When ya do Clubbies!
This isn't so much a race report as an experience report. I've wanted to get around more NZ tracks ever since I came back from Oz about 6 years ago. Trouble is it's a farkin' long way to go for just one weekend. NZSBK is the answer! I tried it a couple of years ago but an excess of new bike and a shortage of talent didn't get me far. This year I ummed and aahed over whether to enter the Superbike championship class but while the (same) bike was no longer new the talent shortage hadn't been addressed, so when I found out that Clubman's was going to be an option at all three SI rounds it was a no-brainer....even for someone with no brain. The NI rounds are a no go due to my work roster so it was an SI road trip or nuffink. SI it was.
First up, Clubbies is cheap, far less to enter than the championship classes, but that is reflected in the track time, with much less tracktime available. No complaints from me, ya get what ya pay for, and the spectators don't come to see Clubbies. With that in mind I only had 2 goals:
1. Have fun
2. Get inside the 115% qualifying cutoff for Superbikes at some point in each round
The bonus is that you get to watch the big boys do what they do best, which is make the rest of us look stupid, then go and do a few skids yourself (either on track or underwear, it's your choice) hopefully learning a bit from your observations along the way. I certainly changed the way I rode the tracks after watching the big fulla's and/or listening to their discussions, and I met my 115% goal at each round (sometimes comfortably, sometimes not) so I think my (not so) cunning plan actually worked, even if the weather did restrict the track time at pretty much every round.
Fun? You farkin' betcha, although Cam Jones crash and the weather at Teretonga did make me have a bit of a think about what the hell I was doing. But on the whole nothing beats being trackside when the fast guys are giving it 110%, when they are on the gas impossibly hard where you were just feathering it yourself, or they have got an elbow skimming the deck where you are happy to touch a knee, or they are still chin buried in the tank throttle on the stop where you were sitting up and reaching for the comfort of the brake lever. Or most impressive, it all turns to custard, but somehow they pick themselves up and go even faster, as Stroudy and Robbie did, proving exactly why they are champions.
And that's just the on track stuff, there's also the the awesome people you meet, watching people win and lose the battles against adversity, the sights/sounds/tastes as you're travelling: I was sure the cool old Hakataremea/Kurow Bridge would have been upgraded in 37 years but instead I was grinning like the 8 year old I had been when I last drove across the rickety ol' thing; proper sun ripened cherries the size of plums from Cromwell, I won't forget those in a hurry; or the spell binding view from Coronet Peak on a stunning Summer's day. Etc etc.
It's not all roses and rainbow's, there were definitely negatives along the way, that's life, but on the whole it was just an awesome experience that I'd encourage any racer to do. I just want to say thanks to the marshalls and volounteers who beaver away behind the scenes. 2 of the rounds in particular highlighted the huge responsibility you carry for virtually no reward, and I just want to acknowledge your efforts, they don't go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Also a big thank you to Motomart and Nationwide Accessories. I'm an absolute nobody yet they still helped me out immensely with great service, great products and virtually cost pricing. It wasn't a cheap exercise but without their help it would have been completely unaffordable.
Thanks also to Chris Osborne of Ozzy Performance, for not just freshening up the engine on the mighty ol' GSXR (it was a jet, nothing passed me in a straight line, only where talent came into play, goddamnit) but also for pointing out a few potential issues with the bike which I rectified. As a result I could just feed it gas, tyres, change the oil and try to ride the wheels off it. I did say try didn't I....?
Same goes for RT/Dennis at KSS (your help at Teretonga was invaluable....actually that's not quite true I know exactly what a rear tyre is worth so I could put a value on it, yet you charged nothing), Stroudy/Ian, Sketchy, Grant and Roz, Choppa, Codgey, Craig and anyone else who I raced against, pestered for info/advice, to borrow peg stands, to change a tyre, or just nervously chatted to. It's you folks who helped a stressed out numpty have such great fun.
All the best to the racers participating up Norf, wish I could be there.
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Originally Posted by CHOPPA
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