http://honda-motorcycle.co.nz/?p=201
Yay. I’ve only done the full track twice before and both times it was miserable and I sucked the big one. Anyhoo, changed my F3 entry to F2 as the 400 wasn’t ready….yikes!
Saturday
Posties Practice
Oh dear…totally forgotten new track layout. To be honest, even the short track is giving me grief. Follow Nicksta for a few laps, feel reasonably OK. Next thing Johnny Wagner passes, I’m going backwards. Try sticking with him to get his lines but I’m nowhere. Qualify 14th with a high 2.17.
F2 Practice
You can’t help get towed along with these boys and girls. Not passing anybody but somehow qualify 32nd with a 2.15
Posties R1
9th overall. Finish 7th in PC Junior with a 2:12.9 but to be honest, I’m all over the shot and most of my laps are about 2:16. The ‘cane is the wrong tool for this track and feels very loose when I try and match the 400’s on the long sweeping corners. The CBR400 is still broken so I’ve taken George Foreman to a ninja sword fight. It’s unusual for me but I back off a little as I decide that I’ll make the points up on the shorter track.
F2 R1
Decent start from 32nd and employ my round the outside technique in turn 1. This sets me up for taking another half dozen bikes around the outside of turn 2 and inside of T3…suckers! Back straight about umm…5 bikes shoot past me but when I look behind me on the corner exit there’s still about 12 bikes to my rear. Have a big out of seat almost highside out of higgins so the boys behind me back off a little. Through the next few fast corners and into the right hand hairpin and everybody taking a different line. Carnage ensues and a bike 110 (Rick Playford) gets hit and falls off right in front of me. Can’t steer round him so I pull a stoppie that Frenchy would have been proud of. My heart restarts I look down and I’m literally less than an inch from the Ricks head. He aint moving. Couple of other guys wobble off the grass and Ozzie is picking up his 450 triple. Fugg the “continue racing rule” as Rick still aint moving and the marshalls are just starting to react (plus I’m now realistically gonna get lapped and hold up the fast boys). Park the bike up on the tyres and run back. Rick is up now and aimlessly staggering about the track. Marshall can’t pick up his bike so I lift it to safety and I think Ozzie or the marshall points Rick in the correct direction. Rick’s broken his collarbone but he’s OK. We watch the rest of the race from a pretty awesome spectator part of the track. Glen Skatchell (sketchy) combines sliding the back of his bike into the hairpin with scraping the top of his boots AND drifting the back of his bike out (and catching it) every time he comes round. It’s awesome to watch. End of race death stares from half the grid as they see my $hite old CBR covered in mud and obviously assume this F2 noob caused the crash. Oh well, early curry at Nick and Allies place.
Sunday
Paul arrives & notices my exhaust is pointing skywards. Guess Ozzie DID run into the back of me yesterday. Mever felt a thing as the exhaust bending must have taken most of the impact. Nerves are back with a vengeance and I’m regretting the Saturday night Sag Aloo. Today’s agenda is a ten lapper race in each class followed by a 6 lapper.
Posties R2
Bloody Awful. Good launch but I’m boxed in and the bike in front of me starts braking waaaay before the 1st corner. Sharky, Antony et all are miles ahead of me. Through the long left hand sweeper onto the short track, my worst nightmare happens and Nicky flies past me. I’ve got no response. Just then Johnny Wagner bounces off the wall and his bike spins towards Nicky and I. We avoid it but I back right off. I am scared. Next lap, the oil flag is out just before the final corner. I spend the next 4 laps looking for the oil (turns out it was on the start finish straight). A very boring 10 lap race and see no other traffic for the remainder. Pull my head in a little towards the end and caught up with Nicky and Glenn. Another lap and would have had them but nobody to blame but myself for taking so long to get into the game. Finish waaaay back in 16th (12th in my class) with a best 2:13.2. Worse than yesterday even though the track is now nice n’ sticky.
Took Drew and Deano’s advice about 29F, 28R psi being too high and dropped tyres to 26F,26R at the start of the day. Big mistake…rear tyre is now very very chewed up and even more skittish. I don’t have time to lower it before F2. Drew’s advice about pulling the bar angle in (thanks Frenchy for spannering) to help turn the bike is working although my right hand is still swollen from hauling the crappy brake lever back so hard. Don’t have time to fuel up either but calculated I’d shoved enough in the old beast. Besides, I didn’t want to go back to the garage since Nicky thrashed me.
