Hi All,
Round 1 of the Bridgestone Victoria Motorcycle Club Championship Winter Series was
held at Magic Manfeild. As it had only been 2 weeks since I last raced there in the
Bike Rider Magazine PMCC Summer Series, which was WET! The sun was out in
full force on Sunday after a little bit of over night rain. The track was a little damp for
Qualifying.
As it happens it was 1 year to the day that we lost Mark Brehaut, so we had a
minutes silence at riders brief in his honour. It was also one year to the day when I
set my fastest lap of Manfeild of a 1:28.6.
Qualifying:
We got the call up to the qualifying, and I was first out there. I wanted to get a clear
track. I took things easy to begin with and progressively got faster and faster as I
found the track was offering more grip that it looked. This is partly due to the new
surface on parts of it. After 4 flying laps I managed to get a 1:37.621 to secure 3rd
over all on the grid. Considering the damp conditions I was satisfied with that.
Race 1:
I found it nice and easy to find my grid spot, and sat patiently while the rest of the
riders formed up. The 5 red lights came on one by one and all went out. I bogged the
start. I managed to make amends though, and came out of turn 1 in 2nd. I then had a
bit of a dice with Sarah Rosacker through the esses on her CBR250 (Minilite). I got
the better of her at the hair pin by sticking my bike up the inside of her. Then I heard
the 4 cylinder 250 wind up like a spinning top and she flew past me down Denny
Hulme Straight after Sarah Elliot who is on a the Ninja 250 Production bike this
season. The same bike she rode in the Nationals to become #5NZ. From there the
race for me was really just riding laps as fast as I could. There is no way I could keep
with those two with the pace they were showing! I kept in the back of my mind that
Marc-Antoine Jacquet was behind me and he could put in a challenge at any time.
So I just kept my focus forward so I didn’t ride myself back into him. I managed to
finish 2nd in class. With a best time of 1:33.752 I was somewhat off the pace. Sarah
Elliot was 0.4 seconds off the lap record with a 1:27.335.
So after replacing my front brake pads I did some soul searching along with a chat
about my performance, or lack there of, with Neil Chappell. Well it was more of me
talking ideas out loud and Neil giving me encouraging gestures when I got closer
to what the issue was…. Let’s just say it is a vision thing. I concluded that the time
I have spent riding my CBR600 on the road over the past 2 weeks has done me no
favours what so ever.
Race 2:
After a warm up lap of trying to bed in the part worn serviceable pads that belong to
a Disc on my spare front rim at home, I lined up in my #3 spot on the grid. My start
was rubbish again…. I got passed by about 5 bikes off the line to turn 1, but stuck
the bike up the inside to exit 3rd. Held that position all through the esses and tried to
keep as close to the 2 Sarah’s as much as I could. Lap 1 was epic, and I was doing
a little better. On lap 2 as I was coning down the back straight I saw 2 riders and 2
bikes down on the ground in the corner formally known as Dunlop! At that moment
my mind started racing at 100 MPH, as I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My first
thought was that I hoped they were all right. Then I wondered what happened, but
job was still at hand. First I had to make it around there myself, and ensure there
wasn’t anything on the track that would take me out too. All of a sudden I realised I
am in the lead of the race! So I just kept head down and tail up and went for it. The
next lap I went through the yellow flag zone “asking” if they were okay with a thumb
up. I got the signal back from Sarah Elliot, but it looked as if Sarah Rosacker was still
on the ground. As I came over the start finish the red flag came out and the race was
stopped. The Ambulance was deployed to the scene. As it turned out Sarah R was
okay apart from a sore leg, and just took her time getting up. Sarah E suffered some
apparent upper body structural damage so will be off for 6 weeks or so. I know how
she is feeling and I truly wish her the best of recoveries.
Race 2 (Take 2):
We were all sent back to the pits for 10 minutes while the riders and bikes were
cleared from the track. So it was out for a restart….
This time my #3 spot on the grid meant I was in effect on Pole! My main competition
this time was going to come from Marc-Antoine. He has been running the Moto
Academy IMD 250 (NZ version of a Moto3 bike) as well in the 125GP class. So he is
picking up valuable track time….and instruction from Dr Steve Bagshaw.
This time my start was better. Marc-Antoine still managed to get passed and try and
take the sweeping line into turn 1, but I went up the inside of him and got the position
back. From there I rode 5 sweet laps with my eyes wide open and crossed the line
in first place! My fastest lap was a 1:33.143 on lap 4, and slowest was only 0.641
seconds slower. I know where I made that mistake too, so things were working….
Still, I knew I could do better…..
Race 3:
Well this was it. Could I pick up some more pace? As the lights went out I got another
good start. Marc-Antoine tried to challenge me again, but I wasn’t going to let him
have it easy. Then Zane Burrell (#103 Street Stock 150) showed a bit of a challenge
too. Zane and I have had huge battles in the past, but he has been a little “Gun Shy”
since his crash 2 weeks ago. I thought he was going to challenge me some more. As
it happened I got to ride 5 laps out the front again as Marc-Antoine must have made
a bit of an error on lap 2 and never really recovered. I rode the wheels of the 250 and
thought I was going really fast. As it happens in motorsport, what feels fast can mean
untidy and slow… This was the case, as my fastest lap was lap 2 with a 1:34.053. I
made a mistake on the last lap that could have ended up very bad. I was still at turn
3 when my mind was popping the Champaign cork! It cost me about 1.5 seconds. I
recovered and put my mind back on the job at hand. So another 25 points banked
toward the championship.
So with the round win and 72 out of 75 points secure in the Championship with an 8
point lead I was pleased with the results overall. Round 2 is at Manfeild on June 8th.
Thanks go to:
ProRider: The track time, and tips I pick up are invaluable.
Forbes and Davies: for awesome Dunlop tyres and gear.
Celtic Leathers: Still look great.
RNZAF (especially Pauly Martin at the Paint Shop): The paint work is still shiny
Race Fairings: The best replica Ninja 250R fairings out there.
City Honda: Service with a smile.
My partner Coral for all the support on the day and at home.
Last but by no means least, the Victoria Motor Cycle Club for putting on an awesome
Weekend.
For those that are interested the footage from all the racing can be purchased on
DVD from www.ctaslive.co.nz. Or you can watch it race by race for $2.50 each or $20
for the lot for 30 days!
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