CHOPPA
24th August 2008, 14:55
Well might as well report the good with the bad!
As far as the overall result for the weekend goes it prob doesnt sound to bad with a 3rd in the f2 race and im leading the points series but my actual riding and bike setup left me with mixed emotions.....
Heres a bit of a story and dont give me shit about all the excuses haha
F2 QUALIFYING:
I put on an old set of wets because the track looked dry in the warm up and i was happy to punish an old set but the rain came down and made the bike really hard to ride plus trying to get to know a new circuit was difficult. I still managed to get 4th but with a time well down on what should have been
F1 QUAFIYING:
I left my old front tyre on because there were no new ones in NZ and put on a new wet rear, it made a big difference on the exits of the corners but nearly every corner my front wheel would try to tuck, i figured it was just the tyre but then i remembered i had cranked the compression up the wednesday before the race at taupo while trying some suspension changes and hadnt put it back so i made the most of what i had and came in 3rd still with a disappointing time
F2 RACE
I raced out for the warm up lap with a bit of renewed confidence with thinking i had got to the bottom of my handling problems only to have it destroyed when i nearly crashed on the warm up lap, i put it down to the massive amount of water on the track but the bike felt really weird.
I got a great jump off the start and got the holeshot i saw johnny come by and decided to let him go as my bike wobbled around and then also Glen flew past as well! I new i didnt have the speed for those guys this race so i decided to just try stay on. I had a look over my shoulder and i thought id be able to keep the guys behind at bay but to my surprise BJ and Jamie flew past on lap 2 i managed to get back by BJ and finish the race in 3rd thanks to johnnys last ditch passing attempt in the final corner left him in the dirt.
I was pretty hard on myself when i got back to the pits trying to figure out why i seemed to have lost all my bike control, the bike was on the stand and thanks to guys at TAUPO PANEL AND PAINT it was looking great but nothing looked wrong until i loaded it into the van and found the rear tyre was flat!!! Made me feel a bit better seeing that and maybe psychologically it will help out a bunch but atleast i finished and have now moved into the points lead in F2 and remain 2nd in F1
Congrats to Glen on a brilliant ride to smoke everyone on a 250 he was absolutely unreal to watch in the wet, so much confidence chucking the bike around! Also it was a great ride by Jamie Rajek who finished 2nd, possibly due to the help from Fred Merkel! If anyone is in need of some coaching he is the MAN!
As far as the overall result for the weekend goes it prob doesnt sound to bad with a 3rd in the f2 race and im leading the points series but my actual riding and bike setup left me with mixed emotions.....
Heres a bit of a story and dont give me shit about all the excuses haha
F2 QUALIFYING:
I put on an old set of wets because the track looked dry in the warm up and i was happy to punish an old set but the rain came down and made the bike really hard to ride plus trying to get to know a new circuit was difficult. I still managed to get 4th but with a time well down on what should have been
F1 QUAFIYING:
I left my old front tyre on because there were no new ones in NZ and put on a new wet rear, it made a big difference on the exits of the corners but nearly every corner my front wheel would try to tuck, i figured it was just the tyre but then i remembered i had cranked the compression up the wednesday before the race at taupo while trying some suspension changes and hadnt put it back so i made the most of what i had and came in 3rd still with a disappointing time
F2 RACE
I raced out for the warm up lap with a bit of renewed confidence with thinking i had got to the bottom of my handling problems only to have it destroyed when i nearly crashed on the warm up lap, i put it down to the massive amount of water on the track but the bike felt really weird.
I got a great jump off the start and got the holeshot i saw johnny come by and decided to let him go as my bike wobbled around and then also Glen flew past as well! I new i didnt have the speed for those guys this race so i decided to just try stay on. I had a look over my shoulder and i thought id be able to keep the guys behind at bay but to my surprise BJ and Jamie flew past on lap 2 i managed to get back by BJ and finish the race in 3rd thanks to johnnys last ditch passing attempt in the final corner left him in the dirt.
I was pretty hard on myself when i got back to the pits trying to figure out why i seemed to have lost all my bike control, the bike was on the stand and thanks to guys at TAUPO PANEL AND PAINT it was looking great but nothing looked wrong until i loaded it into the van and found the rear tyre was flat!!! Made me feel a bit better seeing that and maybe psychologically it will help out a bunch but atleast i finished and have now moved into the points lead in F2 and remain 2nd in F1
Congrats to Glen on a brilliant ride to smoke everyone on a 250 he was absolutely unreal to watch in the wet, so much confidence chucking the bike around! Also it was a great ride by Jamie Rajek who finished 2nd, possibly due to the help from Fred Merkel! If anyone is in need of some coaching he is the MAN!