F2 R2
Charge. Another good start. Wee bit over-cautious on the brakign into T1 as I’m now very aware how hard the modern 600’s can stop. I pass Clive through one of the faster corners (ok..he passed me back before the next corner but it’s all good). I miss all the fallers this time. By lap 3 there’s still a couple of bikes behind me. The 2 bikes ahead of me aren’t gapping me either. Cough splutter does the bike. Park the bike safely. Fuel calculations were correct but turns out dumbo here hadn’t set the fuel tap to reserve when he’d changed the fuel pump. 2:13 again but with traffic. Wasn’t too upset, F2 race was straight after the 10 lapper posties so I was knackered anyhoo.
Next 2 hours enduring the “beaten by a girl” comments. Consider removing one of Nicky’s HT leads. Pump up rear tyre to 29psi again.
Posties R3
Better than good start, but have to brake suddenly when a chain comes flying towards my head. Wasn’t expecting that. Quite funny watching the guy revving his bike, stamping on the gear lever wondering why his bike was slowing down. Sun is now very low and it’s getting hard to see the track. The temp’s dropped and everyone has slowed down. Nicky passes me and she’s definitely got her previous season’s mojo back. I get red mist, pull a block pass on the left hand hairpin and use the 600’s power to bugger offski. “Who’s the daddy now eh?”. I’m ashamed to admin but I smirked in my helmet. Sharky is on his arse but OK..yay. I’m ashamed admit…you get the picture. Keep waiting on Nicky out-braking me and an epic grudge match of seasons gone by to happen but nothing ensues. Have fantastic fun racing against an elsie350 2-smoke. Brendon passes us on his 250 (elbows out but clean) but I'm up for the chase. I can get him back but before the fun begins the red flag is out as yellow GSX550 has taken a lie down in the middle of the final corner. Nope…Nicky has taken a big lie down on the hairpin. Cripes…hope it wasn’t my block pass…I’m not smirking anymore (it wasn’t…not that it’ll help her double fractured pelvis heal any quicker). Sharky is a happy bunny as results are taken back a lap…git :-) 12th overall, 8th in class. 2.16.
Posties R3 Restart
2 lap sprint race for half points. Sods law dictates I get an average start. I’m having fun. Lap 2, Anthony outbrakes me into t1. I’ve got the legs on him on t2/t3 but nowhere to pass. Pass him into higgins but man, he just gets fantastic drive out of there and he’s literally 20m ahead of me by the time my tyre decides to hook up. Sharky gets me on the right hand hairpin. Caution thrown to the wind and we’re neck and neck going into the final fast right hander. It’s a battle of the brakes but he wants it more and snatches 7th position. 2.14 this time and 12th overall.
Feel much better, change my mind about not going out in the final F2 race. Paul helpfully throws some more gogo juice in the bike and back out I go.
F2 R3
Determined to actually finish an F2 race. A primo “this clutch is an elastic band” start…so good I worry I’ve jumped the start as the bikes next to me aint moving. I guess I’ve got the measure of how to launch this thing. Same method as last F2 race…round the outside and up the inside of T3. Someone’s fallen so all the bikes take a very tight line. I nearly take out Aria but she has enough skill to avoid this idiot. I’ve nothing to loose, F2 is my “fun” race so I’m getting on the gas a lot earlier. I’m waiting on being swamped by all the bikes behind me but it’s not happening. I’m still “hot” from the previous race and under no illusion that once they’re warmed up they’ll be disappearing into the distance. Still, I can pick up some more pointers and erm hold them up for as long as possible. But no I can’t….the race is red-flagged.
Conclusion
Feel a bit sorry for the 125 hotshots (and the F2 bikes that weren’t cross entered into F1) as they’d been waiting around a hell of a long time for nothing. No-one can predict crashes though.
Bummer, I didn’t get any faster as the weekend progressed. Corner exits the prob. Getting on the gas early enough to pick the bike up but I’m not feeling the grip of the rear tyre enough to roll on the throttle hard. I’m blaming the bike but Paul says the bike’s fine and I need to just harden up. My fastest time was on the final lap in race 1 where I was riding defensively, braking hard, taking a tight and very slow corner speed, standing the bike up and getting on the gas early. My mind is telling me that this method is slower but the results on paper tell me it must work better.
Ta
Paul and Diane for the moral support.
Nick and Allie
Nicky and Frenchy (garage space).
Dunlop for the cheap and sticky GPR-A10's that seem to last for ages.
Originally Posted by Kickha
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Did ya get that rear shock sorted??
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