Hi All,
I had the Friday preceding Round 5 off, so rather than enter the Manfeild "Test Day" I decided I would be better just to relax and go over my bike in slow time, and prep for the next days racing.
I headed into Palmerston North and got some new blood for the bike in the form of Motul 5100. I also picked up a measuring container for fuel while I was there. I decided to get my petrol there too, as it would save me 15 minutes the next morning.
I Changed the Oil, and re lockwired up the drain plug, filter housing, and filler cap.
I then carefully measured out the amount of fuel I would need for practice, and race 1.
I don't want to run with any more weight in the 250 than I have to.....
RACE DAY:
Woke up to a glorious morning, and headed to the track.
I set up the Pit Garage I was sharing with my Team mate Chappy, and our mate Eamon Timms.
We all went to riders brief and returned to the garage to get ready.
The F2 bike was out first, and shortly after the Pro-Lites/ Street Stock/ Mini Lite class.
Practice:
Headed out and felt very relaxed. The most relaxed I have felt all season.
I rode around getting progressively quicker, guessing I was at about 1:33's, and wanted to put in a real flyer for lap 4 (Final lap of Qual). I got a little baulked as I tipped it in to Splash by another bike that didn't want to go as quickly as me through there.
Not to worry, I managed a 1:33.487 on my third lap which put me 8th on the grid (Outside Row 2). I was right beside my team mate who qualified 7th on his Street Stock with a 1:32.041, so I was always going to be 8th anyway.....
Upon returning to the pits I check the fuel gauge, and it was pointing to E for Enough. This is exactly where it has been for previous races, so there is no need to put more fuel in.
Race 1:
We got the call up, and I head out nice and early, as I needed to hold the Street Stock for Neil, as he was coming in on the 600 and swapping bikes.
We were there for a little while due to a short delay on the track.
After the delay we headed out onto the track. I warmed the bike up nicely, and got ready for racing.
Red lights come on one by one.
I "select" some high revs on the Ninja and as soon as the lights went out, I feed in the clutch. I took off like a Bullet into turn 1. So good I found myself around the outside of everybody.
The line is quite long, and i wasn't really confident to hold the corner speed, so let a few bikes around the inside (Not by choice).
I settled into a comfortable pace and watched my team mate battle with a Mini Lite (I think it was Dale Albrecht), Street Stock with Tyler Lincoln on board, and a Pro Lite with championship leader Sam Croft on board.
I had a box seat for this battle for 5 laps. Then as I got the white flag my bike started to splutter! Dang, that would be the "carefully" measured fuel!!
I only managed to get to Splash before the bike was completely dead!
I sat there and watched the field go by.
Needless to say a few emotions were running, and I was trying to piece together why my "calculation" had failed......
I was also trying to do the maths on my championship, and came to the realisation that this would mean I loose my second place, and there would be little chance for a win....
After some thought I realised where the fuel went....
I forgot to add fuel for
- the engine run I did for the leak check post oil change
- Running in and out of the pits twice
- Sitting on the dummy grid for an extended period of time.
As it turns out a cup full would have got me home.... 500 mls would have been better!!!!
Once I saw the race results, I saw I did a 1:32.644. Just over a second off my PB, but the wind was pushing us around a little.
I also saw Simon Vollmer got a DNF as well. Apparently he had fuel issues too...
So second in the championship was still on!
I then put in the required amount of fuel in my bike, and 500mls more for contingency!!!
Race 2:
Lines up on the grid for a damp race.
Again I got a ripper of a start. So much so my team mate wondered where I was going, and thought i had jumped it!
As it happens I hadn't, it was just a ripper.
I didn't get the drive I wanted out of turn 1 though, as confidence in the amount of traction around the outside of turn 1 was an issue.
Simon Vollmer came up the inside of me, and I thought, "That isn't in the game plan", so I attacked him back through the esses.
Simon and I had a great battle for a couple of laps on the damp track, then coming into Higgans I heard the terrible noise of a bike sliding down the track behind me!
As I was tipping into the corner I was keeping my mind on the task of cornering, but hoping Simons bike wouldn't hit me.
Thankfully it didn't. I had a look across once I had exited the corner, and saw Simon was okay. Apparently he had tucked the front on entry, and I didn't cause the incident.
I rode on and then came upon a yellow flag at turn 1.
I then saw Sarah Rosacher running across the track without a bike.
Dale Albrecht was riding on the infield with another CBR250 attached to his.
Apparently a CBR500 V8 doesn't work so well, as their lap times dropped by a whole minute!
I crossed the line 4th over all with a lap time of 1:40.329.
The weather then really couldn't make up it's mind what it was going to do.... I was going to get organised and pack my ute before race 3 so i could simply load the bike on and relax for the rest of the day. However I ended up helping swapping wheels on the F2 bike in a mad rush to get it out on the correct rubber!
Race 3:
Well the most consistent thing about the day was I got ripper starts.
I ended up behind the main bunch, and knew I still don't have an answer to Sam Crofts pace.... So I rode around essentially by myself just to keep the rubber side down and finish a solid second. Then I noted that Blair Mason was closing on his GPX250.
I continued at my pace until he caught me. I just wanted to have a little battle, and Blair wasn't really going to take any points off me, as Simon was behind him by a little way.
So once Blair caught me, and got passed i sat in behind him to study where he is strong, and where he isn't.
It has been a few rounds since Blair has competed, so it was great to have a dice.
I found the Ninja 250R has a little more top end than his GPX. Not sure why, as I don't remember it being that way..... It might be my corner exit speed has improved, and I am further up the rev range on exit.....
After a bit of a battle I managed to beat him over the line by 0.071 Seconds....
My fastest lap was 133.166.
It is always good to put on a show for the fans.
Many thanks to:
Team Air Force Racing and the RNZAF
Celtic Leathers - Sam is always at the track for us
Dunlop Tyres - They stuck like glue all day
Racefairings - Great service there Billy.
Cheers
Aaron
Team Air Force Racing #42
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Originally Posted by quickbuck
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