What a weekend!!! Malcolm and me went up to manfeild on Friday for the test day. As my knees were playing up I had decided to sit out the test day and help Malcolm sort his RG best I could. I am only a mere female afterall...
My bike was pretty much ready to race and M's needed the master cylinder put back on, brakes bled etc etc... Anyway, long story short - Friday had extreme up's and downs but at least we got M's bike ready to race on Sat without killing each other or ourselves....
Two goals for this weekend:
- Beat my PB of 1.37XX
- HTFU round Dunlop and stop using my brakes going into it or during it
Sat Qualifying
I got to the track feeling quite relaxed. I got out on the track did a couple of slow laps and then saw a couple of people around me and kind of switched into 'race mode'. One of the guy's was from Chch he had obviously got the track sorted out pretty fast and was going along nicely so I slipped in behind him and followed for awhile eventually passing him. I felt really relaxed, the track felt good despite the fact that it looked a bit dodgy.
I qualifyed 12th in SS150's with a time of 1.39 so I was pretty happy. The last time I did the short track I could not break into the 1.30's so this was very encouraging for me!
Sat Race 1
I got a crap start but managed to get in behind Andy Croft on his KR and someone else. I have vague recollections of this race but know that I had a blast and by the second half of the race I was attacking dunlop faster and with more confidence than ever before. I finished that race matching my PB so I was stoked and was feeling really excited about Sunday.
I went to bed early (unlike those OLDER people who partied on in town..) determined that I was going to get a new PB on Sunday...
Sun Race 1
I was feeling very calm and had a good breakfast and look over the track. It was a bit damp so I was feeling pretty good as I am faster in the wet. Anyway I got a pretty good start but as I always do, I backed of at the first corner cause I was 'scared'. Got in behind Andy Croft again and Jeff Whitehead and they were pushing me hard. Something had clicked in my head though and I was feeling really relaxed. I started to get faster and smoother. At one stage I went through Higgins and heard a big crunching noise looked back on the ground either side and couldnt see anything so I kept going. At one point I charged after Jeff and Andy into turn one but got all unco and the bike started bucking a bit as I was grabbing the brakes and the throttke at the same time. I out-braked Jeff into the corner, pushing him wide just as Andy swept across in fron of me so I had no choice to brake hard which made me run wide. I started to get back into the race line and could see Jeff in the corner of my right eye, I decided to see if I could push him back but chickened out and back off letting him through. In all fairness he is a faster rider than me anyway!! I decided to calm down and stop ridinglike a maniac, after all I was only fighting for 3rd to last anyway! So I tucked in behind them and let them push me to go faster round the sweeper chasing them. It was an awesome race! Turns out that crunching noise was my chamber scraping!
I was stoked to find that I rode my PB of 1.36's in that race!!
Sun Race 2
I was a bit nervous before going out but ready for action. The race was Red Flagged after the first lap and I was bummed I had gotten a great start and was right at the back of the front group coming out of splash which is a first for me! Anyway we started again and again I chickened out at Turn 1 and again I got in behind Andy which turned out to be the best battle I have ever had. I was scraping my chamber, foot pegs and boots everytime I came out of Higgins and Dunlop trying to chase him down. I was the most relaxed I have ever been but I was pushing the hardest I ever had too. Funnily enough I am not as sore today as I normally would be either! Andy beat me and I only lapped 1.37's but I have never had the bike leant as far over and the throttle pinned as hard as I did in that race. It felt great, I found myself leaning on the tank with my butt in the air down the straights jsut trying to get more speed! Awesome!!
Oh yeah, the Alpaca's... I love Alpaca's and there happened to be an 'Alpaca Show' on right next door to the track, which like the South Islanders came as a huge shock to me! I reckon that this weeked would not have been as fantastic and as fast as it was without the South Islanders coming along and really raising the bar in our class. In a way it was frustrating as the faster I got so did everyone else but I reckon that a bit of competition is good for the sport! Was great to have you all along and a big thnaks to Peter Jones and roadracingoldfart for helping me and Malcolm out!
Thanks to my Man for all your patience. My mates for all your help and support and Vic Club, it was the bestest weekend I have had in ages!
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Originally Posted by Str8 Jacket
Great to see you getting a buzz on the weekend. It sure was a long one.
Congrats on the PB 
Karma ... Justice catches up eventually !! 
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