MadDuck
19th October 2008, 16:33
I headed down knowing that I had no realistic chance of coming anywhere what so ever. My main goals for the day was 1) to not have a lie down with the bike as its not mine, 2) Not look like a complete dick, and 3) to have some fun.
Once I heard the 125GP boys were in with us my biggest concern was getting in their way with a 10 lap race. They are racing for championship points I am not. They flew by me with ease and no one swore at me or gave me any rude gestures so I think all is well.
Always ask the stupid questions. Just as we were being called I asked “now stupid question but this bike has 6 gears ah?” Ohhh by the way ....its a reverse gear shift 1 up 5 down. NO shit really?
Never ridden one of them before. Sitting on the dummy grid on a bike that is just a tad different to what I ride thinking – what the hell are you doing here! Never ridden this bike before....never ridden on Manfeild before....never ridden a reverse gear bike before. Someone said I looked apprehensive sitting there. NO shit really?
The whole way around qualifying I kept changing up instead of down and down instead of up on top of not knowing the track. Going into Higgins one of them fast GP fellas went past me and decided to drop their muffler right in front of me to test my reaction skills. Missed and happily pottered on my merry way. They went and got my starting sticker and said I was back of the grid. NO shit really?
Race 1
I remember sitting on the grid revving the crap out of the little bike pretending I know what the hell I am doing :scooter:. They give the GP guys a good head start before letting us loose. Lights out ... take off...not enough revs. The group got to turn one and I am still pottering down the start finish. Well I guess I am not going to do any good at this. NO shit really?
Spent most of the time on my own so kept an eye out on where everyone was and tried some different lines and managed to cut 20 seconds off my original time....yeah well my first attempt was pretty slow. NO shit really?
Got lapped 3 times by the 125GP guys (hell they are fast) and twice by Billy and Adrian but only once by all the others. Oh well maybe race 2 I will at least be able to tag along if I can get the start sorted.
So AJ came over to offer me some words of wisdom :crazy:. “your not riding ya bloody Harley – duck down and tuck in it might help your speed” NO shit really?
Race 2
Got to have 2 goes at starting...I wont go into detail as to why. And you guessed it same old problem. However I did manage to keep in touch with the back of the pack until Higgins and the back straight. Oh well on my own again. NO shit really?
Managed to scrape my boot on turn one and got a great wobble on the bike. Recovered it and off I pottered. This time the 125GP guys only JUST lapped me for the third time on the start finish line and Billy only manage to lap me once...maybe he was being kind to me :yes:
Anyways what a great day! It may not be as exciting as superbikes for the spectators to watch but who cares. I had a damn ball so I achieved #1 and #3 of my aim for the day...not sure about #2 but who cares. I am still grinning.
Billy is a legend for letting me loose on his bike. Thank you so much Billy. I cant believe none of the young ones out there took up his most generous offer :scratch:
Thanks to a whole bunch of Kbers who offered me kind words, smiles and waves of support....you guys rock! Yungatart and MSTRS taking time to come see me after each outing to see how I was...your support was huge.
Once I heard the 125GP boys were in with us my biggest concern was getting in their way with a 10 lap race. They are racing for championship points I am not. They flew by me with ease and no one swore at me or gave me any rude gestures so I think all is well.
Always ask the stupid questions. Just as we were being called I asked “now stupid question but this bike has 6 gears ah?” Ohhh by the way ....its a reverse gear shift 1 up 5 down. NO shit really?
Never ridden one of them before. Sitting on the dummy grid on a bike that is just a tad different to what I ride thinking – what the hell are you doing here! Never ridden this bike before....never ridden on Manfeild before....never ridden a reverse gear bike before. Someone said I looked apprehensive sitting there. NO shit really?
The whole way around qualifying I kept changing up instead of down and down instead of up on top of not knowing the track. Going into Higgins one of them fast GP fellas went past me and decided to drop their muffler right in front of me to test my reaction skills. Missed and happily pottered on my merry way. They went and got my starting sticker and said I was back of the grid. NO shit really?
Race 1
I remember sitting on the grid revving the crap out of the little bike pretending I know what the hell I am doing :scooter:. They give the GP guys a good head start before letting us loose. Lights out ... take off...not enough revs. The group got to turn one and I am still pottering down the start finish. Well I guess I am not going to do any good at this. NO shit really?
Spent most of the time on my own so kept an eye out on where everyone was and tried some different lines and managed to cut 20 seconds off my original time....yeah well my first attempt was pretty slow. NO shit really?
Got lapped 3 times by the 125GP guys (hell they are fast) and twice by Billy and Adrian but only once by all the others. Oh well maybe race 2 I will at least be able to tag along if I can get the start sorted.
So AJ came over to offer me some words of wisdom :crazy:. “your not riding ya bloody Harley – duck down and tuck in it might help your speed” NO shit really?
Race 2
Got to have 2 goes at starting...I wont go into detail as to why. And you guessed it same old problem. However I did manage to keep in touch with the back of the pack until Higgins and the back straight. Oh well on my own again. NO shit really?
Managed to scrape my boot on turn one and got a great wobble on the bike. Recovered it and off I pottered. This time the 125GP guys only JUST lapped me for the third time on the start finish line and Billy only manage to lap me once...maybe he was being kind to me :yes:
Anyways what a great day! It may not be as exciting as superbikes for the spectators to watch but who cares. I had a damn ball so I achieved #1 and #3 of my aim for the day...not sure about #2 but who cares. I am still grinning.
Billy is a legend for letting me loose on his bike. Thank you so much Billy. I cant believe none of the young ones out there took up his most generous offer :scratch:
Thanks to a whole bunch of Kbers who offered me kind words, smiles and waves of support....you guys rock! Yungatart and MSTRS taking time to come see me after each outing to see how I was...your support was huge.