Headed to Manfeild Thursday after work, camping the night in Mangaweka before arriving at the track Friday morning. This weekend the plan was to race F2 (supersport) and F3 (superlite) on the SV I am currently running and Streetstock on the RG150.
Chucked out a few 1.24s and 1.23s on Friday in practice on the SV but was struggling with trusting the front end. We made some suspension adjustments which improved things a bit. Billy took the RG out and immediately announced the clutch was stuffed and would need fixing so no track time on that at all.
Saturday went out in qualifying for F2 - my goal here was to qualify. I had my doubts as I am still getting back on form after my crash a couple of months ago. I qualified 28th which wasn't last so I was happy with that.
Qualifying in F3 and my goal was a top 10 start. Again, I was not all that confident but thought it was a realistic goal. Qualified 7th on the grid beside Torque.
Race 1 F2 and I had a fantastic dice with Glen on another carbed SV. I love the endurance format. He was really starting to tire at the end and we were switching places constantly. He got me in the end and I finished last in 22nd place. For some reason everyone we passed either crashed or pulled out!
Race 1 F3 and I got a great start slotting into 6th in corner 1. Got some consistant laps in and managed a 4th place finish behind Glen again.
Lap times were consistently improving throughout the day so that was pleasing.
Sunday dawned damp and we had some discussions about tyres. Decided to stick with my now increasingly well loved slicks (this was day 5 on them) and cross fingers it dried out. It stayed dry and I went out for the scrub in session to bed in new brake pads and a new chain.
Race 2 F2 - another great dice with Glen. Again he managed to stay ahead of me - I really struggled with the last two laps of this race - not enough food and drink on board I think and lost all my lines. Managed a 1.19.8 though so was pretty pleased with that.
Race 2 F3 - a good start saw me heading into turn one in 5th I think. Settled into a rhythym and pulled my fastest laptime of the weekend 1.19.6. Still not trusting the front end on the carbed SV but still picking up the pace and feeling comfortable so happy with that. Finished 6th in this race.
Race 3 F2. Finally managed to beat Glen this time by blocking every move he had for the last two laps...fantastic fun!
Race 3 F3. Starting to feel the effects of long races, hot weather and not enough to eat or drink. Still managed a good start after Rob nearly lost his SV into me wheelying it at the start twice! 6th place again this time, just getting pipped at the line by Glen.
The RG never made it onto the track but I was happy to concentrate on the SV for now. Pleased that I was still able to be toward the front of the field in F3 despite being on a different bike and not feeling 100% on form. Managed to drop 4 seconds off my lap times in 3 days so happy with progress. Also happy with the suspension changes we made on the bike although the front end will need some major work to really feel good. I really enjoyed the weekend, learnt heaps (particularly about not bringing my kids without a child minder), practiced all the things I had intended to practice throughout the series, and generally just had a ball!
Huge thanks to Graeme Billington from AutoCycleRefinishers for all his expertise in the pits, advice and support. Also thanks to Cherie (Madduck) for her, as usual, extraordinary pit crewing! Thanks also to Haldanes Motorcycles and www.kiwitrackdays.co.nz.
I won't be at the next round as Casey Stoner has requested my presence at the MotoGP at Philip Island (yeah, ok, I'm doing pit crew for the New Zealand 125 contingent - close though!!). So I hope everyone has a fantastic time at Taupo!
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Originally Posted by Drew
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