Kickaha
28th December 2008, 16:42
As usual this started with a very early morning with Divvo rocking up about 4am, we’d allowed a bit of extra time as we were towing a trailer with a second outfit for The Colin/Paul combo and away we went, I dunno what they’d loaded in the trailer but it made about a 50% increase in fuel consumption:blink:
The trip up was pretty uneventful with a stop off at Welly Airport to pick up Joni who rather than spend 12 hours in our delightful company elected to fly in and out of Welly rather than put up with us both for 12 hours each way(dunno what that’s about):shifty:
Cruised through scrutineering, which was held in a separate area from the bikes (it’s cause we’re special), then we set up in the pits area out the back of Swartz tyres who was a sidecar supporter, after that it was catch up time with the other crews and off for tea at O’Gradys where we ran into Nicksta and some others
On the way to the track at 6.30am and we sneak in down the old pit lane, coming into turn one in the mighty turbo charged, intercooled, slash cut equipped Ford Transit Vangina and there’s already about 30+ people set up on the outside of the corner and having there first drinks of the day:apint:
We give the outfit a quick look over, lube the chain, do the tyre pressures and check the fuel, add a few stickers, Divvo changes an exorbitantly expensive rod end and we’re good to go, I mooch on over and meet Quasi and pick up the chest protector I’ve ordered to try and avoid fractured ribs this season
Riders briefing comes and goes and we’re called up to the grid, not quite sure what the problem was but the wait on the grid was a long one in the sun before we roll out, two laps under yellow and we start dialling it up, coming though the cemetery and the yellows are out and there’s a lot of bikes on the side of the track who’ve stopped after Jim/Wayne on the Windle had tossed themselves down the track and clipped the pole on the inside of Robert Holden
We’re only running about the minute mark so we know there’s more to come
We give the outfit another quick look over and Divvo winds a bit more castor into it to slow down the steering and then hang about waiting for the other classes to run though and after what seems forever get the call up again
We hit it a bit harder this time, we’re catching and passing a few outfits and its feeling pretty good, my left arm is pumping up a bit but I know that’ll get better through the day, session over and we’ve qualified 6th which we’re fairly happy with:niceone:
Race 1
We’re slow off the line and get swamped into T1, we get back past a couple and then get stuck behind the Totalspan outfit of Mick/Paul it takes up 3 laps to get by them as they’re just fast enough to make passing pretty hard but we get a good run on them into T1 and go past, once we’re through we drop them off and end up dicing with Scrivy/Sidecarbob for the next 2-3 laps before they make the pass on us stick, one of my few regrets is not thinking to give Scrivy/Sidecarbob the finger when they were behind us because that’s not something that happens very often, they slowly pull away and we run home 7th :finger:
We’ve knocked off nearly 2 seconds off qualifying for our best lap (58.2)so we’re reasonably happy with the result
A quick look over and fuel up and, the brakes disappeared on the warm down lap so we bleed fresh fluid through and we’re good to go again
Race 2
A far better start and we don’t loose as much through T1, we’ve got Stu/Chris in front of us and we get them down the start finish straight a, I can see the nose of the out up the inside as we turn into T1 and I’m expecting a hit but he backs out and we go after Des/Jono on Johnny B’s old short bike which has had a power plant upgrade and he’s going hard, we’re quicker through some sections but not enough for an easy pass, 3 laps later we’ve been up the inside, around the outside, just about rear ended him and it’s only when he goes into the rose garden a bit hot that we make the pass stick and get our best finish of 5th and do a best of 57.7, my left wrist is getting fairly sore and I'm thinking I might have to start masturbating left handed to build the muscles up a bit:tugger:
Another check over for the outfit and we laze about waiting for the feature, Jo is running around making sure we’re fed and watered and generally doing a wonderful job of supporting us:hug:
Race 3
The starts not flash but with Nationals coming up preserving the outfit is more important than going hard out, we’ve got Darryl/Scott and Tony/Lance going hard out in front and we’re reluctant to get involved as they’re all over the place bashing fairings, we have to get off the gas through the cemetery a couple of times to stop rear ending them and it takes a few laps to get past, we start closing down Des/Jono and Stu/Chris we’re putting the pressure on as we start coming up on back markers across the railway line and Des/Jono put Brian/Craig between us and then he goes around Colin/Paul into the s bends and cocks it up and goes into the hay bails and Jono gets a bit of air for a nice somersault along the footpath, Colin/Paul hit the brakes to avoid the carnage ½ spin and get nailed by Brian/Craig , I’m hoping for a gap and looking behind scared of getting hit by the guys behind, Divvo finds a gap and we’re through and throttling up but as we hit the finish straight the red flags are out, we trickle back to the pits and to our relief no one is badly hurt with just a few bruises we’ve gone slightly quicker again (57.5)
All in all a bloody good day, even with it running late and the races being shortened the outfits going good, we’re working together well so it’s looking good for the Nationals :wari:
