Track day @ Ruapuna

[puddytat]

Man o man,that was awesome!! Drove down from Murch. on Saturday & spent the night @ friends.Up @ sparrows fart to strong gales & rain, but by the time we got to the track it had cleared up nicely. The track day was held by Motorcycling Canturbury & Sportzone Suzuki who as usual ran an excellent event & who also provided alot of spot prizes (I got a can of chain lube).After the sign in & scrutineering it was the typical period of waiting for your class & the % trips to the loo's for a wee....& to check out the other bikes in our grade(B).Both my mate Ted & I were a tad apprehensive as he'd not done a trackday before & I'd talked him into going straight into the B grade, but the bugger can ride & I convinced him that the ole girl(VFR750) could hold her own in the group & he did real well I thought, finishing generally inthe front(ish) of the mid field....nothing like holding your own on an 19yr old bike with 70,000 ks. I was also a bit on edge as I had my new bike there(04R6) & had only done a couple of short rides on her, so didnt really know how I was gonna go, plus a new set of tyres that I also had to get used to(PP Roads).Neednt have worried to much though, as after the 2 warm up laps ,I just fanged it!!!After the first session I realised I needed to start with the front of the field as I needed clear track ahead of me to concentrate on the wee rocket Im riding without get baulked by the slower riders & to work out my lines & to see how the R6 reacted. Well she reacts beautifully! I never had a moment all day, she put up with me over riding @ times & with me trying to get the hang of a different riding style & position than my old Bros.The Pilot Power Roads I had on worked great all day without a slip & there wernt no chicken strips either! Each grade got 4- 15 minute sessions, 2 in the morning, 2 after lunch, damn good value for 60 bucks I reckon,plus you get a free photo sent to you by Sportzphotos!! By the last round I was getting a bit poopped, so thought Id concentrate a bit more on my riding finesse & better lines so tried to run abit slower & smoother, a friend did the stop watch thing for us & my last 4 laps were between 1:59:3 & 1:59:6,pretty consistant I thought( consistantly slow really as I found out that I was as fast as the 150's.......)Oh well I thought I was going pretty quick & hitting 240 down the front straight & then into turn one was a lot more "ballsey" than on the Bros. Dean Charlett(?) on the suzuki showed us all how its done by passing eveyone everywhere when ever he wanted to... Highlights of the day was chasing the blonde on the R1 in the Jon Lowther leathers (she rides great!!),then looking for her later to tell her that,& finding her in a Bikini walking around the pits with mouths hangin' open in her wake...well done girl!! the fellas from Sportzone Suzuki for thier sponsorship of the day & all the prizes they gave out,& off course to the volunteers from Motorcycling Canterbury who as usual ran an excellent event on an absolutely stunning day.Also to all the other riders there who rode so well & safely, & the relaxed & friendly attitude of all there..bloody well done!!Bugger that we'll have to wait to March 08 for the next one:rockon:

[FruitLooPs]

Sounds like you had an awesome time! :2thumbsup

I too went out for a first stab at trackday and ruapuna, second time ever on a track so I was a tad nervous too. Decided against taking my old 750 out in favour of taking my RG150 since i'll be streetstock riding soon anyhow. :scooter:

First time out pootled around just learning which way the corners went before giving it a bit of gas. Fair bit more to remember than Levels!

Had a stab at it second time out, was pretty wobbly and the bike didn't want to stay leaned over (bit of air in the tyres helps :lol: ) was doing ok nearly went wide on the full throttle gentle left hander (turn 2) bit hasty late pulse braking and wide eyes saw me hang together :blink:

Was pretty shoddy, somewhere around 2min 25. Had a word with Peter J /oyster who had a fellow follow me and provide tuition on lines which was really great, learnt where I was losing heaps of time taking the wrong lines.

Made improvments through the day 2.15 and final few laps managed a 2.09 :banana:

Great fun, tyres only felt unstable once and not badly. Got my pegs down a bit more than I'd like to have had (that frigin hairpin man) but I need to improve on smoothness still and my right handers. Some other fellow on a 600 sportsbike zoomed up past me scaring the bollocks out of me mid corner but then got me to follow him too, provided some great insight.

Amazing how much faster some of those guys can go, he was just cruising on that thing looking behind to make sure I was still alive haha I was fully concentrating and wringing the bike right out just to stay near him. :clap:

So much can be learnt from following good race lines! :2thumbsup :ride:

[Tim 39]

Sounds like a great day!
ps thats Jon Lowthers wife I believe, hence the leathers lol

[oyster]

Puddytat, don't wait till the next "Have a Go". You can ride as early as next Saturday, just come to the Motorcycling Canterbury meeting. Get a "one event" licence and enter the Clubman class. Check their website www.motorcyclingcanterbury.org.nz. They also run a training class, so you only need to to register and get a coach organised, who will go out with you.
Easy
See you there