Well cheery well and truly popped!!!
This was to be my first intro to racing/passing/being passed and attempting to get to the finish line before all the other buggers on the track. What a day...I'll start at the beginning...
Saturday 29th November.
I was busy getting my bike on the trailer, organizing generators for my tire warmers, loading spare rims with wets on (which turned out to be a complete waste of time) and ensuring my gearing was sorted for my first ever race...PMCC Round 1 clubmans. I left Auckland rather flustered and hot from scrambling around most of the day sorting the finer details out and trying to remember things all the while this thought bouncing around in my head of "Faaaark Marcus....your going racing!!!!"
I had a non eventful trip to Taupo and that afternoon I ended up at Jamie Rajeks place for a bbq and a few bevies. The conversation mostly consisted of him calling me a girls blouse for entering myself into clubmans and not going straight into F2 to play with the big boys! I left my bike attached to the trailer still at his place and drove around to my sisters place for what I was hoping to be a good nights sleep.
Sunday 30th November - Race Day
My alarm went at around 6:30am and I jumped out of bed sprightly like and looked out the window....partly cloudy was the forecast...those parts seemed to be very small because where I was looking all I could see was blue blue and some more blue....what a mint day!!! (ok...part of that sentence was a lie...I mean, who is sprightly at 6:30am?!)
I tip toed about the house ensuring I didn't wake my 2 year old niece and have the wrath of my sister to contend with and got myself ready.
Out the door I went, successfully managing to not wake a sole in the house....got in the car...put the key in....turned it.....nothing.
I had left the headlights on and the battery was totally dead! Typical....back into the house, up the stairs sheepishly knocking on my sisters bedroom door asking if I could borrow her car to tow my bike to the track...of course she obliged :-)
I picked up my trailer from Jamies place and went up to the track. We set up site right by the track exit into pit lane and then went for a walk around the track as neither Jamie or myself had ever seen this track before.
After check in, Scrutineering and riders briefing I was still feeling fairly composed and remarkably I wasn't too nervous. The open class motards were called out for practice/qualifying and I was eager to watch the procedures to see what to expect when the called out clubmans. The deal for the day was, all classes were given 8 minutes practice time on the track and our laps were timed throughout this period. The fastest lap would get pole position for the entire day....all three races, so a good position was my first goal.
Finally it was my turn....I was suited up and ready to go sitting on the dummy grid waiting in the slowly heating up sunshine. we eventually were ushered out onto the track and I got my first taste of the track in a non-track day environment. First lap I went slowish just to get my bearings, second lap I picked up the pace and by the third lap I was going for lap times. Throughout the practice I actually felt pretty slow and even though I didn't get overtaken at all I wasn't very happy with my lines and performance....although I did feel confident that I would certainly be near the front.
First buzz of the day....position 1, Marcus Beagley 43.324sec! Although I was happy, once again I felt composed and almost expected it somehow....non the less I was very happy with pole position as it would mean I would start at the front for the rest of the day.
Race 1 - Went around the track for the warm up and came to line up on the grid....I was first there so had no reference to go by and the marshal was up the track further sorting out the motards (up to 450cc) who were to start 10 sec ahead of us. I missed my grid position and had to push myself back to where I was supposed to be...Doh! As I was going back I noticed everyone was already lined up correctly and I was still in second gear....before I got to my position I made sure I changed my gear to first with the clutch in as I had a sneaky suspicion he would drop the flag quickly once I was there....sure enough I got there and off went the motards....I revved my ZX6R to 12000....leaned forward over the tank....let the clutch engage slightly....and applied the brakes at the same time......green flag was up.........DOWN! I let the clutch out and applied full throttle....feathering the clutch to keep my front down....still in front....second gear....front wheel pops bout half a foot as I hit the throttle again....third gear.....still in front......time to brake...down a cog and I'm first to the corner.
I continue in the lead riding wide lines like I was at a track day...I quickly get up amongst the motards and overtake about 4-5 reasonably fast until there's a bin on the exit from the hairpin. I see the yellow flag as I'm pulling up behind yet another motard. I know not to overtake on the yellow but wasn't sure if that was just there or until I saw a green flag again....so at the risk of not getting disqualified I sit in behind the motard not wanting to overtake. I don't see any other flags out on the track but still I'm hesitant about overtaking....so I stay there....slowly circulating the track...come past the crash again and the yellow is still out so I wait....another lap goes...nobody has overtaken me yet either....I reach the crash site for the third time and its clear.....I gas it past the motard and ramp it up again getting a 43.496 lap time in the end....I finish first!!!! My first ever race and I won.....and won too easy! I was pretty happy with the result but not with the race. I was unsure about the rules so went and asked....I was of course able to pass away from the crash site but at any rate, the motard was not in my class so could have passed him anyway!
Race two
Start much the same as the first and I'm first to the first corner....round that and go really wide again like a track day preparing for the hairpin, about to turn in when two Yamaha's (R1 and R6) scream up on the inside of me and force me long. They both get past and now I'm third. Oh its on like donkey kong!!!!!! I follow them for a couple of laps when finally I see my opportunity....the R1 is in front but pushes too hard into the back sweeper and goes wide.....the R6 sneaks under him and its at this point I remember watching motogp and seeing it on a regular occasion that two bikes get up under a bike when they leave a gap like that...yeah...that's right I'm out on the track thinking I'm a motogp rider!!!!!!!! So I gas it a bit and get my front wheel right on the arse of the R6 and push under the R1 while my left knee is dragging on the ground! Hes closing the gap....sees me and stands it up slightly but we rub.....meanwhile a motard is coming in on him further out on the track and he gets the big elbow from the R1 and apparently goes off the track! But I'm through...back straight I get a good drive out and catch the R6. I end up getting him too and finish second race......first place!!!!!! This race was more satisfying....we had some good racing out there.
Third race I get a shit start...there was a delay as a motard had stalled and I was surprised when the flag dropped and I bogged down. Got to the first corner in third and stayed there for most of the race watching and learning both the R1's and the R6's lines. I out braked the R6 before the sweeper onto the start/finish straight and ended up getting the R1 exiting the corner at the end of the start/finish straight by changing my line to adjust my exit to get underneath him and force him to let me take the hairpin in front. Third and final race of the day......I won!!!!!!
So all in all I had a fantastic day with great racing with Reece Pickett on the R1 and Shane Tunnicliffe on the R6. Both gave me a run for my money in race 2 and 3 and what a blast we had!
I'm loving the METZELER tires and I'm finding more and more confidence each time I go out on them! I gotta thank Mt Eden Motorcycles for all your help and Motott Track days for helping me gain experience on the track to improve my riding skills.....thanks to all my supporters too who made the trip from Auckland for the day...hope you guys thought it was worth it!!!!
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Originally Posted by jrandom
Very good read
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