Going into Round I was only 4 points ahead of Ash Payne and given that he was beating me more often than not, I was not that confident of holding onto 2nd place in the championship.
I wasn't going down without a fight though and knew that I had to beat him in one of the races to stay ahead.
In qualifying I stuck with Ash and Dan and knew that the three of us would have been pretty close with our times. Sure enough we were all within 0.4seconds, with Ash 4th, Dan 5th and me 6th on the grid.
Race 1
Ash got a good start and we all went into turn 1 in the order we were gridded up in.
I set about trying to get past Dan and block passed him into turn 1 on lap 2 or 3. I knew he wouldn't accept that and he came back past me after another lap. Geoff and Ash were disappearing into the horizon so I just did my best to try and get back past Dan and salvage some points. With a couple of laps to go we came upon a backmarker at the esses. Dan went around him and I tried to do the same, however the backmarker drifted out to the edge of the track, leaving me no room (he later told me Dan had clipped his front wheel forcing him to stand the bike up a bit). With no track left to spare, I charged onto the grass at a fair rate.
I remember having a lot of time to collect my thoughts - like that my luck had finally run out and I was going to bin it after 4 years crash free.
I was looking for somewhere soft to land when the bike settled down a bit and it seemed I might regain control. I was still carrying a lot of speed and thought I was going to fly across the track at the hairpin. I did manage to stop however, and after a quick check of my undies, carried on with the rest of the race.
Ash actually won that race and so was 3 points ahead of me overall.
At this point I was resigned to my fate - it was very unlikely I could regain those points and beat him. So when it started to drizzle, I suggested to Drew that my only chance was to put the wets on and hope it pissed down as we were gridding up for race 2.
If I was the only one in the field on wets I then might win the race and get back enough points to clinch 2nd place.
You can imagine my disappointment when the race was declared wet and everyone was given 20 minutes to change tyres.
My disappointment turned to sheer excitement and disbelief when Ash came over and said he did not have time to change to his wet tyres.
I did some maths and figured I was back in with a chance. I couldn't belief the turn of events. What a drama.
Race 2
Geoff and Dan both pulled away pretty smartly (Ash was wheelspinning and going nowhere fast) so I just tried to be smooth and stay upright. Zane Brooks got ahead at one point and I knew I could not afford to lose any points so took him back and rode fairly defensively after that - not as defensive as Drew would have hoped and he was signalling to me from pit wall to slow down a bit.
After crossing the finish line I saw Ash just up ahead at turn 1 (a lap down). I knew then that there were enough bikes between us for me to get back enough points to take 2nd place.
It turns out I ended up finishing just 2 points ahead of him.
I know I had luck on my side, and had told Ash earlier that if he took 2nd he had deserved it, as he was beating me quite consistently.
I have had a huge amount of fun racing this year. Dicing with guys like Dan and Ash, and Neil and Paul in F3. It has been awesome.
A huge thank you to VMCC and the marshals who have worked so hard to make the series a success.
Thanks to my wife Nikki for her support. My Dad and Janet. Our Team sponsors listed below, Sue Ure for her support, my team mate Drew for his support, encouragement and technical expertise, and all the cool people that have made this year so much fun. (Friends and other racers alike)
See ya at Wanganui !!
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next year 1st maybe!?!?
.. top effort Deano & brilliant result 
Karma ... Justice catches up eventually !! 
Originally Posted by Frenchy
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