i weNtEd rassing!!!

**kickingzebra** · 30th October 2006, 14:56

I wented racing in the weekend. It was wet. then it was dry. Then it was really wet.
I got beaten by Cleve. Then I bet Cleve. Twice.
Then it got even reallier wet. I went slow and did wheelies and got points, cause no one else raced.
i got my first podium finish. I was third. In F1. I think I am the man.
Yay!!

(real report still coming, ease up englandish nazis, I is just joking.)

**WRT** · 30th October 2006, 15:29

Congrats - sounds like you had fun. Good to meet you on Saturday.

**vtec** · 30th October 2006, 20:55

That was one bitchin' write up Johno. Ten points for effort out of 100

**Cleve** · 31st October 2006, 13:58

Originally Posted by kickingzebra

I wented racing in the weekend. It was wet. then it was dry. Then it was really wet.
I got beaten by Cleve. Then I bet Cleve. Twice.
Then it got even reallier wet. I went slow and did wheelies and got points, cause no one else raced.
i got my first podium finish. I was third. In F1. I think I am the man.
Yay!!

(real report still coming, ease up englandish nazis, I is just joking.)

Happy to make your day Johnno, but remember when it is dry I KICK YOUR ZEBRA ARSE...

**kiwifruit** · 31st October 2006, 14:01

good stuff! 3rd in F1? thats impressive, keep up what ever you are doing

**kickingzebra** · 1st November 2006, 09:57

Ok, the real report...

Was at the saturday Kiwibiker and Suzuki Track day, which apart from a little rain in the morning, was a mint day, absolutely beautiful. That was great, got plenty of whizzing around the track done, and began reliably dragging both knees. No wheelies rule was anathema, so I managed my first ever (pathetic) stand up!
I cleaned completely my brake calipers, popped the pistons and all, and now I can see why braided lines are the shizz... Serious stoppy action going on!
I went so far as to be raving about the standard item brake pads, tokicos, bugger all heat fade etc. Mint!

Eveing before Race day came up, and we figured it was probably gonna rain, so went to the warehouse, spent life savings on easyup type gazebo thing, and tarp for the ground.

Wise choice. It was pissing down, on and off and on and off all day.

So after wise discussion with fellow compatriotic competitor, Motobob, we stuck on front wets first thing in the morning. I also swapped off the rear super corsa for a shinko 003 which I am trying to test.

The wets were good, but a first for both of us, so we didn't exactly qualify greatly. Oh what drama there...
First thing, at riders breifing we are told, we are using tim gibbes timing system, but when it comes to forming up on the grid, just go where you think you should...

HUH??? Lucky we are all fairly self effacing, so did pick pretty good spots.

First F1 practice, knwoing that they are not running the qualifying system, I dodder around, (first ever time on that end of the circuit) and try get used to front wet, and a brand new, not scrubbed in shinko rear. And its wet.

No dramas, but after I get in from F2 practice, I am told I qualifyed practically last... Thats fine, but what happened to no qualifying?? Arghhh... never mind, I was happy to live with it. So the first F1 race comes up. 9 people on the grid, (one a 125?!!) it is still wet. I started a bit harder, and was chasing, and passing, and being passed by Jason. I slowed down when coming out of the left hand sweeper (final corner on that track) I had just passed Jason, and the rear let go, and gripped, and let go, and gripped.... Me an Paul are kinda cruising after that I think, trying to get a feel for riding in the wet. I manage a liesurely 7th, and most are around the 50 second fastest lap time, so pretty close racing really. The track was very slippery.

In F2 it had started to dry a little, so the pace was a tad quicker, but my arsehole was still trying to recover from nearly devouring the seat in my near highside in f1. 11th at 46.642 fastest lap. The fastest lap (Ricky Mckay) was 42.730, full wets. So still tight racing, with a feild of 16.

I changed tyres in the gap, not happy with what a drying track was doing to my wet front, and so put the brand new (unscrubbed) shinko 003 on the front. Matched tyres, Hoorah!!

Third race of the day, F1 with 8 starters, I got an OK start (for me)... Better than my usual front wheel in the air and rear wheel spinning.... Hit the corner 5th or 6th i think, then one lap into it, sitting at 5th and then Jason decides to do a face plant. Saw him spinning off into the difference, and instead of my usual Cautious approach, I gunned it. Everyone else was going cautious (except the ones in front, who couldn't have known it had happened?)
Got past Cleve, and then past the zxr 600 that was out, which put me in third!
Pretty stoked really. Saw on the next lap around that Jason was up, so carried on as close to full tilt as I could with dry tyres on.
The race ended, and the next guys behind me were 2.5 seconds away, so I was pretty happy with that.
The weather started packing in again seriously, and so the next f2 round was the last for a lot of folks. I came home 10th, all the motards were running with us... Bastidges, when it is wet, they enjoy themselves more!! Slides are home territory for them, but not me!!

So came home, still getting points, and decided that even though the weather was bad, I would stay out there for points (and experience) anyway.
Shinkos are OK in the dry ish, untested in the dry and warm yet, and passable when tyhe track is damp, but when it is wet and dripping, not so good.

The Next F1 and F@ races were like that.

Jason and Cleve, both on supercorsas threw in the towel when they looked at the track, but Paul and I, brave on our production tyres thought, bah, she'll be right!!
After a lap, Paul threw in the towel, I was slipping and sliding everywhere, had to run off the track once, because I couldn't do anything else. Every time I crested the slight rise outside of the clubrooms, my front would go into a slapper (controllable) and the rear would fishtail like crazy. After i ran off the track I slowed down. Gutted to be passed by a 125, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. Power is in fact nothing without control. I still await my rear wets, haha!!

The next F2 and even Paul had deserted (fair enough too) But I had nothing to lose really, only 5 in the class depending on how you count it, points, and valuable wet racing experience.
I said to everyone in the pits, Bah I am gonna cruise, and just take the points.
Then came my best start yet, which saw me take out some motards off the line... With a start like that I thought, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna race it... then I lost the front end into turn one....found it again just before I ran off the track or crashed, Removed the seat from my rectum, and turned into a nana. Points points points!!

So I did a few wheelies, crapped my daks a lot, it was just puddles and everything... Squid lapped me, throwing a shaka my way, but i had had my quotient of seat suppositories for the day, and just cruised on in, dropping a wheely, but unable to keep it up over the finish line... One day...

So The funniest thing was, that race, where i came last and was lapped by nearly the whole field was the most fun!!!! I came in, and glad to not have to worry about warmers etc any more, leaned the bike against the trailer, and went to watch Aunty Jill and my mate Dave do their thing.

daveage did bloody well for a wet day, and his first race ever, qualifyed only 2 seconds behind me!!! On a dang 250!!!

Jill was working some magic, and enjoying her new wets...
What a day, what an awesome bunch of people, and the most fun you could have in the wet with your cloths on...
(wet and cold, not the other)

Hmmkay, so, thats the story, extended remix.
Hope it was as fun for you as it was for me!!

**Keystone19** · 1st November 2006, 10:27

You must spread some reputation around before giving it to Kicking Zebra again...When did I ever give you a rep?

Great write up. You were flying in that second F2 race! And you answered my question about the Shinkos.

Can't wait for the next round. Might have to do F2 myself...lol.