scracha
26th July 2007, 00:24
Umm...finally got around to doing race report thingie. Enjoyable start to the event as Phil "Toast" gave me a lift in his van so it saved the $hitty drive. Race license arrived in the post the same morning so I was in a good mood (hey, I'm a Scotsman who'd saved $30).
Practice day :- Was pi$hing rain. I seem to be one of the few peeps who enjoy a wet track. A new experience for me was spinning up the 400 in corners. Only real drama on the practice day was losing the front under braking into T1 at about 100Kph. Foot down action and a lot of luck meant it stayed upright. Bit annoyed that I'd purchased the wrong pitch "smaller" front sprocket, thus meaning I had to stick with the standard gearing meaning I was still only getting 5th gear. Glad I went though as I hadn't been on a bike since the last meeting and started off REAL slow. Also found quite a few niggly naggly problems with the CBR400 that would have completely ruined my day had they happened on the Saturday.
Scrub in was a non event. It seemed to unfold as riders briefing, change into leathers, hear call for scrub in, start bike, let it warm up a bit, arrive at track entrace, get told I was too slow arriving. Seemed everyone else had the same experience too. The main point of scrub in for me is to calm my nerves enough to be able to actually eat something without throwing up. Spotted Jas, laughed at her muddy leathers.
Qualifying :- Well the track was damp and drying out so I'd assumed it'd have more grip than on the seriously wet practise day. The bike felt good and my confidence was high. Nice gap in-front of me coming up to the first full lap so I thought "get a good lap in nice and early". Braking into Higgins (T5) I had a decent front end lockup. It was curious as I'd braked a good second before my previous (wet) day's braking marker so it honestly surprised me. Anyway, eased off the brake to try and get control but I was rapidly running out of track. No way was I making the turn at that speed so I took the grass tracking option. Kept it upright and scrubbed off a good bit of speed for a few more meters before the inevitable happened. Zero damage to me due to the sheer amount of mud. Only damage to bike a snapped front brake lever (thanks LOADS to Clivoris for loaning a replacement). The bike started up OK and I gingerly rode it back to the pits. I was REALLY tempted to just bypass the pit entrance and do a qualifying lap on my filthy bike, half brake lever or not. Pretty sure I'd get black flagged sharpish though so took the more sensible option :innocent:. Oh bugger, not one full lap completed so back of grid for me.
Lesson 1:- On a cold track the Dunlop's need more than a lap to warm up.
Lesson 2:- Get at least one $@%$ng lap in during qualifying
Race 1 :- Usual Good start. I'd intended to just ease off a little bit and rack up points but the usual red mist kicked in. Due to my being at the back Tweety pie was away in the distance so I just got the head down. A nice red SV650 that hadn't been in the last meeting was providing the "he can get around the corner at that speed so I must be able to" inspiration. Track still a bit damp so the wee CBR was still spinning up a bit. It felt kinda nice actually :-). Passed Nicky the easy way on Lap 4 but it made me lose touch with the SV. Eventually into a ding dong with a black Hysung 650 on the last two laps. Passed him nicely on final lap but the sod just followed me into the final corner and out grunted the CBR. Pair of us looking at each other as we crossed the line not having a clue who actually got there first. He did by 0.017s..bummer. 5th position with slow laps (1.31) on damp track. CBR having lots of trouble going up the gears and really bad on the left hand hairpin.
Race 2 :- Cracking start. By the end of lap one I had a big gap behind me. Again I was chasing the Red SV650, another SV650 and the fat (allegedly) Aprillia. Damn the SV was going fast and was definately pulling me along for the ride. The track was bone dry and the CBR was spinning up loads of corners. Pure fear mixed with joy lap after lap. By lap 4 I'd reeled them in. I tried spooking them by diving up the inside on the left hand hairpin. They didn't give me the tiniest gap and when I tried it on the final lap I swear I must have got down to 10kph to avoid T-boning them. Anyway, a bloody enjoyable race and I was panting like a dog in the slowdown lap. Smashed my PB twice and almost got under 1.26. Some VERY ragged lines though. Figured out the gear linkage problem and had to work around it by taking foot off the peg while hooking the lever for the upshift. PITA and missed it a few times on the left hand hairpin. With the smaller front sprocket and a bit smoother lines I think I can reach Tom's 1.24. 4th position.
