Well, bit late guys but here goes.
After taking the majority of winter off racing to save some money, buy some new leathers (in patriotic BOP colours) /safety gear, and do some more reading of books and fettling with bikes, so by the time this round rolled around I was super keen to get out there.
With the mighty vfr still undergoing corrective surgery, the old man has given me his fzr1000 to race for the season, which was always going to be a buzz, having only done a couple of track day sessions on it, and ridden nothing bigger than a 250 on the road (for more than a couple of kms at least)
Qualifying:
Eeeeeeekkk. Riding like rubbish, qualified with high 1:24 which made me laugh, but I set it in the last lap, so took it as a positive. Bike didn't feel that great squatting too much in the rear, too high and soft at the front, seat was too slippery, hitting about 5 false neutrals a lap, and front brake was STILL almost coming into the bar, so I spent the whole time trying to hold onto the whale. So made some furious adjustments (preload, drop forks through, shorten seat, re adjust and file gear lever down), to hopefully get things a bit more under control.
Race 1:
Got a reasonable start (for me), and had fun dialling in some horsepower. Still getting to grips with stopping the big girl. Lost concentration half way through and got passed by the couple I got past at the start of the race. Good wakeup call for me, and made me appreciate how sweet NC30's do handleBest time of 1:24.054
Pulled the rear wheel off to crank up preload and damping. No idea how much, just kept cranking until the rear didnt drop quite so much when I pushed down on it (scientific I know)
Early night, spent on the side of the road, I don't reckon the transient lifestyle is all that bad, as long as I can beg for enough money to keep fuel in the tank
Race 2:
Got a terrible start. Last into turn 1 (I assumse there was no one behind me), bike felt so much better, still not pushing anywhere near hard enough going into the corners, front end didnt feel that great, and I was being a chicken. Started catching a GSXR 750 mid race, then he got the hurry up, and I hit a big false neutral coming into dunlop and locked up the rear wheel coming in, which fucked up my concentration, and I chickened out, and once more, a few of the bikes I was infront of got past. Felt I was slowing the protwins guys down meanly through the infield, but then again, Ive put up with the same thing racing a 400 so tough shiite, my turn to be the road block haha. Managed to beat Seddo on the GS1000 through a combination of hp and poor riding (on my part), so I was happy with that. Best time of 1:22.901
Race 3:
Average start. But was starting to get to grips with the bike, so had fun this race. Felt the thing sliding a couple of times, still too much of a baby on the brakes, and not holding enough corner speed, but I at least held my focus for the whole race (which I hadnt done previously). Chased Ivan Juggins around which was fun, he had way better corner speed and lines, but I had hp on my side so squirted past him on the easy bits. Seddo cruised up in the inside coming into higgens on the last lap, and I got him coming out on power. Coming into Dunlop, held my slow (but defensive at least) line through Dunlop and managed to stay infront. Awesome fun.
All in all it was a great weekend. Probably wasnt going as fast as I wanted to be but, in all honesty it was probably just unrealistic expectations. At least now I know what the 1000 brings to the table, and I have a place to improve from. So now for new brakes, and some front end work by RT. Bring on Taupo! Back to off camber corners, Yeeeessssss. Taupo is great, and apparently the patches are better than ever (which Im actually dissappointed about now, as I had my lines sorted for inside the patches).
Report didnt mean to fill up with quite so many excuses! Apologies. Bring on the NZPCRA GP at the end of the month!
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Originally Posted by Clivoris
Catchya round
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