, 09:50
Excellent write up there man! Looks like a minta day had :yes:

gaza
28th December 2006, 11:23
Hi Sugilite,
action from Race 4

Idrumm
28th December 2006, 11:41
Injoyed the write up, potential to the max, good luck for the rest of the season, as if you needed it, more to come me thinks.

Croft
28th December 2006, 12:25
YEP!!! You definitley THE MAN!!! WOOOHOOO!!!

TonyB
28th December 2006, 12:30
Wicked photo- look at the eyes
And your in front of Jared Love, one to hang on the wall methinks

Goblin
28th December 2006, 12:47
Good onya Anthony! Top effort and Im sorry I couldn't do more for you.:rockon:

Cleve
28th December 2006, 12:53
Great write up Anthony. Hope to see you at future meetings.

sugilite
28th December 2006, 12:59
Umm... I giggled to myself, we could not be more opposites if we tried...

but always nice to meet someone face to face and they turn out to be nicer in person than you ever expected :sunny:

Was nice to meet you too, fellow "13th" Kiwi biker!



Isn't that the truth. I always expect racers to be hard bitten nuggety bastards like Bistard, and Stew, but Sugilite is tall, gentle and graceful.


Well there goes my Hard Arse guy image I was "trying" to nurture, thanks guys, now I'll need 2 cans of harden the fuck up! :lol:




Nice write up and well done Sth African Rockman!


Yep, Sugilite the rock is from Africa, discovered by professor Sugi of Japan, hence the name. It is also known as Royal Azel and Luvalite. I however are a born and in bred Kiwi :lol:



Must be a wikkid feeling opening the '10 up heading down the front straight hill!
Well done dude, a 52.6! geez...

Yeah man, it's not like a twist throttle, it was more like, come over the bridge and pull the trigger!


So when you were 21 and didn't notice all the obstacles, how did you go?
Podium finishes


Great effort Ant!
Thanks for the photo, how did you manage to make me seem ummm, not so skinny? :lol:


hell man.. you must have lost atleast 5kgs in sweat!!!!


I guzzled my way through 5 liters of water and only had only one quick pit stop visit to the partaloo, which is a good thing eh :sick: :sick:


Hi Sugilite,
action from Race 4

Wow, Thanks for the photo, it is so clear!!!


Wicked photo- look at the eyes
And your in front of Jared Love, one to hang on the wall methinks

Yeah, quick before someone sends me a photo of him in front of me!
I could not help but notice how different his exhaust fumes smelt from everyone else's and how my eyes watered when I was following him, hmmmm :shutup:

Thanks to all the other folks leaving comments of support, it means a lot to me, thanks again!

TonyB
28th December 2006, 13:56
Yeah, quick before someone sends me a photo of him in front of me!
I could not help but notice how different his exhaust fumes smelt from everyone else's and how my eyes watered when I was following him, hmmmm :shutup:

Mate, at least you could actually keep up long enough to notice. At Greymouth no one got near him in the races I watched

Two Smoker
28th December 2006, 15:54
Wicked stuff Anthony :niceone: Some good times there, and must have been a handful handling a 1000 around that course let alone with valving issues!!! Will catch up at the nationals :niceone:

Torque
28th December 2006, 16:06
Enjoyed watching you out there and a great write up. Racing in F3 and then watching you guys race in F1 and knowing what the track is like just blows me away at the lap times!! See you next time.:yes:

chanceyy
28th December 2006, 20:08
Congrats Ant ;)


good luck for the nats

kiwifruit
28th December 2006, 20:17
great riding Ant, you're a fuckin machine! :rockon:


Hi Sugilite,
action from Race 4

great photo! the eyes have it....

T.W.R
28th December 2006, 21:19
Inspirational mate! :rockon: awesome effort :Punk:

Nicksta
28th December 2006, 21:44
awesome report dude... good to see you there.... you did well, was impressive watching you up with the big boys

aff-man
29th December 2006, 08:53
Awesome stuff man. hope to see ya race in person soon. You going to paeroa??

one-speed
29th December 2006, 10:05
well done excel write up good seeing ya out there
you were honkin
all the best for the future:rockon:

gaza
30th December 2006, 10:43
Hi guys, just been uploading some more photos to web site http://www.pbase.com/naki_gaza/wanga_2006
Still got a few to do, hopefully have the other classes done this weekend.
Gary