As a side note it was awesome to see Sidecarbob win the Brett Sproull (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=63790&highlight=brett+sproull) memorial trophy for first swinger on a short bike home in the feature:first:
The trip up was pretty uneventful with a stop off at Welly Airport to pick up Joni who rather than spend 12 hours in our delightful company elected to fly in and out of Welly rather than put up with us both for 12 hours each way(dunno what that’s about):shifty:
Cruised through scrutineering, which was held in a separate area from the bikes (it’s cause we’re special), then we set up in the pits area out the back of Swartz tyres who was a sidecar supporter, after that it was catch up time with the other crews and off for tea at O’Gradys where we ran into Nicksta and some others
On the way to the track at 6.30am and we sneak in down the old pit lane, coming into turn one in the mighty turbo charged, intercooled, slash cut equipped Ford Transit Vangina and there’s already about 30+ people set up on the outside of the corner and having there first drinks of the day:apint:
We give the outfit a quick look over, lube the chain, do the tyre pressures and check the fuel, add a few stickers, Divvo changes an exorbitantly expensive rod end and we’re good to go, I mooch on over and meet Quasi and pick up the chest protector I’ve ordered to try and avoid fractured ribs this season
Riders briefing comes and goes and we’re called up to the grid, not quite sure what the problem was but the wait on the grid was a long one in the sun before we roll out, two laps under yellow and we start dialling it up, coming though the cemetery and the yellows are out and there’s a lot of bikes on the side of the track who’ve stopped after Jim/Wayne on the Windle had tossed themselves down the track and clipped the pole on the inside of Robert Holden
We’re only running about the minute mark so we know there’s more to come
We give the outfit another quick look over and Divvo winds a bit more castor into it to slow down the steering and then hang about waiting for the other classes to run though and after what seems forever get the call up again
We hit it a bit harder this time, we’re catching and passing a few outfits and its feeling pretty good, my left arm is pumping up a bit but I know that’ll get better through the day, session over and we’ve qualified 6th which we’re fairly happy with:niceone:
Race 1
We’re slow off the line and get swamped into T1, we get back past a couple and then get stuck behind the Totalspan outfit of Mick/Paul it takes up 3 laps to get by them as they’re just fast enough to make passing pretty hard but we get a good run on them into T1 and go past, once we’re through we drop them off and end up dicing with Scrivy/Sidecarbob for the next 2-3 laps before they make the pass on us stick, one of my few regrets is not thinking to give Scrivy/Sidecarbob the finger when they were behind us because that’s not something that happens very often, they slowly pull away and we run home 7th :finger:
We’ve knocked off nearly 2 seconds off qualifying for our best lap (58.2)so we’re reasonably happy with the result
A quick look over and fuel up and, the brakes disappeared on the warm down lap so we bleed fresh fluid through and we’re good to go again
Race 2
A far better start and we don’t loose as much through T1, we’ve got Stu/Chris in front of us and we get them down the start finish straight a, I can see the nose of the out up the inside as we turn into T1 and I’m expecting a hit but he backs out and we go after Des/Jono on Johnny B’s old short bike which has had a power plant upgrade and he’s going hard, we’re quicker through some sections but not enough for an easy pass, 3 laps later we’ve been up the inside, around the outside, just about rear ended him and it’s only when he goes into the rose garden a bit hot that we make the pass stick and get our best finish of 5th and do a best of 57.7, my left wrist is getting fairly sore and I'm thinking I might have to start masturbating left handed to build the muscles up a bit:tugger:
Another check over for the outfit and we laze about waiting for the feature, Jo is running around making sure we’re fed and watered and generally doing a wonderful job of supporting us:hug:
Race 3
The starts not flash but with Nationals coming up preserving the outfit is more important than going hard out, we’ve got Darryl/Scott and Tony/Lance going hard out in front and we’re reluctant to get involved as they’re all over the place bashing fairings, we have to get off the gas through the cemetery a couple of times to stop rear ending them and it takes a few laps to get past, we start closing down Des/Jono and Stu/Chris we’re putting the pressure on as we start coming up on back markers across the railway line and Des/Jono put Brian/Craig between us and then he goes around Colin/Paul into the s bends and cocks it up and goes into the hay bails and Jono gets a bit of air for a nice somersault along the footpath, Colin/Paul hit the brakes to avoid the carnage ½ spin and get nailed by Brian/Craig , I’m hoping for a gap and looking behind scared of getting hit by the guys behind, Divvo finds a gap and we’re through and throttling up but as we hit the finish straight the red flags are out, we trickle back to the pits and to our relief no one is badly hurt with just a few bruises we’ve gone slightly quicker again (57.5)
All in all a bloody good day, even with it running late and the races being shortened the outfits going good, we’re working together well so it’s looking good for the Nationals :wari:
As a side note it was awesome to see Sidecarbob win the Brett Sproull (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=63790&highlight=brett+sproull) memorial trophy for first swinger on a short bike home in the feature:first: