Keystone19
29th April 2007, 20:23
The final round! And OMG I am still buzzing!!!
Going into this round I was sitting in first place with a lead of only 3 points over Bill Vanderhoven. Now Bill is a very experienced racer and won the National F3 Champs a couple of years ago. I've never beaten him, but I've managed to keep him in sight so with this in mind, I spent the week working on the bike to try and get it as competitive as possible and crossed my fingers that maybe Bill wouldn't turn up...
Well, he turned up!
I went out in the first practice and scrubbed in my tyres. The bike was feeling awesome with the new tyres and a new chain. Grid positions were based on championship positions so I was on pole for the first race. Race one and I got an average start. I was third going into corner one behind Bill and Geoff Booth. Managed to wander past Geoff down the back straight but Bill was about 50 metres ahead. Over the next three laps I slowly pulled him in - 50 metres, 40 metres, 30 metres...and then we caught up to the tail end of the 125s and F3. My bad luck Bill managed to hit the back markers on the straights and I got them on the corners and I didn't manage to gain any more ground on him - 2nd place for me...
Race two and again an average start - not bad, just not good. Had to pick off about four bikes this time before getting back into 2nd place. I seem to be holding really good pace down the back straight and braking late into the hairpin, managing to get most people in this manner - but not Bill! Coming out of Castrol and a Ducati 900 of some sort shoots past me and I'm like WTF! Try to outbrake him into the hairpin - haha - not! Nearly take him and me out, run wide and hook it around the hairpin at the last minute breathing a sigh of relief that no-one has shot under me. Manage to hold onto 3rd and later learn that the Ducati didn't get any points anyway so I move up into second again - behind Bill!
Race three and I'm 4th going into corner one behind Geoff Booth, Wiggles and Bill. I pick off Geoff pretty quickly down the back straight again but boy do I have to work hard to get Wiggles - his pace has doubled over the course of the day and it takes me a couple of laps to get close enough to finally take him down the back straight and hold him off under brakes into the hairpin. Now Bill is in my sights again but he's too far away and now I'm worried that Wiggles will come back at me - glancing over my shoulder he's still there on every lap so I'm trying as hard as I can. Manage to hold him off, cross the line in 2nd place and take out 2nd place overall in the Championship!
I'm stoked! 2nd place F3 at the Auckland Champs for 2007 in my first season of racing! Woohoo!
Thanks to everyone who has helped me get here! There's so many it's hard to know where to start! All I know is that it couldn't have happened without any of you. THANK YOU!
Going into this round I was sitting in first place with a lead of only 3 points over Bill Vanderhoven. Now Bill is a very experienced racer and won the National F3 Champs a couple of years ago. I've never beaten him, but I've managed to keep him in sight so with this in mind, I spent the week working on the bike to try and get it as competitive as possible and crossed my fingers that maybe Bill wouldn't turn up...
Well, he turned up!
I went out in the first practice and scrubbed in my tyres. The bike was feeling awesome with the new tyres and a new chain. Grid positions were based on championship positions so I was on pole for the first race. Race one and I got an average start. I was third going into corner one behind Bill and Geoff Booth. Managed to wander past Geoff down the back straight but Bill was about 50 metres ahead. Over the next three laps I slowly pulled him in - 50 metres, 40 metres, 30 metres...and then we caught up to the tail end of the 125s and F3. My bad luck Bill managed to hit the back markers on the straights and I got them on the corners and I didn't manage to gain any more ground on him - 2nd place for me...
Race two and again an average start - not bad, just not good. Had to pick off about four bikes this time before getting back into 2nd place. I seem to be holding really good pace down the back straight and braking late into the hairpin, managing to get most people in this manner - but not Bill! Coming out of Castrol and a Ducati 900 of some sort shoots past me and I'm like WTF! Try to outbrake him into the hairpin - haha - not! Nearly take him and me out, run wide and hook it around the hairpin at the last minute breathing a sigh of relief that no-one has shot under me. Manage to hold onto 3rd and later learn that the Ducati didn't get any points anyway so I move up into second again - behind Bill!
Race three and I'm 4th going into corner one behind Geoff Booth, Wiggles and Bill. I pick off Geoff pretty quickly down the back straight again but boy do I have to work hard to get Wiggles - his pace has doubled over the course of the day and it takes me a couple of laps to get close enough to finally take him down the back straight and hold him off under brakes into the hairpin. Now Bill is in my sights again but he's too far away and now I'm worried that Wiggles will come back at me - glancing over my shoulder he's still there on every lap so I'm trying as hard as I can. Manage to hold him off, cross the line in 2nd place and take out 2nd place overall in the Championship!
I'm stoked! 2nd place F3 at the Auckland Champs for 2007 in my first season of racing! Woohoo!
Thanks to everyone who has helped me get here! There's so many it's hard to know where to start! All I know is that it couldn't have happened without any of you. THANK YOU!