jrandom's PMCC round 2

**jrandom** · 26th January 2009, 20:24

This no-licence thing sucks balls. Had to take Friday off, bus down to Napier, and then catch a ride with the ever-helpful Paddy (speights_bud) to Feilding that evening while the also-ever-helpful Biggles08 and prettybillie stopped off in Taupo on the way through and picked up Betty the GSX1400 and my riding gear.

First time I'd ever been out at Manfeild.

Set my XT Racing lap timing transmitter up, took Betty out for a practice session, did a few 1:31s in lieu of walking the track, and thought "meh". Y'see, prettybillie had told me earlier in the week that I could take her GSX-R600 K4 (hot cams, custom tune, Ohlins rear shock, Traxxion Dynamics fork cartridges) out for a play on Saturday, and I'd kinda started to like that idea.

So I went back in, clasped my hands in supplication, batted my eyes in my most battery fashion, and was given permission to proceed on the 600.

Way hey hey!

I spent the rest of the day figuring out both Manfeild and the K4. Apart from being an inch lower than stock on the rear and slightly oddly-tyred (BT015 front, Dragon Supercorsa rear) it was nicely set up. A very capable machine. Way more bike than I could really put to good use, but hey, I'm not gonna say no to a go!

Nice choice of bike there, prettybillie.

And y'all know what Manfeild's like, so I need not elaborate on that. Nice fun fast track, not very technical, plenty of space to go around other riders (or be gone around), has its own unique drag-racey charms, etc.

Saturday night in Feilding, Quasi, the good c00nt that he is, came down from Hamilton and dropped my new one-piece off. Dead sexy. Thanks dude! (I'm sure the fact that he was dropping off one for Glen Williams on the same trip had nothing to do with his readiness to come down on my account... and he didn't even bring the KTM for a play on Sunday!)

Sunday morning we all scoot off to the track, I hop into my shiny squeaky new one-piece and head out on the 600 to qualify.

That's right, prettybillie said I could go ahead and race on it. Greater love hath no KBer... of course, I had to agree to the usual "you break it, you bought it" terms, but to be perfectly honest, having to invoke that would've been a good excuse to just go ahead and get a racebike... ahem! Some yellow insulation tape over black duct tape created a passable imitation of a '256'.

So anyways. They let us out and hellooooo, what's this, I can't hardly lift my legs up onto the pegs, or bend forward, or sit back, or stick a knee out. Ah, fuck. I guess there's something to this "breaking your leathers in" idea after all. It's like being in a straitjacket. I ooze around the track for ten minutes huffing and puffing and stretching my limbs around on the bike, doing 1:28s.

So I've just learned about the necessity of breaking in new leathers at the expense of being stuck at the back of the grid for both Clubmans races.

A bit of cussing follows, I change back into my nice supple battered old two-piece, and Race 1 rolls around.

I realise as we roll up to the grid that I have never done a proper start on anything other than the 1400 before. Eeep. So I just sit the revs at 10 grand, sit forward over the tank, and feed it some clutch when Nasty drops the green flag. Seems to work OK.

The fast boys fuck off to do their 1:15s (the four Clubmans front-runners got kicked out into F1 and F2 for Race 2; I'll let Biggles08 tell his story later), scuzeme and sinfull tuck in behind them for their private Yamaha vs Triumph battle, and I espy a Superduke in front of me.

Several laps of the most fun ever followed; the KTM and I must have passed each other a good half dozen times. I had the lighter and more powerful bike, but I'd had less than an hour riding time on it and that track; he had wads of tractable V-twin grunt and the advantage of familiarity with the track and his machine. Absolutely super battle.

By the time the white flag came out I had his number and had a plan together; on the last lap, he outbraked me into Higgins, I kept my revs up, tucked in behind him and got my nose ahead and put some ground on him along the back straight on the middle of the track; he outbraked me again into Dunlop on the outside line, and I blipped the 600 down into second and got on the power early to shoot up the inside of him and out onto the front straight for the chequered flag. Victory ne'er tasted so sweet!

We were both pretty much bouncing up and down on our seats during the warm-down lap, and ended up giggling like schoolkids in his garage afterwards talking back through the race. If any of yous who ain't had a go at racing are reading this, lemme tell you - there ain't nothin' as fun as this shit.

1:22s all the way through that one.

Race 2, I fluffed the start. Bog, mini-wheelie, bog, mini-wheelie, oh, look, the rest of the field is 100m in front of me and I'm mucking around looking like a right twat. There goes my chance of another play with KTM dude. I got a bit down about it and just sort of followed the field round. Had a play with an SV, but my heart wasn't really in it. Sat behind him and repeated my "come out of Dunlop up the inside on the power on the last lap" move, but it wasn't really for real that time, and SV dude obviously wasn't that interested either.

1:23s/24s that time. But at least missus sinfull got some photographs!

Well we can't really be having THIS situation now can we.

Nyah, nyah.

