Biggles08
18th May 2009, 19:50
What a fantastic weekend of racing.
I left Auckland on wed to combine work with pleasure as I called on customers for the rest of the week all the way down to end up in Taupo on Friday...seems having a hot race bike being towed behind my co car is a great selling tool...heheh
Arrived at the track nice and early to set up in Shed 27 with Jamie R, Darrin H, BJ, the Merkels and a few others...I was a little apprehensive as I had not ridden since the final round of PMCC about a month earlier...feeling a tad rusty.
Rain! I was with every other rider there that day in deep discussion on tire choice and was finally convinced Wets were the go and thank goodness for that decision. First practice I went out not really realizing it was a qualifying session and pottered around like a nana getting used to the bike in the wet again. I was changing lines in just about every lap seeing what lines had more grip than others and making mental notes as to the grip level at various points around the track. Came in and was laughing to find out I had qualified in 10th! hehehe...everyone else appeared to be in 'nana' mode too!
Same really for 600SS qualifying, I was really just circulating and never really felt like I got any clean laps in but still qualified in 9th so was happy there...to be honest I was a little concerned at Scuzme's 6th on the grid...seems he likes to swim around Taupo!
Superbikes race one.
Setting up on the grid was a dog’s bollocks event...people were all over the show so learning from a previous race with a similar mucked up grid I made sure I went to approximately where I should have been. I waited to see if anyone was going to come and sort out the mess but nobody did so I got my head into race mode. Lights go I'm off....7th into the first corner what a great start!!! I was really keen to get the inside line in which I did...made it cleanly around T1 and T2 so I was on. the next few laps I lost a couple of places and then regained them an moved into 6th place for the final lap...I was going hard sliding a bit more than usual and had a big moment entering the back straight with my left knee on the ground and having the rear step out about a foot, followed by my front....managed to hang on and head down accelerate hard down the back straight...unfortunately I was overtaken again by Adrian Cox on the inside of the left at the end of the straight and he held it to the line with some excellent defensive lines to grab the 6th placing off me....stoked with a 7th in F1!
I left Auckland on wed to combine work with pleasure as I called on customers for the rest of the week all the way down to end up in Taupo on Friday...seems having a hot race bike being towed behind my co car is a great selling tool...heheh
Arrived at the track nice and early to set up in Shed 27 with Jamie R, Darrin H, BJ, the Merkels and a few others...I was a little apprehensive as I had not ridden since the final round of PMCC about a month earlier...feeling a tad rusty.
Rain! I was with every other rider there that day in deep discussion on tire choice and was finally convinced Wets were the go and thank goodness for that decision. First practice I went out not really realizing it was a qualifying session and pottered around like a nana getting used to the bike in the wet again. I was changing lines in just about every lap seeing what lines had more grip than others and making mental notes as to the grip level at various points around the track. Came in and was laughing to find out I had qualified in 10th! hehehe...everyone else appeared to be in 'nana' mode too!
Same really for 600SS qualifying, I was really just circulating and never really felt like I got any clean laps in but still qualified in 9th so was happy there...to be honest I was a little concerned at Scuzme's 6th on the grid...seems he likes to swim around Taupo!
Superbikes race one.
Setting up on the grid was a dog’s bollocks event...people were all over the show so learning from a previous race with a similar mucked up grid I made sure I went to approximately where I should have been. I waited to see if anyone was going to come and sort out the mess but nobody did so I got my head into race mode. Lights go I'm off....7th into the first corner what a great start!!! I was really keen to get the inside line in which I did...made it cleanly around T1 and T2 so I was on. the next few laps I lost a couple of places and then regained them an moved into 6th place for the final lap...I was going hard sliding a bit more than usual and had a big moment entering the back straight with my left knee on the ground and having the rear step out about a foot, followed by my front....managed to hang on and head down accelerate hard down the back straight...unfortunately I was overtaken again by Adrian Cox on the inside of the left at the end of the straight and he held it to the line with some excellent defensive lines to grab the 6th placing off me....stoked with a 7th in F1!