Nicki’s VMCC round 2, 18th / 19th July 2011
I was keen to get to Manfield for Vic Club’s 2nd round of the Winter Series. Since the summer Tri Series, I had made a few changes to the ER6’s set up, most importantly the sticky stuff. I made the decision to switch to Pirelli Supercorsa’s (DOT approved for Pro Twins) and wet race tyres.
I was glad to have the brand new wets as it rained all night leading up to Saturday’s qualifying. First class out, we were given 4 laps to do our best out of the 22 strong field comprised of Pro Twin and Superlite classes.
Qualifying: 4 laps
Second on to the track after Abby Mess, we had a clear view in the very wet conditions. I took this opportunity to check out the track conditions, as the long extension isn’t used very frequently. 2nd lap and its time to test the wets; I roll the gas on in splash and they stick, through Higgins at speed and its on to the extension, still going well I accelerate over the seal repair, bump and the bike is settled; great. On to Dunlop and the grid lines, I accelerate over as many as I can and I’m excited to find the bike has no reaction even crossing the line. 3rd lap and I’m building speed and see the white flag so I decide to give it some more and put in a fast lap to finish. I am pleased to see my qualifying time 2:27.5 not bad for the conditions and I’m placed 9th on the grid.
Race 1: 5 laps
Starting 9th on the grid, I was on the inside of the 3rd row with my fellow Taranaki rider, John Oliver next to me. I get a good start, but others around me get better ones, I find myself getting swamped from both sides into turn 1 and I head to the inside of T2. Eamon creeps up on my left and starts moving towards me, I have no room before the line/rumble strip so I hold my line, he sweeps across me hitting my front fairing then tyre, the whole bike twitches & after a few tank slaps as I see his rear wiggle away, he stays up and I recover to watch Tom sliding off in splash. I compose myself and set upon hunting down the bikes that got past me during the wiggle. John catches me in the 2nd lap and I chase him for the rest. I cross 12th over the line, 4th in Pro Twin 1.4 seconds behind John. I’m happy with my result (down to a 2:22) and am very happy with the reliable grip from the Pirelli wets.
Race 2: 5 laps
John and I had discussed chasing down Jon Medlin who was in 2nd place. I take a conservative entrance to Turn 1, not wanting to repeat race 1. I end up a few bikes back from John in a chasing pack. I battle with 3 or 4 superlites for position and I loose sight of John who is battling for 2nd. The ER6 has great speed and I find myself picking off the others and I set myself on catching the pack in front. A F3 bike stays with me though and just as I close to make a move on John, it makes a move on me, I find myself battling to the finish with it and cross the line 10 seconds back from both Johns in 4th again. I’m happy with my consistent result (best lap a 2:20) and look forward to the racing the next day.
Shortly after my race there is a bad crash coming onto the finish straight and the oil spill stops racing for the day. A big thank you goes out to Sue from Manfield and the Vic Club volunteers who spent the evening cleaning up the oil spill, you guys did a great job making it safe for us all to race on Sunday.
Sunday: wet. After catching up the missed races from Saturday, we started Sunday’s programme at 11:51am.
Race 3: 5 laps
We all head out on wet tyres, but circulating on the warm up, we discover that the track is much dryer than anticipated. There is a good dry line, but I take note of where the puddles and wet areas are. I get a good start but instantly start thinking about conserving my tyres. I find Tom and John in front and I’m in a pack of superlites behind. I make the decision to conserve my tyres, I find lines through the damper parts to keep them cool and climb off the bike more in the corners to keep it more upright under power coming out. I cross the line 5th in Pro Twins, surprised at my consistent 2:20 best lap time. We immediately swap to the Supercorsa’s as I anticipate a dry last race.
Race 4: 5 laps
1 race before mine, the heavens open up and we watch a wall of rain come across the long track towards the pits. It’s a quick scramble to put the wets back on. I’m now glad I conserved them in the last race. We line up on the grid and the track is very wet. I’m happy about the conditions and make it my goal to keep up with John. I get a great start, push through T1 and find myself tucked in behind Tom and John, through splash and the bike in front of John goes down, he swerves to miss the rider and bike and John ends up on the grass, Tom and I go round and head for the hairpin, I see John rejoin out the corner of my eye. I accelerate hard out of the hairpin as I know every second in front is precious. I tuck in behind Tom but know he is slower in the extension, I make my move coming into the small hairpin and pull it off, there is no one in front and I’m telling myself to be smooth and fast. I tuck behind my screen and break as late as I can. I’m waiting for John or Tom to put their nose in front… nothing. 2 more laps go by, then John jumps in front, I take him back as he runs wide. We cross the start line but I don’t see the white flag. We battle for the next lap, I chase him through the extension and close coming back on to the short track, I take a sweeping line through Dunlop to increase my speed on to the straight, I slipstream John as the grid lines flash by, I pull to the side but was too late, I cross the line 0.15 seconds behind him. Another 4th place and consistent 2:20 best time again.
I finished the weekend 4th overall in Pro Twins with a PB of 2:20.1 which equals my best effort on the VFR400 2 seasons ago. I’m feeling much more comfortable on the ER6 now and am excited to see what round 3 will bring and hopefully try out my new Pirelli Supercorsas in the dry!
A big thank you to Kiwibike Insurance for your support, Pirelli Tyres for being awesomely sticky, Future Grafix and Sam from Celtic leathers for the running repairs on my suit. Also thanks to Frenchy for all your awesome skills in the pits, John and Tom for the battles on the track. Thank you also to VMCC and your volunteers, you guys put on a great day and a special thank you to Sue and the Manfield crew for getting the track ready for us to race overnight after a huge oil spill.
See you all at round 3….
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Originally Posted by Mental Trousers
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