And then, last race of the day, PMCC announced an 'invitational', ie, anyone who wants another race should come out and line up on the grid wherever they feel is sensible, motard riders have to keep their feet up, and everyone generally just goes out and has a blast for six laps.

Wheeee!

Paddy had won his Streetstock races, and Betty the 1400 was feeling a bit neglected, so he took her out for this last race. I followed him around on the 600 (actually, I nipped in front of him into turn 1 and stayed there for a couple of laps until one of my standard gear-shifting cockups, at which point he and someone else shot past, one on each side - threesome!)

Great fun to watch Paddy riding Betty like she likes it, and I squeezed out my best lap of the day during that race, a 1:21. Paddy had moved the timing transponder from his RG150 to Betty for that race, thereby setting a new record as the first Streetstock bike to record a 1:21 around Manfeild, I suspect.

Can't wait for Round 3.

Big thanks go out to:

The lovely Stickchick, for coming along, smiling at me when I'm flustered, remembering to pack my deodorant and clean socks, and generally being a good sport about my odd hobby of riding motorcycles around racetracks.

Biggles08, for putting Betty on his trailer and hauling her all the way from Taupo to Feilding and back again. And then not complaining when I left her sitting in a corner of the garage all weekend.

prettybillie, for letting me ride her flash new bike!

speights_bud, for the taxi ride to and from Napier and being generally good company as always.

sinfull, scuzeme, NinjaBoy and all the rest of the guys - wouldn't be much of a race day without someone to race against! Not to mention NinjaBoy sorting out the garage hire, cheers dude.

PMCC, for running a great weekend. Keep up the good work, Nigel!

**Tony.OK** · 26th January 2009, 20:34

Good meeting ya dude...............I sense a big purchase in your near future in the form of a racebike

Too much fun innit?

**jrandom** · 26th January 2009, 20:43

Originally Posted by Tony.OK

Good meeting ya dude...............I sense a big purchase in your near future in the form of a racebike

Too much fun innit?

Likewise!

And, mm hmm. Hmmm. Hmmm...

**scroter** · 26th January 2009, 20:51

Thats my SV your racing with, my mate on it, his gearbox on his motard packed a sad on saturday so i let hem race my bike in clubmans. good bugger he was, warming up my tyre's for the Pro twins.

**Biggles08** · 26th January 2009, 20:54

Hehehehe...you were smiling like a schoolboy in the girls changing shed brother! Nice report D...and big betty was looking a little sad all the way back to Taupo....kind of like a dog on the way to the vets to be 'fixed.'

ahh well, I'm sure Kiwifruit will put her to good use :-D

**robertydog** · 26th January 2009, 21:12

Sounds like you had a good day. Well done.

**sinfull** · 26th January 2009, 21:41

Was a bloody good weekend mate, pleased ya went to the effort to get down for it ! Know it sucks relying on others to get ya around, but hey it goes to show ya surrounded by like minded friends who'd do anything to get a man and his wheels going round and round !
Now go make Betty look all pretty and tradeable like ! Tell ya what, that 6 of billies would have been a worry had you started riding her like ya do betty, its got a bit of grunt ! Taupo should be fun !

**jrandom** · 26th January 2009, 22:49

Originally Posted by scroter

Thats my SV your racing with, my mate on it, his gearbox on his motard packed a sad on saturday so i let hem race my bike in clubmans.

Ah yes, that'd be why he was entered under something other than #83, eh? There was some minor confusion over that on the dummy grid.

Poor Nigel was scratching his head over all the mismatched numbers; I think there were three 256s on the grid for the invitational. (Me, Paddy with #256 on the front of Betty but running his #22 transponder, and some other dude from F3 with the same race number.) Two to the power of eight is obviously popular.

Hope I didn't get in your mate's way too much!

Originally Posted by Biggles08

ahh well, I'm sure Kiwifruit will put her to good use :-D

He always does. Any Coro GP hopefuls are gonna have to lift their game for the rest of this summer, I suspect.

Originally Posted by sinfull

Now go make Betty look all pretty and tradeable like !

What a shocking thing to say! Betty's going to get all Givi'd up shortly, and will spend the rest of her natural life leaving nice black stripes on public roads as God intended.

A proper garage has two bikes in it, and since Jody won't let me race on the Scorpio... well, say no more.

Originally Posted by sinfull

Tell ya what, that 6 of billies would have been a worry had you started riding her like ya do betty, its got a bit of grunt ! Taupo should be fun !

Mmyesssss.

**sharky** · 26th January 2009, 23:05

Very kind is that PrettyBillie

**slowpoke** · 27th January 2009, 01:10

Hahaha, the lure of the track sucks another one in! "I'm not addicted....honest.....I can give up anytime I like...."

Good onya mate, well done, but I kinda feel sorry for Betty all gussied up for the prom and she's left forgotten in the corner, poor ol' thing. I'm glad someone gave her some lovin'....