Hi all,
Well, today was the first round of the Pacific Motorcycle Club Series, and it was going to be my first time racing only on the 600. I was entered in both F1, and F2, and was really quite excited.
Sure enough, the forecast showed the only day where it was supposed to be really crap was today (Sunday). And for once they got it right, it rained lightly nearly the whole day, apart from a break where the track dried just in time for lunch, and rained just in time for my next race just after lunch. This was especially bad for me, cause I haven't got round to organising some wet tyres.
First practice, F1, track was wet, so I took it easy just getting comfortable on the bike, and pushing slightly harder with each lap... still quite slow by the end of the session with a 58.8 second lap. 7th out of 9.
Second practice, F2, not much later, and I managed to chop that down to 53.3 as a slightly dryish line had formed, this left me in 7th out of 14.
First F1 race. The track was still quite wet, and I was one of very few with dry tyres on the bike. Started pretty average. Johno came past in the first couple of corners which put me back in 8th. But I wasn't going to let him get away with it. Swapped the position with him a couple of times, and eventually got confident enough in the wet conditions that I was able to go a bit quicker. Got clear of Johno, and started working on the next guy, Cleve. Had a couple of goes at him, but ran really wide a couple of times trying to overtake with plenty of room. Meant I had to go off the race line to where it was a lot wetter. Made a last challenge on the sweeper, but ran really wide just trying to be cautious not pushing the tyres too hard. Didn't get him, but I was gaining confidence. Happy after that. Finished in 6th with a 50.1
First F2 race. A dry line had really started to form. I was looking forward to pushing a bit harder on the bike. Got a reasonable start, but was muscled out of my position by a couple of guys in the first corner. I was mildly annoyed, but was willing to settle in for a bit of a chase as the field spread out. I picked up the pace quite a bit, and gained a couple of places back, and by the end of the race I was back in 7th with a 46.64 second lap... not a bad improvement from the 58.8 at the start of the day :P Was pretty happy, but knew I could do better.
Second F1 race. Well, the track had really dried out in time for lunch, and towards the end of the break, the weather packed in just in time for this F1 race. Bugger, I was looking forward to getting to show those wet tyre boys a thing or two in the dry. The track was getting pretty damn moist. At the start, I took off alright, held my place, tussled with Johno for a bit, and kept picking up the pace... started riding the 600 nearly as well as I had ridden my CBR250 in the wet, judging traction limits by throttle slide and front wheel slips. Felt really good, and kept up a good pace. Had moved up to 4th place, and was rapidly gaining on third despite my dry tyres. I caught right up to 3rd along the back straight, and he braked before me, which left me with extra speed, and I was going to try passing him on the outside into the left hander, but he started moving wide, which pushed me to the edge of the track where there had been about a 50 cm track widening, but there is still the white line on the old edge of the track. Got on the brakes as I went past, but as I started to turn towards the left hander, I was still on the brakes as I went over the painted line, and the next thing I knew I was sliding along the ground. BASTARDS. Tried to get up to run towards my bike and pick it up... but I hadn't finished sliding yet. In fact I was still sliding really very fast, and this put me into a bit of a tumble, started bouncing around, bugger I thought, as I rolled over on my helmet. That'll cost me. Finally I came to a halt. I noticed the guy that I had slipped off next to had a bit of target fixation, and followed me straight down the overrun connection to the new circuit. I had nearly made it all the way to the second circuit in my slide.
Thought the worst as I ran towards my machine, I could tell it wasn't running anymore, was expecting to see smashed crankcase, missing pegs and levers when I picked it up, but was stoked to see the damage limited to tail fairing damage, and very ground down lever, bar, and footpeg. Awesome. Tried to jump on to restart and rejoin, and noticed that the gear lever linkage bolt had come loose aswell, oh well, no biggy, start pushing it back. Stop, wait for the race to finish, and head in. Dad took it quite well, I think he was happy to see limited damage as I was, and I learnt another valuable Taupo lesson relatively cheaply. Managed only a 50.5 in the second lap, but was picking up the pace.
Second F2 Race. Gav, jumped in and soon had my gear linkage back together before I could even find an Allen key. So I was back out there looking a bit more ruffed up than I had started the day, but with a new found determination and confidence to ride well. That was soon swallowed up by the worsening conditions, and all of the motard boys that they had put in with us. The bastards were pretty much all on wet tyres, and using that foot down technique to keep their bikes stable. Got my arse handed to me in the first corner, and lost tonnes of places to the motards. I think I like having more riding space than the average. Anyway, tried to settle in, but had trouble finding my groove after being really rattled by my spill in the previous race, plus the track was only getting wetter. Followed Paul around for the last couple of laps, and made a move on him on the front Managed a 50.187.
Other stuff from the day. Congrats to Gav (HDTBoy) for his 3rd place in the Post Classics, the only race he managed to get his bike to run for on the day. I think his electrics got a bit wet, and the bike just wouldn't run.
Thanks go to Jill... deja vu. This is the second time she's come to make sure I'm not injured after a spill at Taupo.
Cheers to Johno, Cleve and Paul, for all the tussling, made it really fun out there.
And finally thanks again to mum and dad for coming along and sharing the excitement with me.
Fun and gaining confidence.
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good on ya
Originally Posted by Keystone19
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