Friday - Test Day
After last month I was determined to do the test day to make sure I had ironed out all the little things and get comfortable on the bike.
Luckily the weather was fantastic (as predicted by the Metservice)
I had made a couple of changes to the bike - removed a spacer from the rear shock mount ( a tip from Saun H ) and fitted a one tooth smaller primary sprocket.
I had also done a few cosmetic repairs to minor damage done during the last encounter with the full circuit, mostly bog and spray-can, one of these however included a new petrol tank with a screw cap. Unfortunately the new cap leaked around the flange. It is a bit disconcerting to see petrol streaming over the tank when braking for Higgins ( it was happening EVERY corner but that was the first time I noticed it !!)
Back to the pits then into town to buy some sealant and remove seal and replace the flange. I was relaying my adventure to Phill who said "I hope you didn't use silicon, it dissolves in petrol and will gum up your petrol pump". Bugger !!
Quickly remove the newly installed flange and wipe away all the sealant I could (it was already getting runny !!!).
Back to Repco and this time carefully checking with the staff that the product was safe to use on the petrol cap flange.
Seal and refit the flange again, wondering how long the $46 tube of "Locktite" brand sealant would last after being opened and only a teaspoon used. I was pitted next Keelim Ryan (another 675 rider) and retold the story to him, he opened HIS toolbox and produced a partially used tube of the same sealant !!! How many of us have partially used tubes of goo in their toolbox ? I did manage to get a few sessions in and bedded in the new brake pads I had just fitted, tweaked the angle of the shift lever and was starting to feel more comfortable on the bike, I even managed to get my knee down (ever so briefly) on Dunlop. I removed my rear wheel and took it and my new rear tyre away to borrow a bead breaker and change them. When I returned Darrin, Katie and some of the crew had started moving our gear into the garage we had booked. I fitted the rear wheel but the axle nut was only finger tight so I could wheel the bike to the new garage where all my tools were. After getting everything stowed Katie and I went for a beer and a feed and retired early to a motel (we were lucky to get a room the Jehovah Witness had a conference in Palmy !!!). No sooner had I got into bed than I remembered the rear axle nut was only finger tight, I said to Katie "Please remind me to check the rear axle first thing when we get to the track !!!"
Saturday - Race Day
Another cracking day, I torqued up the rear axle nut first thing !!! I was again sharing the garage with Darrin,Gah,Biggles,Phill and Dodgy Dave.
Tyre warmers on, signed in, nothing to do but admire my new paint job, (which looked OK from a distance but up close was crap as it was done with spray cans at night and minimal prep.)
Qualify - F2
The Bike felt good all the fuel stayed in the tank, the new rear tyre was working, the slightly lower gearing meant fewer shifts and I managed a 2.10 which put 16th on the grid next to Marty.
Qualify - F1
I was confident I could improve on my time from F2 and I managed to knock 3 seconds of it, 2.07 23rd on the grid between busted and Mark Bennett. I was pretty happy with that.
Race 1 - F2
I was quite happy with the outside position as it gives (usually) a clear run and you only have to worry about people coming up the inside (usually). The 675 has a pretty good launch and I was hoping to get a good start, it turned out to be only average as the lower gearing makes the front end come up quite quick. A few people shot past as I backed off. I managed to ride around a few people at the traffic jam in turn one and two, but didn't have the bottle to hold them off going into splash and a few re-passed me.
I was having a great time battling with about 4 other riders (only one of whom I recognised at the time, pit buddy Gah)
On lap 4 I cocked up the left hander onto the back section and ran really wide (I mean really really wide almost on the grass) and all three of then shot past. I managed to somehow get back in front of Gah to lead him by 22 one hundredths of a second at the line !!. I naturally checked who the other riders were and was pleasantly surprised to find Gah and I had been dicing with Aria Lawrence and Nick Prestige.
15th place and the times dropping each lap to a personal best of 2.06.175 AND I was consistently getting my knee down around Dunlop.
I thought I was getting the hang of the triple apex sweeper (and the ditch !!) and was buzzing when I got back to the pit.
Race 1 - F1
Grid 23 was OK, I thought I would try a) getting a better start b) go round the outside again at turn 1 neither plan really worked.
I did however have a good old battle with Gah, Mark Bennett and Nick Prestige, Luke Mair and Bryce Meads came through in the final laps to make it even more interesting and this time Gah prevailed by .362 of a second !! Once again I was pretty pleased with my effort and very happy with the way the 675 was going.
Race 2 - F2
Once again the start was only average Gah got a great start and I thought I would never see him again ! I managed to get past Aria and Nick Prestige by lap 3 and managed to get past Gah and was onto the tail of Mark bennett on the last lap.
I managed to go round the outside of him on the left hander onto the the back straight and was ahead and inside him going into Dunlop I was thinking "Yeah I've got him" as I swept through Dunlop with my knee on the ground sparks flying from my toe slider, a nanosecond later CRASH !! and I'm sliding toward the tyre wall. I hit quite hard but was un-hurt and quickly got up onto the wall in case someone else did the same.
Bugger !!!
Katie had a bit of a moment as she was lining up the camera for a photo of me and suddenly I wasn't there. She had missed the actual crash but several people nearby went oooohhh and she checked up and down the track but no sign of wharfy anywhere ! As no red flags came out she concluded (correctly) that I was un-hurt and Daniel Kempthornes folks (who did see it) told her I was OK.
As that was the last lap I did not have long to wait to pick up the bike and ride back to the pit.
The damage to the bike was mainly cosmetic and I had a go at getting it going for the last race but did not have time to get it checked out by the Steward so had to park it.
Closer inspection last night revealed a slightly bent rear sub-frame, not really sure how to go about straightening it ?
Despite the crash I had a really great weekend and felt better than the previous meeting when I just didn't seem comfortable on the bike.
Once again the Vic Club did a great job and it was great to meet up with a lot of familiar faces and enjoy the camaraderie in the pits.
Bring on round 5 !!!
p.s. I know that getting your knee down doesn't mean you are going faster but it is fun and makes for good photos
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. Glad to here your ok after your wee lie down. See you next round.
Originally Posted by Clivoris
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