Motoracer
26th July 2004, 01:57
We got a good night’s sleep at our kind and very nice host and hostess’s house and headed off to the track at an early 7:30AM!! (early for an Aucklander anyway). The previous day was a minter but it just had to piss down for a short while during the night to make the track wet for us.
We got to the track and did the usual stuff (Unpack into the pits, sign up, gear up etc). Then it was great to meet Johann again. It didn’t take long before he told me the big news about his leave from racing which left me in complete shock.
The morning was freezing cold with the hopeful sun shining from a distance. After briefing, I went to Qualifying. There was no practice on the day since winter days are pretty short. I went in as they opened the gates, following the other well-known racers from around the country. As I entered the track, I could really see how rough the surface was and how poorly it was patched up in places. It was wet and very slippery. I was probably one of the few if not the only one with out tire warmers there, so I definitely couldn’t even think about going fast. Everyone who was behind me for that short while (I was still on my 2nd lap) passed me very fast, like as if I was standing still! So I thought “hang on, my tires maybe ice cold but I sure as hell can do a bit better than this!” So I saw the tail of a guy in front of me and tried to keep him in sight in this very scary and unknown track with the most terrible surface. As I completed my 2nd lap, I braked for turn one, I went into the turn and started going on the throttle gently, then instantly with out any warnings, my front let go and I was on my arse… again! (first bin being in Taupo). Later on I came to know that my front wheel had gone over the slippery cement patches on the track that everyone avoids at all costs specially in the wet. Anywho, I picked up the bike, fired her up after experiencing a bit of hesitation. It was all good except for the engine noise being a hell of a lot louder. I went around slowly for another 2 laps and that was the end of qualifying.
I came in, looked at the bike and really felt like I had let my self down… I did the same thing in Taupo and I really didn’t need to repeat it here but what can you do… be more careful on your first time out? Yes I know… silly me… The bike had a broken brake lever, bent exhaust pipe, the exhaust can was separated from the rest of the pipe cause the rivets had broken off but other than that, the bike only suffered light scrapes on the fairing. nicko advised me on what to get to fix the bike. So off I went to find someone with some rivets, riveting tool and a drill. Svs happened to have a spare new brake lever on him, I borrowed the riveting tool and rivets off some other people and I happened to run into Johann again in the pits. After I told him what happened, he hurried to the bike and did such a brilliant job at fixing it all up very quickly that I was speechless... Johann, you rock man!
During the time the bike was getting fixed, I had missed the chance to qualify for F1 but all that meant was that I’d be starting from the back. I was feeling a bit down at this point and really wanted to go into clubmans if I could. The pace was too quick for me in F2 and I really felt out of place. A quick word of advise from Jo which went something like “Ride hard or give it heaps” made me re-think. I thought, “if he reckons I can do it even if I made an arse out of myself then heck, I’ll give it a go!”
No more mucking around, this was racing time! The conditions were a lot better now. The sun was up high and clouds were nowhere to be seen. The track was almost completely dry. The gate opened again, and we all casually rolled in, some of the guys ahead were doing some wheelstands I think but I was way too scared, nervous and drop nuts to think about anything else other than not binning my bike. We went around for one warm up lap and I still didn’t have a clue about what corners were where or even how many corners there were! Jeez I was lost! Anyway, we came around and lined up on the grid. I could see racers like Hayden Fitzgerald, Karl Morgan, Nick Odermatt to just name a few, right in front of me. That in itself was really cool, to be racing with these guys but at the same time it was nerve wrecking and intimidating.
