Shane - Superlite (#43)

Well almost.

The Redline Test day at Taupo was cancelled because everyone (including the organisers) was at Manfeild doing the Vic Club round so I had to go to Hampton Downs. While Hampton Downs is a better track the format for the day isn't as good for sorting out a bike. Doing fixed length sessions isn't anywhere near as good for sorting Gremlins.

However, at Hampton Downs I'm able to work for track time so it's definitely cheaper.

I was paired up with Gareth_d for turn 1 Marshalling. The two of us would swap every so often while the other rode. I took the 1st stint at Marshalling as the track was still damp and I was on cold slicks (tyre warmers are no good without a generator). After watching everyone go very tentatively through their first sessions we swapped over and I readied Trini.

The battery is a new Lithium Ion one and it is the business. The bike is easier to start using the Li-ion than it is with the normal Lead/Acid lump of shit. It starts as soon as you hit the button, whereas with the Lead/Acid it needed to be cranked over a few times before it'd fire. I love it and will definitely be getting another one sometime in the not too distant future.

I headed out with 7 minutes left in the session, which is fine because that 7 minutes was just to warm up the tyres and get a feel for the bike and track before doing the next, full session.

The 1st lap was very subdued, but surprisingly not as slow as I thought. That track has amazing levels of grip so it's comfortable even on stone cold slicks.

2nd lap I felt like I already knew the track and just needed some practice. I think that's because I've done Marshalling there and have made a point of watching the fast guys, where they're braking, the lines they're using and how they're doing everything.

3rd lap I upped the pace quite a bit and got a bit of a surprise at turn 1. I knew I was going slow enough to brake after the start finish line and there's a blue marker that shows the turn in point. However, knowing these things doesn't help when you hit the braking marker, hit the turn in marker and look up to find the track has disappeared from under you.

For the next couple of laps I was getting slight drizzle on my visor and then it started to actually rain. Being on slicks I bailed straight away as I didn't want to be sitting in the sandpit swearing at myself for being an idiot.

Turns out that was all the laps I got because it rained a couple of times. The 2nd time it was heavy enough that we were all called in. A car went out to check things and they found that the exit to turn 1 (out of sight of the marshalls point) was about 4 inches deep in water, as were a couple of other places. Because of the shape of turn 1 it was funneling all of the water from the end of the straight and the top part of the turn into a small space at the bottom, rapidly turning it into a lake.

Apparently this was the 1st time since the track opened that the tracks been wet.

Only 5 laps but I'm actually very pleased with how the bike felt. I'd put a 13 tooth sprocket on the front but left the 45 on the rear and it felt pretty close to being spot on. As for the suspension I reckon the muppets must've had someone look at it in the past cos it's close to spot on and I don't believe those clowns are that lucky. So all in all I'm actually very happy because I didn't spend almost $200.00 on 5 laps and Trini is good to ride as opposed to not being sorted yet.