After the rain and wind we had to drive through to get to Taupo on Friday I was worried the rain was going to continue for raceday. We got to the camp and set up all the stuff you have to do and shot to the track to see what was happening. A few riders were still there packing up and swapping the days stories but it was a majority decision that the track was in good condition for tomorrows race.
I got to bed just after 9 pm which was a silly move as I was wide awake just after 4 am so I just drank coffee and had a few smokes while reading a Jeremy Clarkson book. Got to the track at 7.10 am and set the tent up with AJ Chappell and his dad waiting for the other Kapiti riffraff to arrive so we had 5 bikes and all the crap in what turned into a messy pit area but it worked out ok.
Scrub session was a bit of a worry as the bike was cutting out going through the infield after a couple of laps and I was cautiously going “slow as” through there to avoid the potential high side that could have come about. I checked all I could back in the pits but found nothing to cause it, hmmmm .
Got the Qualifying mind on and went out putting the misfire out of my head as I knew I had 30 points to gain on Deano and if I got it rite there was a very remote chance of closing the gap today. I was following Deano and had what I though was a bit of reserve I gained him through the infield but he got a bit of a jump down the straight , Then on lap 3 I got the misfire back as I was about to go past him and it scared the shit out of me as a nearly lost it big time going through turn 4 . I instantly slowed and cleaned my pants out and tried to work out in my mind what it was that was causing it to happen. Deano didn’t probably even know I was there but I saw him clear of into the distance and I finished up 10th on the grid.
Race 1 . P/C Junior. Got a crap start and had several bikes pass me so got my head down and started to pass several through the infield but I was weary of the misfire so I had to go round the outside to avoid taking out anyone else. I got my head down and just passed whatever was in front of me and making up ground as I could. Gavin was holding me up a bit but I couldn’t get him so finished 8th which wasn’t too bad. The best thing was I didn’t have the misfire at all for the entire race so guessed it was “all gone now”.
Race 2 P/C Junior. This was a bit of a mixed emotion race for me as it was in essence my final race before officially retiring and after all the racing I have done over the years I was in a bit of a mixed mind with myself.
The flag went down and I just nailed it and stuffed it in with a bit of aggressin in to turn one, got a clear route around a few bikes to turn 2 and 3 and 4 and passed a few more of the bigger bikes. I had a nice line through the new R/H sweepery bit ( joining the two tracks ) and that helped to pass a couple of guys there. I was in a dice with Neil Chappell and Eamon and they were giving me a serious workout . I was a bit slow on lap 3 onto the back straight and they both passed me so I just went to the right and out braked them both, I had a quick look to see where they were and Neil’s eyes were just huge (he told me he thought I was going to overcook it BIG TIME ) but that’s where I brake and turn for every lap so I had there measure through there. I caught and passed Braden Tate and held him through the whole infield but his thing is a missile in a straight line and he passed me down the straight to beat me so I finished 4th in the end. That gave me 3rd in the series so im very happy indeed.
That was it for me, Almost 25 years of holding a handlebar in anger has now come to a close and from here on in ill be helping those that need it with my main focus being the very talented Nicki Smith on the CANBRACE 400 for the VMCC p/c junior class in 2008.
I have been lucky to race at tracks that no longer exist and have met a lot of people that have become great friends. Its been fun and I am lucky to have only had a couple of bad crashes in my time .
Thanks to my sponsors /helpers
CANBRACE BRACING SYSTEMS
SHOWERBUDDY SHOWER CHAIRS
BEAUREPAIRS KAPITI
RPS SIGNS KAPITI
HI-TORQUE M/CYCLES KAPITI.
MY DARLING WIFE DIANNE (who I forgot to thank at the prize giving night opps)
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Originally Posted by Kickha
Just be glad you can't stop being old.
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