Tri-Series Round 1: Our trip

**SWERVE** · 11th December 2011, 19:30

Well it is all over now for another few days.... sitting in hotel room at wellywood as flight home is not until mon morn.
We headed up on wed eve and spent a welcome night (+ breakfast) at the Bernard family home in Wanganui. could have spent all day talking with Brian but he needed to earn a living so we departed mid morning.
Called in at W Whites in Hamilton to pick up race supplies and meet the crew. Then headed off to the Kingsgate hotel for the night. (Thanks Murray)
Got to HD around 10.00am. Seth had ridden here before so had briefed Ants on the journey. They went for a walk off the track while i unloaded and set up.
We decided not to bother timing on the practice day... just using it as a chance for Seth to settle into the new bike & make any small changes.... and for Ants to just learn the track. Both boys had a good day and were happy with their performance.
Race day.
Seth was trying to come up with a way of beating the 250 minilites.... but with a 15+hp lack of power it was going to take even more than he could muster. He managed to holeshot them and hold the lead for the opening lap (almost) but had to accept that HP was gonna win. So sights were set on the lap record for prolite.... he didnt dissapoint consistantly lapping inside the existing record he re-set it at 1:22.3. So he came away 3rd in the overall points..... he is already plotting revenge for Manfield.
Ants really benefited from having Seth as a team mate... they spent all weekend studying footage and info. Ants qualified 7th overall in F3 which was great.... and took a solid 6th place in race 1.
Race 2 never really materialised with several crashes and a restart. He was running in 5th at best before Dillions big crash saw the day/race ended early .... Hope you are ok Dillion...it was a biggie.... and happen right in front of Ants.

So it was a very rewarding weekend for OS Racing. I would like to thank Brain Bernard for his hospitality. Seth Devereux for his results (not breaking my bike again) and his work with Ants. Well done Ants for some solid riding and results. Choppa/Sloan for looking after our van & stuff till next thurs and taking us to our hotel. Murray (KBer) for the awesome hotel deal TOP BLOKE. Mike @ Kawasaki NZ for all his help and time. Ed for a great product and stopping to say hi. And everybody else who stopped to say Hi...... especially Spyda who visit was a always entertaining (did you enjoy ya burger)

Back to work for 3 days then its Manfield here we come.

**Edbear** · 11th December 2011, 20:16

It was great to meet you Merv! The bikes looked good and were very well presented, definitely a professional look! I was impressed with young Seth's efforts and only hope you can find him some more horsepower soon!

Ants is a character and looks composed and comfortable with his racing, confident. Are they good at giving feedback? Important if the mechanic is to get the set-up just right for them.

I hope to catch up at another venue sometime. I can't make Manfield, as much as I'd like to, but I have a lot going on with business and family at the mo. All teh best for the season you seem to have picked a couple of good'uns!

**SWERVE** · 12th December 2011, 19:32

Cheers ED
Making them look good and perform is my part of the deal.
Seth is an extrordinary rider when it comes to feedback..... he can recall every corner / every pass of every lap & has a 1st class understanding of how the bike is behaving. Ants lacks this talent and that is one of the reasons i wanted them together. Ants has learnt more this weekend than he did all last season with Seths help.
It was a pleasure to spend time watching them race and listening to then discuss tactics & stratagies. I hope i can continue to give them the help & support they deserve over the coming season and beyond.

**SWERVE** · 12th December 2011, 19:37

Opps please accept my apologies...............
Seth has not officially set the prolite lap record as it was achieved during an Ultralite race. But he did un-officially run 2 secs under the existing lap record during the race meeting.
He has indicated that there is another 0.5 sec to be found at least......... so we will just have to wait untill March ...eh.

**Deano** · 12th December 2011, 20:01

Good to meet you again Merv. Is Ants doing the Nationals ? He was going very well on Saturday.

**SWERVE** · 12th December 2011, 21:32

Yep he is doing the Nats this year......... so tri series is just to get him dialled in. It could be a tight class this time around.