Race 3 :- Best start ever (see a pattern here). Went around outside, passed a couple of other bikes and ended up stuck behind Nicky. She decided to then aim for the kerb/grass so I had to pull on front brake to avoid ramming her. Dropped a couple of gears and passed her on the long right hander before the left hander. Other bikes in my class (same two 650's and and Glen's 1100) quite a bit ahead as a result. Didn't bother chasing, to be honest I was too knackered. Looked over shoulder for rest of race just to keep 3 or 4 seconds between myself and bikes behind. On 4th lap (of 5) a green ZXR passed me. "WTF did he come from?" thought I. Wasn't sure if he was in my class or not so got the head down and outbraked him into T1. Nearly outbraked myself and went into the turn up the inside (for the 1st time) with the back end sideways. By rights he should have been able to squirt past me but I can only guess he backed off thinking I was going to crash. Or perhaps he just had enough savvy to realise that he was in Clubmans A and I was in Clubmans B so it didn't matter anyway (doh). Gearshift problem seemed to have been bodged OK as didn't miss any gears. Finished 4th.
The bigger footpegs made a HUUUUUGE distance. I could actually weight the outside peg properly although I'm still not leaning off the bike properly. Maybe one day I'll get my knee down eh! Peeling off Gav's skateboard tape may have also helped. My laptimes were much faster/consistant and it didn't feel like I was pushing the bike. I had hardly leaned the bike over the whole meeting; a couple of quick foot scrapes, no pegs down unlike the last meeting where I'd pretty much destroyed my right boot.
Thanks to Phil and his paw for doing loads of spannering for me. Out of the two or three bolts I had to tighten myself I managed to strip the threads on one.
Next round full track..can't wait. This racing thing is seriously addictive. VFR750 and Fizzy 400 will most likely be getting punted once the weather brightens. I can see a Hyosung 650 on the horizon. I think tyre warmers will be purchased since all the other cheaters are using them. Dean Bentley's CBR400 is doing 1.22 in F3 so there's plenty of room for improvement with my current riding & setup though.
Practice day :- Was pi$hing rain. I seem to be one of the few peeps who enjoy a wet track. A new experience for me was spinning up the 400 in corners. Only real drama on the practice day was losing the front under braking into T1 at about 100Kph. Foot down action and a lot of luck meant it stayed upright. Bit annoyed that I'd purchased the wrong pitch "smaller" front sprocket, thus meaning I had to stick with the standard gearing meaning I was still only getting 5th gear. Glad I went though as I hadn't been on a bike since the last meeting and started off REAL slow. Also found quite a few niggly naggly problems with the CBR400 that would have completely ruined my day had they happened on the Saturday.
Scrub in was a non event. It seemed to unfold as riders briefing, change into leathers, hear call for scrub in, start bike, let it warm up a bit, arrive at track entrace, get told I was too slow arriving. Seemed everyone else had the same experience too. The main point of scrub in for me is to calm my nerves enough to be able to actually eat something without throwing up. Spotted Jas, laughed at her muddy leathers.
Qualifying :- Well the track was damp and drying out so I'd assumed it'd have more grip than on the seriously wet practise day. The bike felt good and my confidence was high. Nice gap in-front of me coming up to the first full lap so I thought "get a good lap in nice and early". Braking into Higgins (T5) I had a decent front end lockup. It was curious as I'd braked a good second before my previous (wet) day's braking marker so it honestly surprised me. Anyway, eased off the brake to try and get control but I was rapidly running out of track. No way was I making the turn at that speed so I took the grass tracking option. Kept it upright and scrubbed off a good bit of speed for a few more meters before the inevitable happened. Zero damage to me due to the sheer amount of mud. Only damage to bike a snapped front brake lever (thanks LOADS to Clivoris for loaning a replacement). The bike started up OK and I gingerly rode it back to the pits. I was REALLY tempted to just bypass the pit entrance and do a qualifying lap on my filthy bike, half brake lever or not. Pretty sure I'd get black flagged sharpish though so took the more sensible option :innocent:. Oh bugger, not one full lap completed so back of grid for me.