The green flag was raised and everyone started revving their engines furiously. I popped it in 1st and had no intentions of getting a good start cause I didn’t want to get in the way of any of these guys when I was so lost. The flag dropped and away we went. I went cautiously around turn 1 this time following the guys who were rapidly disappearing ahead of me. I tried my best to remember how the track went or at least the general layout of it this time. I went around cautiously through the turns then hammered out of them to try to gain some ground that I had lost in cornering. After doing my first lap, I noticed that I could keep one bike ahead of me in sight. After that, I did my best to not let him get away. It was a black Ducati 900, he didn’t have much power on the straights but he seemed like he knew what he was doing around corners. This was the best thing that could happen to me to pick up my pace. I followed him and got a general idea about the lines etc around the turns. I decided that I would just keep him in sight for race 1 and learn the track the best I could. On the 4th or 5th lap, going around the “goat track” surface of the hairpin, as WT would have put it, I lost the front again! It slid for nearly 2 seconds, which seemed like an eternity when I was on full lean. I dug deep into the track with my knee slider and pulled the bike up. Luckily that did the trick and I didn’t end up on my arse this time. Around we came for the 6th time and I was relived to get the chequered flag.
After coming into the pits, I had another chat with Johann and nicko, which I found really helpful. We went to check out my times and saw a 1:22. Ok so it was a full 10 secs off the front runner but I saw that my time was actually a sec quicker than the guy on the black Ducati. This was enough of a confidence boost to get rid of that feeling down crap. I was actually felling a lot better now.
I had a bit of a rest then it was time for F1! Just saying that was pretty scary. I mean F1, common; it sounds like there is nothing faster than that! I was sure that I was going to be blown away from the track by the speed of these guys. Anyway, I was still pretty nervous but it wasn’t as bad as the start of race 1. After warm up lap, to my relief, I saw that the guy on the back duke was entering F1 too. At least I knew I wasn’t going to be by myself. The green flag dropped and again we shot off. This time I made sure that I got a good start so I could stay close to the black duke. We went around for a couple of laps and I just stayed behind him. Then I saw 2 bigger bikes up head with a pace not much faster than mine. I then overtook the black duke, and followed these two guys. These guys were on Bandit 1200s and were going through the corners reasonably quick. I was quite happy that my 600 was pulling with the same strength as these 1200s were in the straights. Again, we did our 6 laps and down went the chequered flag. I went and checked my times. I got a 1:18. I had shaved off 4 secs off the last race so I was pretty happy about that. I also found out that the 2 guys ahead of me both managed 1:19s, which gave me even more of a confidence boost.
I did 2 more races in F2 and 2 more in F1. I did learn a lot about the track and about my own bike as well. I managed to have a bit of fun with these 2 guys on the Bandits and I even got some guy on a R6 race bike, which was pretty cool. The fastest I went for the day was 1:17.786. Looks like it’s way off your time WT but I am pretty happy about it for now. I am definitely going to do my best to make it down there for next month of R5 of the Vic Club series.
Somehow I managed to get a total of 32 points for F2 and 32 points for F1 so I am definitely keen on doing every single round of Vic Club for 2004 just to see where I can come at the end of it all. More importantly I want to get more track experience to do all the rounds next year when I really want to be racing competitively (hopefully) for the points.
I have attached 2 race results for the final races. 1 is for F1 and 1 is for F2. My name is Sudeep Giri, if you didn’t already know.
I’d like to say a BIG HUGE thanx to Nick Odermatt, for firstly letting me know about it in time, letting me know about how to enter the race etc, ride in the van to Manfield and back along with all the extremely helpful advises, you'r an awesome guy! Also thanx to Derik and Liona for having us in your home. Derik, you really know how whip a great feed man!
Also, of course there would have been no racing on the day for me if it wasn’t for the efforts of Johann on getting the bike ready in time for the races and also the good advises that you gave me. It’s a sad thing to not have you as a racer in our sport at the moment but I wish you all the best in your future plans, whatever they maybe.
Also, thanx for the brake lever Phil (svs). I’ll PM you about the details. You were looking very good in clubmans as well. You were putting such hard effort into gaining ground from cornering alone but sadly the 650 V twin didn’t have enough grunt to take down the 4s. Hopefully you enjoyed it all the same.
Also thanx to the behind the scene guys, who are my family and my friends who have helped me out a lot with mental support as well as financial and other various favours to make it all possible.