**SWERVE** · 19th December 2011, 19:16

So it was a 1.30pm flight back to Wellywood. Choppa picked us up and after picking up the van we were all on our way to Palmy and a night at The Chancellor Hotel - (great biker friendly hotel if you want accomodation in Palmy try them and say Merv or Sloan sent you)
We were joined for the night by Choppa & Moggy... thanks for the wine & breakfast moggy

Left for track at 7.00am on friday (dont think it had stopped raining since we got of plane) Changed Ants bike to wets and made some adjustments to the 250 ninj a.
Shouldnt have bothered as it was dry by the time we went out...except the river at T1 and a very damp Higgins. Both riders had a good day with valuable seat time and set up achieved.
Sat saw it fine but very cold, so settings were adjusted once again. Seth qualified 5th overall and 2nd prolite behind Sam Croft. Ants qualified 6th overall and 1st protwin but managed to drop it at splash on lap 7. Bit of panal damage and a broken shifter rod.
Race 1
Seth got a great start..... once the minilites had cleared off him & Sam Croft had a fantastic battle with some very close racing (some closer than close) on the last lap Seth went on the wide line into splash and suffered the same fate as Ants. So a DNF....... but not before setting a new Prolite lap record on the previous lap. This one is official....... so i guess the one at HD last week must be too.
Bike was pretty battered but i managed to fix it (i thought) but in warm up of race 2 the gears wouldnt shift properly so Seth pulled into pits so a DNS.
Race 1
Ants dropped a few places from the start but settled in and made a couple back. He was also suffering gear selector problems (bike wouldnt down shift) so came home 10th overall and 2nd protwin (i think). Race 2 was a repeat of race 1...got a better start but gear shift still playing up.
So it was back to ChCh on Sunday ....... the SV will have to be stripped and checked later this week..... but yesterday evening was spent stripping the ninja and assessing damage. No real majors....every panal is damaged and will need a full repaint (gonna test my limited fibreglassing skills) and tank needs some attention. Thank god the painter isnt going away for the hols.
So overall a successful 2 rounds of the tri-series for OS Racing. Like to say well done to Sam Croft for staying consistant (hope Seth gave you a taste of whats in store at Nats) Thanks to organisers for putting on the ultralite class. Choppa for being a good buggar. All the helpers and race meeting crews.

So a few days rebuilding the ninja and sorting the SV ...... a few days at home ... and then its Nats..... see you all then.

**Edbear** · 19th December 2011, 19:31

Originally Posted by SWERVE

So it was a 1.30pm flight back to Wellywood. Choppa picked us up and after picking up the van we were all on our way to Palmy and a night at The Chancellor Hotel - (great biker friendly hotel if you want accomodation in Palmy try them and say Merv or Sloan sent you)
We were joined for the night by Choppa & Moggy... thanks for the wine & breakfast moggy

Left for track at 7.00am on friday (dont think it had stopped raining since we got of plane) Changed Ants bike to wets and made some adjustments to the 250 ninj a.
Shouldnt have bothered as it was dry by the time we went out...except the river at T1 and a very damp Higgins. Both riders had a good day with valuable seat time and set up achieved.
Sat saw it fine but very cold, so settings were adjusted once again. Seth qualified 5th overall and 2nd prolite behind Sam Croft. Ants qualified 6th overall and 1st protwin but managed to drop it at splash on lap 7. Bit of panal damage and a broken shifter rod.
Race 1
Seth got a great start..... once the minilites had cleared off him & Sam Croft had a fantastic battle with some very close racing (some closer than close) on the last lap Seth went on the wide line into splash and suffered the same fate as Ants. So a DNF....... but not before setting a new Prolite lap record on the previous lap. This one is official....... so i guess the one at HD last week must be too.
Bike was pretty battered but i managed to fix it (i thought) but in warm up of race 2 the gears wouldnt shift properly so Seth pulled into pits so a DNS.
Race 1
Ants dropped a few places from the start but settled in and made a couple back. He was also suffering gear selector problems (bike wouldnt down shift) so came home 10th overall and 2nd protwin (i think). Race 2 was a repeat of race 1...got a better start but gear shift still playing up.
So it was back to ChCh on Sunday ....... the SV will have to be stripped and checked later this week..... but yesterday evening was spent stripping the ninja and assessing damage. No real majors....every panal is damaged and will need a full repaint (gonna test my limited fibreglassing skills) and tank needs some attention. Thank god the painter isnt going away for the hols.
So overall a successful 2 rounds of the tri-series for OS Racing. Like to say well done to Sam Croft for staying consistant (hope Seth gave you a taste of whats in store at Nats) Thanks to organisers for putting on the ultralite class. Choppa for being a good buggar. All the helpers and race meeting crews.

So a few days rebuilding the ninja and sorting the SV ...... a few days at home ... and then its Nats..... see you all then.

Good to see you again Merv! All the best for the rest!