k14
27th July 2008, 09:21
Well it had been 4 months since I had ridden the 125 and I was chomping at the bit to get out there. I had bought the bucket and the 125 so I could get a bit more racing in, a few recent mods to the bucket should have made it a bit more competitive and the 125 was just the same as nationals at Pukekohe.
I arrived at the track to a dark and gloomy day of drizzle and intermittent heavier rain, the track was soaked. First up was buckets and I went out and did a few laps. Had a few dodgy slides when I was a bit too brutal with down changes and dropping the clutch but nothing too bad. I came in and sorted the 125 ready for the practice session.
Out I went for the practice and promptly managed to bin it on practically the first corner. No damage to me, seemed to slide for ages, nearly into the tyre wall. Bike wasn’t very damaged but completely caked in mud, every crevice on the whole bike. All through the airbox, exhaust, engine, everywhere! Decided that would do me for the day in F3 and just cleaned as much mud off it before I loaded it into the van.
So now I could focus all my attention on the premier class that is known as buckets. We were racing with streetstock and starting off the back of the grid. The first race came around and I got my usual crap start. About 5th going into the first corner. Managed to go around a few coming onto the straight and again got swamped down there. Felt ok even though the track was still very damp. A good jostle for position was going on between Bren, Diesel Pig and myself. Both of their bikes had the speed down the straight but I would gain back up to them through the twisties. The rider leading over the start/finish line was different every lap.
By about the third lap (of six) we were coming across streetstock riders at fairly regular intervals. This was both an advantage and disadvantage. Seeing as our buckets have so little power, if you were blocked mid corner and had to roll off you were stuffed. The last lap came around and we were all nose to tail again. Bren was having some issues with his new MotoFXR and I managed to pass him down the back straight. Diesel Pig had made a 10-15 bike length gap which I was unable to do anything about. I crossed the line in 2nd place in the bucket class and had probably passed half the streetstockers. A pretty pleasing result seeing as my bucket is far from the fastest in the class.
The misty and dank conditions continued on through till the next race. The track was not getting any drier and thus the next bucket race set off in similar conditions to the first. As usual I got the fairly average start but pushed my way through to 3rd coming onto the straight for the first time. I was relegated to 5th at the end of the straight and managed to ride around the outside of two riders through the decreasing radius. As the race went along we again found a few streetstock riders and I was badly blocked on the 3rd lap. I lost the tow to Bren and Diesel Pig and was about 50m behind, Nick Cain on his very flash CBR150 had cleared out to a fairly comfortable lead and I was just trying to bridge the gap to the 2 riders in front.
On the 4th lap I was coming down the back straight, again 50m or so behind Diesel Pig and Bren. As I was about to tip into the corner off the end of the straight I see that Diesel Pig and Bren had decided to have a roll in the grass. They had somehow touched and were down for the count. I slowed momentarily and proceeded to nearly run off the track on the next two corners due to laughing so hard. This had also promoted me to 2nd place. Nick Cain was well ahead and I just focussed on clean lines and picking off the streetstock riders when the moment arose. I crossed the line in 2nd, quite fortunately, but as they say “racing’s racing.”
So with the two King of Levels races out of the way and two 2nd placings meaning I am leading the standings, the final race of the day was left, King of Canterbury. The weather had lifted ever so slightly but the track was still rather wet. We lined up and again I was 5th into the first corner. I made my way through the series of tight corners before the back straight and got a great run onto it. I held just in the slipstream of Tony and passed him for 3rd of the end of the straight. I then had another FXR rider to contend with and promptly passed him around the outside going through the decreasing radius. I now came upon Nick Cain and his rocketship CBR. I took the wider entry line into the hairpin and came back underneath him on the exit. We were side by side into the next lefthander and I just had my nose ahead as we tipped into the chicane.
I crossed the line at the end of the first lap in 1st position. I was fairly sure that I would struggle down the back straight to the other bikes in top end speed so didn’t hang around. I got to the end of the straight on the 2nd lap without seeing any of the other riders and that’s how it stayed for the rest of the race. I had a quick look over my shoulder on the 3rd lap and could see Nick about 100m behind me. It was quite a lonely race but after 4 laps the chequered flag came out and the race was over. I had won :)
So after the first round of the King of Levels I’m leading both championships for buckets, which was a nice surprise but not exactly what I was after. The 125 is what I really need to focus on and I will be back to make amends next round in 3 weeks time.
