Chappy’s VMCC round 6 and end of season report
I was checking the weather every hour or so ALL FRIDAY. In the afternoon the MET people decided to change their minds are make it dry until the afternoon. I threw my slicks on but made sure the wets were good to go.
Saturday morning I woke up, looked out the window, it was dry but for how long….
What I needed from this round was;
• Beat AJ in Post Classics in both races, as I was 1 point behind him
• Beat Paul Buckley at least once, if he beat me in both races we would tie on points but he would take the championship, as it would then be based on the last race win.
If I pulled the above off – then I would take both championships….. No pressure!
Qualifying
We had Post classics first; I needed to scrub in my new slicks so took it easy for 2-3 laps. The bike was running good, the new front tyre felt great. Put my head down wanting to qualify as far ahead of AJ as I could. I qualified 1st in Post classics Junior’s, being the 2nd fastest bike overall, lapping at a 1:17.1. Formula 3 was different story, we were held on the grid for ages, letting the tyres cool right down, then they released us in drib’s and drabs. Which meant every 2nd lap, I hit lap traffic – I struggled to get settled in. I qualified 7th fastest, 5 places behind Paul Buckley. I wasn’t very happy.
Race 1
Post Classics JNR
I started 8 places in front of AJ on the start grid. I was confident in the Race because I had qualified over 4seconds a lap faster than him. I pulled out a good lead of 10 seconds on second place so cruised the bike home for a JNR win. Most of the big 1000cc SNR boys pushed out in front and I let them go – not risking bad luck to play with my championship.
Race 2
Formula 3
I was nervous; this was the most important race to date, when I lined up on the grid I smiled a little. I was placed on far left giving me the outside line to clear the bunch for the terrible turn one. Both I and Paul got an OK start but with me being on the left, I could stay on the outside of the turn, hoping that people would bunch up which causes them to slow down. This does normally happen; people brake a bit early and you can easily get boxed in for the turn. If you take the outside approach your at risk if someone goes down, they can collect you, but if your fast enough and no one falls then you can easily take a couple of spots. The plan worked – I sailed past Paul and the bunch he was stuck in – and even put a couple of bikes between us. I pushed really hard to keep a gap in lap one. I passed the start finish line happy and thought I can stay here; my pace was good with 9 laps to go. As I exited the hair pin I saw a blue bike lying on its side…. It was Paul, he had come off bad – the red flag came out. We pulled in and I heard he high sided, badly. Apparently all I had to do was finish the race and I had the championship. The race was now somewhat uneventful – I went out again and circulated, ensuring I finished – but I felt incredibly sorry for Paul. It was defiantly not the great battle I was hoping for. He had crashed on the first lap – pushing to hard on the exit. I know how he felt, having only done that 3 months ago.
Race 3
Post Classics JNR
AJ said to me that he could not get his head in the game – he didn’t want to push anymore in the race. He had given it everything but not made any ground on me so relented and withdrew from the last race. I didn’t need to compete in the race at all – I had won the championship right then. So I thought well lets see if I can annoy some of the big boys out there. I had a good start and cleared my head for the first 3 laps, then went to work to catch the big 1100cc Post Classics SNR bikes. I pushed hard and dropped down to low 1:16’s and passed all the riders with only Steven Mossman (the race leader) to take on. I could pass him at the hair pin but could never stay in front down the straights – I could not argue with his 150hp. I lapped only 0.3 of a second slower than him but was happy to push him a bit. I enjoyed finishing the championship with a good hard race.
Race 4
Formula 3
We did not know what had happened with Paul’s points – we believed he had not scored anything from race 1, but if he had taken some points, then I still had to finish the last race. 10 minutes before the race it started to rain – we rushed to change rims and discs to wets, VMCC called it a wet meeting, which gave us 20mins to finish the change over. We went out and it was pouring down, I started well running 3rd overall but miles in front of the next F3 bike. The bike was very unstable and had little grip on my new wets – I believe they rear end setup was far too hard for the wet, causing allot of wheel spin and movement on exit. I finished the race as the first F3 bike home.
It was over; both classes are done and dusted. I had won every race for the day and taken both championships as a result. When I came back into the pits all my supporters were there, it was a great feeling. Two Championships in the bag, even though that was the goal for the season, I was humbled by actually achieving it.
The prize giving was great – there was a huge turn out and VMCC had put on a great event. Beers and nibbles were ample and it was great sit and take stock of what we have done.
I have to say a huge thanks to all the people and businesses that have provided support to me for this season. Special mention to all those who have supported me from the start,
My sponsors are the reason I could stay consistently competitive throughout the year, thank you so much.
They are; Dunlop tyres – these were amazing, the Air force and all the units around base that have gone out of their way to make my bike as good as it was and Hi Tech Commercial Interiors ltd.
Special thanks to Marty from Motomart for the years of support, Dan from Motorad for literally rebuilding my bike from the ground up, Rob and his Ohlins team from CKT for getting my bike dialled in just right, every time, Team Shower Buddy racing c/o Paul M, Kelly from Randolph Engineering and Kawasaki NZ for their support.
Sgt Aaron Carr has been one of our biggest assets, volunteering his time for every meeting and even fundraising towards our 3hr endurance Race in December. Aaron went to work at the race days, ‘spannering’ and pit boarding with his partner Coral in toe.
I must also thank my friends and family, particularly my fiancée Lauren. These people believed in me more than I did, without them the season would not have gone as well as it did.
The achievements of the Series were quite staggering – they are still sinking in.
• New PB of 1:15.9 on short circuit Manfield
• New PB of 2:02.7 on long circuit Manfield, which turned out to be a Lap record for the club for Long track on a Formula 3 bike
• I had a total of 23 race podiums with 17 race wins for the season
• I placed in the top 3 overall in both my classes at every round
• Becoming VMCC Formula 3 champion
• Becoming VMCC Post classics JNR champion
• Winning 2 championships in one season, the first person in history to have done that since the club was formed over 35years ago
It was awesome battling with Paul B, Deano, geoff B, Ash P, Kirk and the posties boys, Mossey was awesome - hope you get the beast sorted
From here we are off to PMCC and the Xmas international Tri series, aiming for gold and glory yet again. My thoughts are with Paul Buckley, hoping he heals up quickly so we can get back to having some more great races
Chappy
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Originally Posted by neil_cb125t
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