Well it's been months in the making, but all the track time paid off today !
I made up my mind that this is what i wanted to do (after experiencing my first race start at manfield in round two of the pmcc series) Ya just cant beat the feeling ya get on the start grid !
I'd missed the first round at taupo, so it was a newbe on the grid at manfield for round 2, as much as being a newbe at manfield (had only been there once before back in march 08 for my very first track day), so i got my arse kicked in race 1 and came 7th (this dumbarse virgin even gave the thumbs up to scuzeme, who came up beside me on the last lap and let him lead to the finish, hehe thought i was being lapped ! Doh !) Ok not a virgin for race two, but shit the adrenelyn was pumping !
A few of the faster lads who were owning clubmans, were asked nicely to piss off into F1 and F2, which they decided to do then and there. Which of course would bump me up to 4th, if things remained the same as they did in race 1 (not if i could bloody help it i thought, a third in my first start would be mint)
Gave it a nudge and got another fair start, but once again i couldn't quite reel in the thous that were ahead of me and once again Scuzeme did just that as he slipped past haha 4th it was !
Enough of the history lesson, but that is why i made up my mind that i was gonna have me a podium at the next round !
It's been a lot of miles travelled, but i knew that to do any good at this round at taupo, it was gonna come down to track time there, so what do ya do ? Ya do every god damn minute of tracktime available (which i did) to the point where apon arriving home after the third trip to taupo in a week just the other day i said, enough is enough and after this weekend "thats it for the desert road i'm sick of the sight of it" (hehe not so sure now ! I hear via napier is a nice sceenic route in winter though)
Quallifying
One thing i'd learnt in round one is that the triple gives me a reasonable launch off the start line, so the front is where i wanted to be and i might just be able to hold it with some good cornering !
Well i thought it best to get to the front early in qual, as we were mixed up with streetstock and an nice clear track sounded good !
Thought i'd cocked up lap 1, then lap 2 i made more stupid first session errors ! Oh shit 3rd lap and i hit traffic, damn i'd taken off too early, grrr lap 3 is usually my hottest, the next two were medioca
Anyway i quallified with a 1.43.3 in my first lap (a PB) first on the grid after Roses empty spot RIP !
Race 1
I knew there was a chance i could launch better than the 600's of Scuze me and Dvs69 who were lined up in 3 and 4 beside me, behind me i had Wharfy on his 675 and to the left of him was richard on a superduke, who had a clear track due to an empty grid 1 !
Flag dropped and the shakes were gone (replaced with blowing hard, down away from the visor lol) brilliant getaway apart from hitting the rev limiter slightly !
Put the head down and put in a hard as possible lap to see what gains i could grab, then (i know i know never look back) just a quick glance, then another at the next corner and another hehe, hey i was working it ! Plan was if i did gain a second or two in that first lap i'd just try and be consistant, no need to overcook corners and trying too hard if i dont need to, i figured if i had a gap behind me smoothness would get me there !
Well i did see a flash of white closing the gap on lap 2, that had me blowing a bit harder lol, so yeah i put the head down and stopped looking back or thinking smooth lol, even had the arse waggeling crazily under brakes now and then !
Not again ya wont i was thinking, haha not again !
Back markers came, but most were at opportune moments, with only one close call where an RG took the wide line at T7, then decided he should be more to the left when he powered on oppps, near plowed into his rear wheel !
Well i managed to get home with a good few seconds margin on Dvs with Scuzeme nowhere to be seen, so had to go looking for him to see why, as the way he was going, i was sure he was gonna be right there behind me, but thats his story !
Rocked into the pit and the shakes came back ! Yesssssssssss, god i love adrenilyn, no drug has ever done that for me !
Race 2
Same plan, get a good launch and hold it (the odd glance maybe lol) !
Well the beginning went well, but then by christ, the front came up, about 5 meters off the start line, shit, short shift to second, yep got it through into second, shit the fronts up again, to hell with it i'm going in a straight line, so powered on and lifted the front a few more inches lol !
Things went pretty much the same as race one, with me giving it a fist full for the first lap and then a glance.
Cool, things looked good, Dallas and Darrin were battling with the torquey bears bikes through the infield and i had a full T7 on em. Tried to be smooth with no mistakes for another lap or so, then a glance accross the grass when i got on the back straight, no dvs or Scuzeme, shit they should be right there coming onto the sweeper, quick look behind, faaaaark, there was DVS, he's on the straight too. Flashbacks of him and i at manfield at the last couple of trackdays we did together a month or so ago, both of us had knocked seconds off our times chasing each other around and knew he could hang on to me, with his nose near up my tail pipe, so wouldn't take a big mistake to let him through and that he was bloody hard to get past, if i did let him through !
So it was head down arse up and flew through turns 12 13 14 then T1 with no mistakes, i must have gained a little there in desperation, as i knew the infield was his and yep a glance left at T7 showed he was right there again shit, knew he loved and was fast through the fast left T8, so i stepped it up a knotch further than i ever had through there and totally fucked up T9 haha, ended up doing the judder bar jiggle over the ripple strip !
Thank christ i never hit the grass or he would have had me and the strip was slippery enough at that pace !
Back markers were an issue as well and that trip accross the strip must have let him catch a bit more, but i wasn't gonna look again and went for it into the back sweeper, back end waving like mad !
Last lap and 5 back markers on the back straight, knew Dallas would be close behind, so i appologise to whoever was on that S/S, but i had no choice and figured he wouldn't follow me inside ya through T12 at that pace haha, shit i was braking all the way accross that resin, but pulled it off !
Next S/S i got on the inside of the resin on T14 and i knew Dallas would be holding nothing back to get throught them and then try to out power me to the line, so i didn't just cruise over ! Yeah got him by .7 of a second !!!!
Got to the pit a sweating, shaking, high as a kite adrenilyn junkie !
Wooohooooo i had pulled it off !
At this point i'd like to thank the bears riders who assisted me in this endevour, by also getting the jump on the screaming jappas and running block for me for the time that you did
Bwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha !
Edit :
On a side note !
Just Had a little look at the points table and found there had been an error made on the talley sheet, as somehow my name had been put down twice once with the 32 round 2 points i earnt at manfield and once with the 50 i worked for on sunday, which gives me 82 points !
That puts me 3rd equal with Reece for the series, but of course it wasn't noticed on the day and i missed out at prizegiving !![]()
Oh what could have been if i'd done all 3 rounds aye, only needed another 11 points from 3 races in that round 1 to knock marcus off top spot !
Might just get me a plaque made up to hang on my wall anyway !![]()
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