NZSBK Round 5 Taupo 23, 24, 25 March 2012
The penultimate round of the NZSBK 2012 was going to be exciting, the first time it had been run at Taupo, a volatile weather track due to the altitude and mountain weather patterns. Forecast was for changeable rain possibly clearing; tyre choice was going to be interesting.
Friday practice:
The track was it’s usual cold with moderate wind keeping the track from heating well. I made it just in time for the 2nd of 4 scheduled practices for the day. I circulated making mental notes of the seal and bumps and re-familiarising myself with my old home track. As suspected, I wasn’t getting heat into my tyres. I dropped a few PSI and went back out for the 3rd practice. Riding a bit harder, working on a few lines I got faster and managed some more heat and noticed the grip was much better. 4th practice and the track had heat, which made the patch repairs more slippery; but the rest of the seal had more grip, more things to remember for racing.
Saturday Practice 1:
The track was a little cool and the wind was moderate. I chose to use the first practice to work on pushing out my braking markers and focus my lines. 5 laps later and I set a 1:54.0 – 22nd.
Practice 2:
Time to put in a fast time; the track was still a little cold. I completed 6 laps, increasing my pace as I went. I was comfortable with the conditions and got down to a 1:50.8 that placed me 23rd on the grid. I had got faster, but the other competitors had too!
Race 1: 10 Laps
Overcast, the track did not heat up like it did on Friday. Lights go out and I get a great start. I pass Ryan Firn and watch Tyler pull ahead as I slip in behind Abby Mes on the 450. I get a little caught up in traffic and she slips away. I can see her and a bunch, half the start straight ahead. I set to chase them down, focussing on smooth lines. Each lap I see Ryan a little bit closer as I round Turn 1 and I cant seem to reel in the bunch. Lap 6 and I get to the flag booth before turn 7 and I see a red flag. We pull in and they are marking our tyres for Pro Twins, 8th place and a PB of 1:49.8. As we pull to the sheds, they announce we are restarting!
Race 1, Restart: 5 laps
I knew we had put a bit much gas in so I headed straight out to the grid. Lights go out and I get an average start, Ryan is in front of me and went for the inside behind his brother, I go for the outside to get the line into Turn 2. All of a sudden someone on the inside bangs into someone else, other bikes swerve and a few go down, Abby has no where to go and hits one of the bikes, Gavin and I swerve to the outside and another bike goes down to my left, I stop short of hitting a bike in front of me. Wow, I look around and just see carnage. We pull in and get sent straight back to the dummy grid. I start to think about how much gas I have left!
Race 1, 2nd Restart: 5 Laps
I spend the warm up lap focussing on being relaxed and calm. I plan to take a cautious approach to the first turn. Lights go out and it looks like everyone is being cautious, one bike fails to take turn 1 and narrowly misses another and ends up low siding into the gravel. The rest of us make it round, Ryan passes me up the inside; stink! I chase Ryan and Gavin for the first lap. They are in a bunch of 4. 2nd lap and I reel them in, Ryan is battling with Gavin. They get passed a Superlite bike and get a gap on me. I pass him on the straight and start chasing them. Ryan gaps it on Gav and I hunt Gav down. I pass him on the old pit straight, he passes back going into the sweeper. I draft him down the straight and pass him again. I see Ryan in the distance and pin my ears, unfortunately next lap is the chequered flag. Cool down lap and I get passed by a white Hyosung, I realised Ryan was behind me and it was Tyler I was chasing! I’m excited to think I’m going even faster than I thought. I placed 6th with a new PB of 1:49.1 – time to find a few more seconds with braking later and accelerating longer.
Sunday
We drive to the track in misty rain, the meet is declared wet and we put on the wets for a scrub session. I head out for a sighting lap, its wet, but no bad puddles. We are down the race order for today and by the time the supersports are out, there is a dry line and drying fast!
Race 2: 10 Laps
I make the call to switch back to Supercorsa’s. Warm up lap and the track is dry apart from a few small puddles off the race line. My plan is to push my braking and hold more corner speed. Lights go out, I spot Tyler and don’t let him out of my sight. Turn 2 and I’m behind the superlite #30, all of a sudden he slows and I have to swerve to the left narrowly missing him, I loose momentum but drive hard to Turn 4. I’m right behind the bunch with Tyler, Gav and another Superlite. I pass Gav on the old pit straight. Feeling good I start hunting down Tyler and the Superlite who are having a battle. They catch and pass Abby and I do the same coming into Turn 4. Lap by lap, I’m reeling them in and feeling fast. I’m watching their battle, seeing where they are slow and fast. I catch right up through the last corner and follow them into Turn 1. I’m fast over Turn 2 and feel the rear slide suddenly. I chase them again and end up right behind them on the start straight. I sit right behind them now. Another lap and I pull along side Tyler on the start straight, he out breaks me and into Turn 1. I chase him through the infield, down the back straight I pass him but he brakes harder. I put my nose in front again on the start straight. He takes the hint and takes off through the infield. I’m hoping he pushes to take the Superlite and they both make mistakes I can capitalise on. Next lap I pass again on the straight but he out breaks me again. I’m happy to sit on his tail; I know I can pass him on the straight and through the back part of the circuit. Last lap, I head for the outside down the straight and he drifts close to the inside, I get a better line through the S’s and he runs wide, we drag for the line and neither of us know who was first. I’m ecstatic with how I rode, I didn’t give up and I battled to the last lap. Turns out, he beat me by .018 seconds. I came 6th Pro Twin, with a new PB of 1:46.7
Race 3: 10 Laps
After my last race, I found I was scraping my shifter round Turn 7. We raised my rearsets to stop the scraping, what I didn’t check was the shifter had moved too. I got on to grid up and discovered it was no where near where I’m used to and I struggled with both up and down shifting, having to lift my foot off my peg each time. Too late to fix, I decided to stick it out. Lights go out and I get an ok start. I pass Ryan and am behind Gav and Tyler. I pass Gav on the 2nd lap and struggle to hunt Tyler down. I’m comfortable but a bit slow on the gear shifts. I settle as much as I can and churn away the laps with a good gap behind me to the next Pro Twin. I cross the line 8th, best time a 1:48.3. Not the fastest but I’m happy to have finished all 3 races.
I placed 7th overall for the weekend and I’m very happy with my improvement. With this I’ve climbed to 9th in the Pro Twin standings for the NZSBK series. Not a bad result for only competing in 2 out of 5 rounds. I’m now looking forward to the Winter Series and next year’s Nationals!
I would like to say a big thank you to those that make it possible for me to race; Kiwibike Insurance, Pirelli Tyres, EBC Brakes, RST, Tsubaki Chains, Future Grafix, New Plymouth Motorcycles and Autolink. PMCC; Thank you for putting on such a well run event! A huge thanks to the team of volunteers; we couldn’t race without your help. Thank you also to all my friends and supporters who have all given me so much encouragement at the track and off, it all helped so much! Last but not least, my partner Frenchy for all your time and support, I really couldn’t do it without you!
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Looking forward to the Winter Series to do more?
Originally Posted by Deano
looking forward to some battles with Tyler and working on my PB's!
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