South Island Cup Levels
Everyone was doom and gloom regarding the weather forecast the night before and when I woke up at 5am and could hear the rain on the roof fair pissing down I was having second thoughts myself, I dragged myself out of bed about ½ an hour later and tossed the rest of my gear in the ute and had a bite to eat.
As I was heading South and the sun started to rise as I was getting past Ashburton the sky was blue and the road drying and I thought this might not be to bad after all another few km down the road and it’s fair pissing down again and I’m thinking to myself “this really isn’t a good idea” but by the time I got to the track the rain had stopped and the temperature wasn’t to bad, grabbed my gear and did sign in, gear check and scrutineering, then hung for an hour or so while the rest of the competitors did the same and rider briefing was done
1st Practice
I haven’t haven’t ridden this particular bike much so I’d got the guys at Trevor Pierce M/C to have a quick look over it the day before and when it fired up first go I was most impressed, out onto a damp track and I’m running it up to 11,000rpm through the gears and it’s feeling sweet, it gives a bit of a miss a couple of times which I still have to investigate and I find it’s geared a bit tall only hitting 6th at the 200metre mark at the end of the straight, I turn into the right hand hairpin and hear the pipe start scraping which makes me be a bit more cautious as the same thing in the dipper at Ruapuna last year put me on my arse culminated in a broken schapoid last year, back into the pits and I throw on the 13T front sprocket to drop the gearing
Race 1 Buckets and 150 street stock combined
We roll out for the warm up lap and the track is dry and it’s starting to warm up
I line up on row two alongside Diesel Pig and with Darryl and four 150cc on the front, the flag drops and I get a reasonable start out dragging Diesel pig and slotting in behind Darryl into turn 1, we flick through the s bend and hit turn 3 onto the back straight and Darryl opens the throttle on his new bucket and buggers off into the distance fast enough that I can’t even draft him, I’m pushing reasonably hard and he can’t get away through the corners but he pulls a length on every straight we hit and is staying right on the back of some of the 150’s, next lap and as I’m being to cautious at the hairpin and Diesel Pig passes me around the outside I chase him for a bit and while he doesn’t get away I can’t get back past him and I finish behind him with five 150’s and Darryl in front of us and another 3 150cc and four Buckets behind us
Race 2 Buckets and 150 Street stock combined
I get up on the front row this time and are on the back of the 150cc until we hit the straight and the bugger off and leave me, next in a repeat of race one Darryl comes flying past I chase him off the straight and pass him into the next left and he comes back at me out of the hairpin, I’m hammering the bike harder but to no avail, he’s not getting away as much but he is getting away! Diesel Pig get better drive onto the straight and rides around me, I draft him down the straight and pull along side at the end, we tip in side by side and I let him have the corner, I’m right behind him to the hairpin where he makes a couple of bike lengths on me and that’s how it stays with Brent tucked in right behind us with the finishing order the same as race 1
Race 3 Buckets and 150 street stock combined
It’s started raining and racing is delayed while F3 have another accident then are given time to change tyres, one of the stewards checks with us to see if we’re still happy to go out as we’re running slicks, onto a wet track and I push a bit on the warm up lap to get an idea of the level of grip and line up on row two, away we go and I slot in behind Darryl yet again, I’m sticking with him this time and we’re not far off the 150cc, around the hairpin and there’s a 150cc rider picking himself up off the grass we turn onto the straight and I’m on the gas earlier than Darryl and right on his rear wheel he’s getting more upright before he winds it on but still has the power to out drag me down the straight, next lap and it’s still the same And I don’t have much time to get past him we come up on another 150cc rider and as we hit the hairpin Darryl slips past him and I get blocked out I’m right on the back of them as we hit the chicane and the 150cc out guns Darryl to the line and I finish right on his back wheel 3 150cc and Darryl in front of me and five buckets and a couple of 150cc behind us
Despite the dodgy weather it was a great day with some good racing and after finally getting a full day on the bike with no problems I’m feeling a lot happier with it, although for some reason on a damp track I feel more confident in the bike than when it was fully dry so I guess I’ll have to hope for a wet season
Originally Posted by scracha
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks