Thought I would write one of these as I had a pretty good weekend!
Quick version:
Qualified 12th, Finished 10th and 8th. New PB of 1:16.4
Epic version:
The VMCC winter series kind of fell a bit flat on it's face for me with missing half the rounds and having pretty bad F2 races in those I did make. It made me super keen to get back on the bike and fresh out of levels 3+4 of the suberbike school earlier this month I was really looking forward to the start of the Summer Series. Forecast was looking great which was nice as I am so fed up of rain and racing!
Practice
Pretty good day - Head out in fast group, rather than race to go over some of the CSS drills. Some of that goes out the window as I am just having fun on the bike, but trade up to race later on as fast is getting busy and very unpredictable. Laptimes are 19s which is average for me. Want to be consistently in the 17-18s during the race.
Qualify
As I sign on, I look down the F2 list of entries and none of the usual mid->back pace F2 riders have entered!? I was hoping for some good racing and it looks like I may be at the back by myself. Have been stuck in a qualifying rut this year where I just sit behind someone and follow their pace, so instead, I go out early for some clearer track. End up 12th with a 1:17.9 which I was fairly happy with as being in the 17s was a goal for the weekend.
Race 1
Get a pretty good start and go round the outside in turn to make a couple of places. A bit more aggression from me on that first lap would have seen a few more. Get down to chasing a few riders and make up a couple more positions before coming up behind Nick Prestige. I sit behind him for 2 laps to compare where we are strong in the lap and figure I could make a move and hopefully make it stick through the infield. However, I miss a gear change coming into T1 on the last lap and go round in 3rd, which let's Nick pull a few bike lengths that I couldn't pull back. Ended up 10th with a best time of 1.16:4! Pretty stoked at this until I look at my time sheet to see that the majority of laps were in the 16s - Woohoo!
Race 2
Get a better start and manage to make stay ahead of the guys behind me. The field spreads pretty quickly and and catch up to Nick again on the 3rd-4th lap. This time I don't hang around and pass him early. I can see Mark B ahead though he is pulling ahead slightly on each lap. Getting a bit tired now and start making a few errors, so knock the pace off slightly just to not make a mistake and go home with a broken bike. Finish 8th with a best lap of 1.17:0
Overall, I had a great weekend! I was hoping for 17-18s and end up with 16-17s. What was even more encouraging was my laptimer gave me an optimum of 1.15:9 in the first race (the best 5 splits). Been stuck at the 18s point for so long that it feels great to move everything up a notch and now I can't wait to get out there again as I already know places where I can improve.
See you at round 2!
Cheers
Luke
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Go the might 675
Originally Posted by flame
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