I arrived at the track to a dark and gloomy day of drizzle and intermittent heavier rain, the track was soaked. First up was buckets and I went out and did a few laps. Had a few dodgy slides when I was a bit too brutal with down changes and dropping the clutch but nothing too bad. I came in and sorted the 125 ready for the practice session.
Out I went for the practice and promptly managed to bin it on practically the first corner. No damage to me, seemed to slide for ages, nearly into the tyre wall. Bike wasn’t very damaged but completely caked in mud, every crevice on the whole bike. All through the airbox, exhaust, engine, everywhere! Decided that would do me for the day in F3 and just cleaned as much mud off it before I loaded it into the van.
So now I could focus all my attention on the premier class that is known as buckets. We were racing with streetstock and starting off the back of the grid. The first race came around and I got my usual crap start. About 5th going into the first corner. Managed to go around a few coming onto the straight and again got swamped down there. Felt ok even though the track was still very damp. A good jostle for position was going on between Bren, Diesel Pig and myself. Both of their bikes had the speed down the straight but I would gain back up to them through the twisties. The rider leading over the start/finish line was different every lap.
By about the third lap (of six) we were coming across streetstock riders at fairly regular intervals. This was both an advantage and disadvantage. Seeing as our buckets have so little power, if you were blocked mid corner and had to roll off you were stuffed. The last lap came around and we were all nose to tail again. Bren was having some issues with his new MotoFXR and I managed to pass him down the back straight. Diesel Pig had made a 10-15 bike length gap which I was unable to do anything about. I crossed the line in 2nd place in the bucket class and had probably passed half the streetstockers. A pretty pleasing result seeing as my bucket is far from the fastest in the class.
The misty and dank conditions continued on through till the next race. The track was not getting any drier and thus the next bucket race set off in similar conditions to the first. As usual I got the fairly average start but pushed my way through to 3rd coming onto the straight for the first time. I was relegated to 5th at the end of the straight and managed to ride around the outside of two riders through the decreasing radius. As the race went along we again found a few streetstock riders and I was badly blocked on the 3rd lap. I lost the tow to Bren and Diesel Pig and was about 50m behind, Nick Cain on his very flash CBR150 had cleared out to a fairly comfortable lead and I was just trying to bridge the gap to the 2 riders in front.
On the 4th lap I was coming down the back straight, again 50m or so behind Diesel Pig and Bren. As I was about to tip into the corner off the end of the straight I see that Diesel Pig and Bren had decided to have a roll in the grass. They had somehow touched and were down for the count. I slowed momentarily and proceeded to nearly run off the track on the next two corners due to laughing so hard. This had also promoted me to 2nd place. Nick Cain was well ahead and I just focussed on clean lines and picking off the streetstock riders when the moment arose. I crossed the line in 2nd, quite fortunately, but as they say “racing’s racing.”
So with the two King of Levels races out of the way and two 2nd placings meaning I am leading the standings, the final race of the day was left, King of Canterbury. The weather had lifted ever so slightly but the track was still rather wet. We lined up and again I was 5th into the first corner. I made my way through the series of tight corners before the back straight and got a great run onto it. I held just in the slipstream of Tony and passed him for 3rd of the end of the straight. I then had another FXR rider to contend with and promptly passed him around the outside going through the decreasing radius. I now came upon Nick Cain and his rocketship CBR. I took the wider entry line into the hairpin and came back underneath him on the exit. We were side by side into the next lefthander and I just had my nose ahead as we tipped into the chicane.
I crossed the line at the end of the first lap in 1st position. I was fairly sure that I would struggle down the back straight to the other bikes in top end speed so didn’t hang around. I got to the end of the straight on the 2nd lap without seeing any of the other riders and that’s how it stayed for the rest of the race. I had a quick look over my shoulder on the 3rd lap and could see Nick about 100m behind me. It was quite a lonely race but after 4 laps the chequered flag came out and the race was over. I had won :)
So after the first round of the King of Levels I’m leading both championships for buckets, which was a nice surprise but not exactly what I was after. The 125 is what I really need to focus on and I will be back to make amends next round in 3 weeks time.