First a report from our young rider Bailie Perriton (14)
We left home in Ashburton at 3pm on Thursday and drove through the nite to arrive at taupo around 7.00am on Friday. Me , Seth, Merv and Dad walked the track. I was excited as i have never been to Taupo before. My first test session didnt go as planned..after a sighting lap i approached T1 for the first time and gently pulled the brake..next thing i am face planted on the track, the front brake had locked up.
Merv stripped the front brakes to find that there was a piece of windcreen glass stuck in the disc. I put that behind me and soon got back on track for five sessions during the day. Also got to do a few laps on Tyler Lincolns RS125, my first ride on a 125..it was awesome. I was pleased with my laps during the day, but had a couple of corners that needed some work.
Race day
At riders briefing i was a little disappointed when we were told that our class was only using the short track.
Race 1.. I got a good start but lacked a bit of corner speed and ended up 4th overall and 3rd 250 production.
Race 2.. Another good start and with more corner speed saw me have a great battle with Aaron Hassen. I lead untill the last lap when he passed me at T1 and beat me to the finish. So 3rd overall and 2nd 250.
Race 3.. A holeshot start for me, and keeping a wide line at T1 saw me leading again. I had battle with David Neal on his KRR 150 mid race but pulled a gap towards the end to take 2nd overall and 1st in 250 production. Its a shame Aaron decided to sit out the last race but he had already won the series title. Im sure i would have beaten him!!
I would like to thank my Dad for supporting me (and paying) from day one. Thanks to all my sponsors and supporters especially Stocker Dairy Serevices who are sponsoring me this season.
Thanks guys wouldnt be able to do it without you.
Team Managers report.
We had decided some time ago to do this round as Bailie had never ridden outside the Sth Is. We also took Seth Devereux with us as he rode for us last year and we are supporting him this year as he moves up to 600 supersport. It was a long journey but the fine weather made up for the lack of sleep.
The brake locking incident was "a fluke" as i was pushing the bike back to the pits it was strange that it would brake ok..then suddenly lock even at walking pace. Upon inspection a small piece of windscreen glass from the track had lodged itself in one of the holes in the vented disc and was causing total lock once the glass met the pads.
One of my concerns with Bailie was how he would cope with a new circuit and how quickly he would adapt.. as we only get one meeting at both Taupo & HD before the Nats. But as usual he exceeded my expectations and took it all in his stride. The fast flowing corners of Taupo are different to the stop start of many Sth Is corners and this was the area that we had to work on. I noticed that all the Sth Is riders at Taupo this weekend had the habit of trying to stick it up the inside into turns....works well at Ruapuna/Levels.. but the fast line trhough the turn is definately the secret at Taupo..especially on a smalller bike.
But overall i was "over the moon" with the weekend.... Bailie did the business and took overall 250 honours for the weekend. Seth took his 600 campaign to another level and learnt heaps about his riding and set up (with thanks to Dr Robert) The trip home was broken up by a short stay at the 'SPYDA' household with awesome hospitality as always.
Well done VMCC for a great meeting.... i did express my opinions about the 250s having to do the short circuit (as they will race the full track at Nats) however i know how time restraints have to be called for in the running of such an event. Skunk was very apologetic and made the correct decision not to revert back to full track after everyome at briefing had already been informed as a late change of plan may have caused confusion.
As always competing in the "other" island carries enormous expense and without the help of our sponsors and supporters it would not be possible.
A BIG thanks to the following... Hamilton Seed Ltd - Race Supplies - Racefairings.co.nz - The Electric Spider Ltd - Stocker Dairy Services - XC design - Dwains Servive Centre - Kawasaki NZ - Sportzfotoz - MCC and many more.
Ruapuna in a few days and then a few weeks rest before repeating the whole trip to HD for the Tri series.............. oh and WORK.
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Originally Posted by jellywrestler
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