Lesson 1:- On a cold track the Dunlop's need more than a lap to warm up.
Lesson 2:- Get at least one $@%$ng lap in during qualifying
Race 1 :- Usual Good start. I'd intended to just ease off a little bit and rack up points but the usual red mist kicked in. Due to my being at the back Tweety pie was away in the distance so I just got the head down. A nice red SV650 that hadn't been in the last meeting was providing the "he can get around the corner at that speed so I must be able to" inspiration. Track still a bit damp so the wee CBR was still spinning up a bit. It felt kinda nice actually :-). Passed Nicky the easy way on Lap 4 but it made me lose touch with the SV. Eventually into a ding dong with a black Hysung 650 on the last two laps. Passed him nicely on final lap but the sod just followed me into the final corner and out grunted the CBR. Pair of us looking at each other as we crossed the line not having a clue who actually got there first. He did by 0.017s..bummer. 5th position with slow laps (1.31) on damp track. CBR having lots of trouble going up the gears and really bad on the left hand hairpin.
Race 2 :- Cracking start. By the end of lap one I had a big gap behind me. Again I was chasing the Red SV650, another SV650 and the fat (allegedly) Aprillia. Damn the SV was going fast and was definately pulling me along for the ride. The track was bone dry and the CBR was spinning up loads of corners. Pure fear mixed with joy lap after lap. By lap 4 I'd reeled them in. I tried spooking them by diving up the inside on the left hand hairpin. They didn't give me the tiniest gap and when I tried it on the final lap I swear I must have got down to 10kph to avoid T-boning them. Anyway, a bloody enjoyable race and I was panting like a dog in the slowdown lap. Smashed my PB twice and almost got under 1.26. Some VERY ragged lines though. Figured out the gear linkage problem and had to work around it by taking foot off the peg while hooking the lever for the upshift. PITA and missed it a few times on the left hand hairpin. With the smaller front sprocket and a bit smoother lines I think I can reach Tom's 1.24. 4th position.
Race 3 :- Best start ever (see a pattern here). Went around outside, passed a couple of other bikes and ended up stuck behind Nicky. She decided to then aim for the kerb/grass so I had to pull on front brake to avoid ramming her. Dropped a couple of gears and passed her on the long right hander before the left hander. Other bikes in my class (same two 650's and and Glen's 1100) quite a bit ahead as a result. Didn't bother chasing, to be honest I was too knackered. Looked over shoulder for rest of race just to keep 3 or 4 seconds between myself and bikes behind. On 4th lap (of 5) a green ZXR passed me. "WTF did he come from?" thought I. Wasn't sure if he was in my class or not so got the head down and outbraked him into T1. Nearly outbraked myself and went into the turn up the inside (for the 1st time) with the back end sideways. By rights he should have been able to squirt past me but I can only guess he backed off thinking I was going to crash. Or perhaps he just had enough savvy to realise that he was in Clubmans A and I was in Clubmans B so it didn't matter anyway (doh). Gearshift problem seemed to have been bodged OK as didn't miss any gears. Finished 4th.
The bigger footpegs made a HUUUUUGE distance. I could actually weight the outside peg properly although I'm still not leaning off the bike properly. Maybe one day I'll get my knee down eh! Peeling off Gav's skateboard tape may have also helped. My laptimes were much faster/consistant and it didn't feel like I was pushing the bike. I had hardly leaned the bike over the whole meeting; a couple of quick foot scrapes, no pegs down unlike the last meeting where I'd pretty much destroyed my right boot.
Thanks to Phil and his paw for doing loads of spannering for me. Out of the two or three bolts I had to tighten myself I managed to strip the threads on one.
Next round full track..can't wait. This racing thing is seriously addictive. VFR750 and Fizzy 400 will most likely be getting punted once the weather brightens. I can see a Hyosung 650 on the horizon. I think tyre warmers will be purchased since all the other cheaters are using them. Dean Bentley's CBR400 is doing 1.22 in F3 so there's plenty of room for improvement with my current riding & setup though.