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Thread: Cemetary Circuit

  1. #1
    Join Date
    20th November 2002 - 03:11
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    Registered. For now...
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    Tauranga
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    1,627

    Post Cemetary Circuit

    Got up at five yesterday, scoffed a coffee and Weetbix, the hit the road for Wanganui. Great ride apart from the rain from the Kaima summit to about half way down the Western Access (west side of Lake Taupo). Ran over a rabbit at Whakamaru and got a magpie with mirror and elbow a few miles on. Filled up at Raetihi and my 17 litre tank, with a 2 litre reserve (not yet in use) took 18.55 litres!! I have just e-mailed Caltex on that...
    Fine all the way down the Parapara (yay!!!), but lots of slipped rock on the road, so a little more caution than normal was required. If you don't know this road, don't tackle it in race mode.
    Pissing down again for the last 15 K into Wanganui, and so it did until about 10 or 10:30. Then out came the sun, track dried, racing got better and we all froze in the stiff southerly.
    Racing was hot in most classes. In the open, the dice for first betweeen Shaun Harris and Craig Shirrifs had to be seen to be believed. 600 SportProd was also tight racing, and the Super Motard guys were insane! Stephen Briggs sliding the bike into the railway bend lap after lap was quite a sight. The only other guys to slide here were doing it because they had over done it...
    In the classics, Ginger Molloy was still out there showing the younger set how it is done. Or at least until he crashed. Fortunatley it was a minor off - at age 66 it is not so easy to bounce back up, apparently.
    Quite a line up of past stars were there, though not all took part in the ride-by. Great to hear from some of them as to where they are in the world, now. Anyone who remembers Dave Hiscock will also recall how he went to South Africa and was never heard from again... Then there was Bob Toomey, Richard Scott, Mike Pero etc etc. Lots of history.
    Good trip home. Only saw one cop for the whole trip, and he must have been going home for dinner. Gassed up at National Park, where the station ownwer gave me a coffee on the house (thanks mate - very much appreciated), then stop at Wairakei for dinner before heading back to Tauranga.
    Roll on next year.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    21st October 2002 - 11:00
    Bike
    xs400 -
    Location
    WAitakere City , NZ
    Posts
    1,120
    It was an awesome day eh mate? ...

    Did you ride home after the days racing ? If you did , thats a bloody long day !!! I think it was 6:30pm when I left.

    I was down on the Warehouse / BP corner , lots of bikes were going one wheel all the way down the straight, obviously out to have some fun !!!

    Got a great kick out of seeing some of the old bikes out on the track giving it death. Especially the Triumph sidecar team ... they did themselves real proud.

    I gotta confess , I loved the sound of the '54 BSA B31 exhaust note. Lovely.
    THe hand's farster than the eye ... keepan eye onda feet .. .

  3. #3
    Join Date
    20th November 2002 - 03:11
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    Registered. For now...
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    Tauranga
    Posts
    1,627
    Yes, I rode back home after the racing. Funny, it didn't feel a long day until after I got home and sat down with a scotch. I spent most of the day not far from you - at the rail crossing, but did wander around a bit.

    Great day, all right, apart from the cold and rain!!! And the BIG slide I did on a right hander coming back up the Paras. Figured there must have been oil on the road. Did a few more minor slides later on and figured my rear tyre was toast. Then got home and found oil coming from the airbox drain (drops right in front of the tyre edge). Looks like my weeping head gasket has blown. Bugger.

    Must agree, the goldie sounded nice. So did Carl Garnett's Bonnie. Quite fast, too, for an old nail. I think he ran fifth in 3 races, beating a number of jap multi's.

    Did you get around the pits? There was a very nice Ducati GT750 for sale, and next to it was a brand new Ducati 999. Lovely. Very. Also a couple of very tidy Suzuki RG500's - a bit of a rare sight now.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    25th October 2002 - 12:00
    Bike
    Old Blue, Little blue
    Location
    31.29.57.11, 116.22.22.22
    Posts
    4,859
    Was that GT750 for Sale! Ah, brings back memories - also the nice 74 750SS.... to think I had to sell mine in 76(sob)..ah well..
    I was going to go up to Ohakune after the racing, but at 6.30 I piked out claiming severe tiredness and settled for a brisk ride back to Palmy. No cops that way either apart from the booze checkpoint just over the bridge...
    “- He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”

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