Hi All,
Round 2 of the Bike Rider Magazine Pacific Motorcycle Club Championship
was held at Taupo on the 2.2km Track 2. This a great track for small bikes, and very
flowing. Last time we were here was Round 6 of the Winter Series in October.
In the weeks leading up to round 2, the Team Air Force Racing Ninja 250R when
through some more cosmetic changes. Paul Martin from Ohakea Paint Section
had worked magic and spent a great deal of time making the bike look absolutely
awesome!
On Saturday afternoon myself and Team Air Force Racing Team mate, Neil Chappell
loaded up the BWF Hire Pool Trailer on Saturday with the Ninja 250R, a Suzuki
GSXR600 from California Super Bike School, and Neil’s Kawasaki (Kwikasfuki)
ZX650R and headed to the Barracks Holiday Home in Turangi. We stayed the night
there, and got an early night before continuing to Ricoh Motor Sport Park in Taupo.
Qualifying:
250 Production was mixed in with 250 Minilite, and 150 Street Stock as per usual.
This provided quite a mixed field, but the bikes are quite similar for pace. I headed
out on the track and was following young Turiana Banks on her RG150 for a little
while as I got myself and the bike warmed up. As I increased pace I had found she
had too. It wasn’t even 6 months ago when I was lapping her at Manfeild and we had
a small collision……. This time I managed to get passed her after about 3 laps to put
in a fast lap… I managed a 1:27.256. This was an awesome time, and my fastest
ever lap of the 2.2k track. I managed to secure 5th on the grid… However to my
surprise Turiana beat me by 3 thousandths of a second!!!
To be honest I was very pleased for her and not disappointed at all. This is an
amazing feat by a young rider. Rogan Chandler, Zane Burrell and Roman Rajek filled
up the first 3 places on the grid. Not one of the front row is allowed to sit their Drivers
Licence yet as they are all below 15! Remember their names for the future, as these
kids are superstars in the making!
Race 1 (6 laps):
Headed out on the Warm up lap and got everything very warm. It wasn’t hard, as the
air temperature was about 25 degrees! Sitting in pit lane waiting made me break out
in a sweet, so the airflow was nice. I found #5 on the grid and waited for the lights
to come on one by one…. As they went out I got an average start, but quickly had
to change direction as Rogan Chandler got the worst possible start, and was almost
stationary as I flew past him. The speed difference was already about 40km/hr!
We all managed to make it through turn 1 without too much drama, and I settled into
the race. I basically managed to improve on my qualifying time and reel off a series
of 1:25 laps. Rogan came past me quite early on, and I watched in awe as he went
through the leading riders like a knife through butter. Zane Burrell was also riding
very well against Roman Rajek and I didn’t really have the pace to catch any of them.
I was having issues with gear selection as my chain was a little loose. Right on the
25mm limit as it turns out, so was getting a little frustrated. I finally caught the #7
Hyosung GT250R of Fergus Maynes, but didn’t quite get past over the line. Roman
Rajek was a little ahead on his Megelli 250R. So I ended up 3rd in class by 0.074
seconds from second place with a fastest lap of 1:25.430. This means another 20
points to my championship, so it was a case of damage control.
I made a small adjustment to the chain tension after the race. Also Roman Rajek
was excluded from the race results for using tyre warmers. This breaches the rules
for 250 Production racing. This means I got second place, and 22 points toward the
championship.
Race 2 (6 laps):
This time I got a much better start. So did Rogan thankfully and there was no
avoiding action needed this time. I rode a pretty quick standing lap and crossed the
line about 5th over all. I spent the next few corners making up time on the leading
bunch of 4 bikes. As I went through turn 5 I could see I was gaining ground, then on
the approach to turn 7 at approximately 120km/hr I heard a bang like a car crash!
The next thing I knew was I was ejected off my bike! There was a red bike up the
inside of me that most likely would have been the bike that crashed into me. I went
sliding off the track on my head and left hand shoulder. I knew this wasn’t going to
be good, but thankfully all the riders behind me did well, and didn’t run over me. After
the very long slide I got to see my bike lying on its side, and bits of it scattered for
about 50 metres. The race was Red Flagged due to my crash, so I lay back down
beside my bike to catch my breath again.
The Quad bike and a track marshal came over to recover my bike, and I jumped
on the trailer to hold my bike and get a lift back to the pits. I knew just after I stood
up I had damaged my left collar bone, so was all prepared to take a walk to the
ambulance. Neil grabbed my bike, and I wandered off to seek medical help.
Compared to the last time I broke a collar bone I wasn’t in as much pain. This was
mainly due to the fact my AC joint has been dislocated for almost 20 years. So I got
my leathers off, and jumped into the Ambulance for a ride to Taupo hospital. After X-
Rays to confirm what I already knew, and a few hours wait, Neil came to pick me up.
All my gear had been recovered, and the bike wasn’t looking as bad as I had feared.
After a short stop at the chemist to pick up a stock of pain killers I was ready for the
trip home. Thankfully I wasn’t in too much pain at all as the codine was working very
well. I was just very annoyed about it all. After some reflection, and realising that
during racing “stuff” happens sometimes, I am just concentrating on getting better,
and sorting everything for Round 3 at Manfeild on April 21st. Race 3 of the meeting
was cancelled for all classes, so it means I only missed out on points for 1 race. The
silver lining to the cloud is that I still lead the championship.
Thanks go to:
Paul Martin form S&S Ohakea for the awesome paint scheme
Dunlop Tyres and Forbes and Davies.
ProRider – For the entry fee and support.
Celtic Leathers – They worked really well!
Race Fairings – They are still holding together!
City Honda – Will be in soon to purchase another Shoei.
Neil Chappell, and his mum for their help during the day.
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