P.S. It was great to see Lynda, Haymish, Mitch, Deano and Jimbo750 again and great to meet you MarkNZ.
We got to the track and did the usual stuff (Unpack into the pits, sign up, gear up etc). Then it was great to meet Johann again. It didn’t take long before he told me the big news about his leave from racing which left me in complete shock.
The morning was freezing cold with the hopeful sun shining from a distance. After briefing, I went to Qualifying. There was no practice on the day since winter days are pretty short. I went in as they opened the gates, following the other well-known racers from around the country. As I entered the track, I could really see how rough the surface was and how poorly it was patched up in places. It was wet and very slippery. I was probably one of the few if not the only one with out tire warmers there, so I definitely couldn’t even think about going fast. Everyone who was behind me for that short while (I was still on my 2nd lap) passed me very fast, like as if I was standing still! So I thought “hang on, my tires maybe ice cold but I sure as hell can do a bit better than this!” So I saw the tail of a guy in front of me and tried to keep him in sight in this very scary and unknown track with the most terrible surface. As I completed my 2nd lap, I braked for turn one, I went into the turn and started going on the throttle gently, then instantly with out any warnings, my front let go and I was on my arse… again! (first bin being in Taupo). Later on I came to know that my front wheel had gone over the slippery cement patches on the track that everyone avoids at all costs specially in the wet. Anywho, I picked up the bike, fired her up after experiencing a bit of hesitation. It was all good except for the engine noise being a hell of a lot louder. I went around slowly for another 2 laps and that was the end of qualifying.
I came in, looked at the bike and really felt like I had let my self down… I did the same thing in Taupo and I really didn’t need to repeat it here but what can you do… be more careful on your first time out? Yes I know… silly me… The bike had a broken brake lever, bent exhaust pipe, the exhaust can was separated from the rest of the pipe cause the rivets had broken off but other than that, the bike only suffered light scrapes on the fairing. nicko advised me on what to get to fix the bike. So off I went to find someone with some rivets, riveting tool and a drill. Svs happened to have a spare new brake lever on him, I borrowed the riveting tool and rivets off some other people and I happened to run into Johann again in the pits. After I told him what happened, he hurried to the bike and did such a brilliant job at fixing it all up very quickly that I was speechless... Johann, you rock man!
During the time the bike was getting fixed, I had missed the chance to qualify for F1 but all that meant was that I’d be starting from the back. I was feeling a bit down at this point and really wanted to go into clubmans if I could. The pace was too quick for me in F2 and I really felt out of place. A quick word of advise from Jo which went something like “Ride hard or give it heaps” made me re-think. I thought, “if he reckons I can do it even if I made an arse out of myself then heck, I’ll give it a go!”
No more mucking around, this was racing time! The conditions were a lot better now. The sun was up high and clouds were nowhere to be seen. The track was almost completely dry. The gate opened again, and we all casually rolled in, some of the guys ahead were doing some wheelstands I think but I was way too scared, nervous and drop nuts to think about anything else other than not binning my bike. We went around for one warm up lap and I still didn’t have a clue about what corners were where or even how many corners there were! Jeez I was lost! Anyway, we came around and lined up on the grid. I could see racers like Hayden Fitzgerald, Karl Morgan, Nick Odermatt to just name a few, right in front of me. That in itself was really cool, to be racing with these guys but at the same time it was nerve wrecking and intimidating.
