Saturday was a Ride Day, so I managed to get 7 sessions of practice in.
After the tragic events I witnessed at Hampton Downs on the previous morning, I thought it would be best for me to get on a bike and ride, just to ensure I could.
I must admit I was still in a little shock with the loss of Corporal Tim Porter, may he rest in peace.
By the end of the day, it was all coming back to me, and I was coping well.
The support I got from friends at the track was amazing. They were all very understanding.
I guess the loss of a motorcyclist had an affect on them too. It seems to be the way in this hobby of ours.
I digress.
I had a very good nights sleep on Saturday night, and all I had to do was get myself to the track. The bike was pre-positioned there from the day before.
Practice/ Qualifying:
Took the first 2 laps really easily, to warm everything up, then ensured there was enough space to get a good run at a flying lap.
For some reason, I managed to find traffic! Then it started to spit a little. "Oh, no", I thought.
I haven't really put in a hot lap yet..... So I pushed the pace.
My final Qual lap was a 1:36.5 or so. This put me 8th on the grid, and 3rd fastest in class.
The fast guys qualified at a 1:33.5..... "How the heck to I find 3 whole seconds", I wondered.
Race 1:
I got out there, and warmed the bike up, and come around to line up on the grid.
The red lights started to come on, and the revs started to rise..... as did my nerves.
This is the first start from the middle of the pack. Well, outside of row 2 isn't so bad really.
I thought I got a good start, but Racyracer got a better one on the Hyosung!
Side by side in Turn 1, and through Turn 2. Then Racyracer cut my nose off in turn 3, as I was on the inside.
Blair M (Not sure if Blair is a Kiwibiker) on a 1988 Kawasaki GPX250 was in front of us both though. Then it all changed.
Blair Crashed at the Hair Pin, and the bike went in front of Racey Rider.
I managed to have the inside line and got in front, as all the traffic stopped (well almost).
So head down to try and get a gap on Racey Rider He was 3 seconds faster in practice, so I knew my moment of glory would end soon...
3 Laps later Racey caught me, and got in front.
For the next 5 laps we were drafting and swapping for the class lead.
Then it all came down to the last corner of the last lap.
This is where Racey Rider got ahead of me and won by a second.
Still, 22 points for me, and I got my lap time to a best of 1:33.659.
Race 2:
Got ready in plenty of time, and put my bike in the sun to try and get some solar heat into the tyres.
Once again on the warm up lap tried to get as warm as possible, and then found my place on the grid (same position as before).
The Red Lights came on one by one, and the revs cam up. I got a good start again, and managed to avoid all the battles that are normally associated with turn 1.
I found myself locked into a battle with Racy again, this time for 7 laps.
Then a Formula 4 Honda CBR150 wanted to play.
This put us off our stride a little, and Blair M finally got over his fear of the Hair Pin, and put his nose in front of us all.
It was a huge drag race down the back straight with my 250 berried well into the Red Line.
After we all fired into Dunlop (Last turn) at approx 160km/hr, it was a battle of the bravest.......
Suffice to say, I was not quite as brave as the other two... There must be a few demons from the last time I crashed there in Qual for Round 6 of VMCC.
Anyhow there was 1.3 seconds from 1st to 3rd place, and all my flying lap times were within 1.08 Seconds of each other, with a fastest of 1:33.902.
The Class Lap Record is a 1:31.250
So I finish the day 2nd over all in the championship with 42 points with two more rounds to go.
I am thinking of changing my race number to 50.......
The goal is to improve at the next round of the BRM series, and make a full on assault of VMCC winter series in 2011.
I hope to attend a few meetings with the Auckland Motor Cycle Club too (AMCC).
Cheers
quickbuck
Team Air Force Racing #42.
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Originally Posted by Racey Rider
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