The green flag was raised and everyone started revving their engines furiously. I popped it in 1st and had no intentions of getting a good start cause I didn’t want to get in the way of any of these guys when I was so lost. The flag dropped and away we went. I went cautiously around turn 1 this time following the guys who were rapidly disappearing ahead of me. I tried my best to remember how the track went or at least the general layout of it this time. I went around cautiously through the turns then hammered out of them to try to gain some ground that I had lost in cornering. After doing my first lap, I noticed that I could keep one bike ahead of me in sight. After that, I did my best to not let him get away. It was a black Ducati 900, he didn’t have much power on the straights but he seemed like he knew what he was doing around corners. This was the best thing that could happen to me to pick up my pace. I followed him and got a general idea about the lines etc around the turns. I decided that I would just keep him in sight for race 1 and learn the track the best I could. On the 4th or 5th lap, going around the “goat track” surface of the hairpin, as WT would have put it, I lost the front again! It slid for nearly 2 seconds, which seemed like an eternity when I was on full lean. I dug deep into the track with my knee slider and pulled the bike up. Luckily that did the trick and I didn’t end up on my arse this time. Around we came for the 6th time and I was relived to get the chequered flag.
After coming into the pits, I had another chat with Johann and nicko, which I found really helpful. We went to check out my times and saw a 1:22. Ok so it was a full 10 secs off the front runner but I saw that my time was actually a sec quicker than the guy on the black Ducati. This was enough of a confidence boost to get rid of that feeling down crap. I was actually felling a lot better now.
I had a bit of a rest then it was time for F1! Just saying that was pretty scary. I mean F1, common; it sounds like there is nothing faster than that! I was sure that I was going to be blown away from the track by the speed of these guys. Anyway, I was still pretty nervous but it wasn’t as bad as the start of race 1. After warm up lap, to my relief, I saw that the guy on the back duke was entering F1 too. At least I knew I wasn’t going to be by myself. The green flag dropped and again we shot off. This time I made sure that I got a good start so I could stay close to the black duke. We went around for a couple of laps and I just stayed behind him. Then I saw 2 bigger bikes up head with a pace not much faster than mine. I then overtook the black duke, and followed these two guys. These guys were on Bandit 1200s and were going through the corners reasonably quick. I was quite happy that my 600 was pulling with the same strength as these 1200s were in the straights. Again, we did our 6 laps and down went the chequered flag. I went and checked my times. I got a 1:18. I had shaved off 4 secs off the last race so I was pretty happy about that. I also found out that the 2 guys ahead of me both managed 1:19s, which gave me even more of a confidence boost.
I did 2 more races in F2 and 2 more in F1. I did learn a lot about the track and about my own bike as well. I managed to have a bit of fun with these 2 guys on the Bandits and I even got some guy on a R6 race bike, which was pretty cool. The fastest I went for the day was 1:17.786. Looks like it’s way off your time WT but I am pretty happy about it for now. I am definitely going to do my best to make it down there for next month of R5 of the Vic Club series.
Somehow I managed to get a total of 32 points for F2 and 32 points for F1 so I am definitely keen on doing every single round of Vic Club for 2004 just to see where I can come at the end of it all. More importantly I want to get more track experience to do all the rounds next year when I really want to be racing competitively (hopefully) for the points.
I have attached 2 race results for the final races. 1 is for F1 and 1 is for F2. My name is Sudeep Giri, if you didn’t already know.
I’d like to say a BIG HUGE thanx to Nick Odermatt, for firstly letting me know about it in time, letting me know about how to enter the race etc, ride in the van to Manfield and back along with all the extremely helpful advises, you'r an awesome guy! Also thanx to Derik and Liona for having us in your home. Derik, you really know how whip a great feed man!
Also, of course there would have been no racing on the day for me if it wasn’t for the efforts of Johann on getting the bike ready in time for the races and also the good advises that you gave me. It’s a sad thing to not have you as a racer in our sport at the moment but I wish you all the best in your future plans, whatever they maybe.
Also, thanx for the brake lever Phil (svs). I’ll PM you about the details. You were looking very good in clubmans as well. You were putting such hard effort into gaining ground from cornering alone but sadly the 650 V twin didn’t have enough grunt to take down the 4s. Hopefully you enjoyed it all the same.
Also thanx to the behind the scene guys, who are my family and my friends who have helped me out a lot with mental support as well as financial and other various favours to make it all possible.
P.S. It was great to see Lynda, Haymish, Mitch, Deano and Jimbo750 again and great to meet you MarkNZ.