Round 2 was a non-event for me after a wee lie-down exiting the hairpin during qualifying. For some reason the yellow mule wouldn't run after this so was parked up. Getting things sorted for round 3 saw me clean out the carbs, clean up a set of relatively unused sparkplugs, check all the HT leads (replacing 2), check valve clearances and still have it farting about.A thorough check of the ignition related wiring finally revealed that when I twiddled about with my CDI unit connector the engine idle improved. A clue thinks I. Closer inspection showed that some of the individuals pins might be suspect so I did the best bodge I could with WD40 and duct-tape. Several loud blats up and down my cul-desac confirmed a cure had been effected. Sweet thinks I
and cunning plans were made to attend the test-day for a bit of ...well, practice.
Imagine my consternation when the bloody thing still played up on the friday. In desperation I replaced the plugs with another used set and she finally revved out and ran well. Eventually it rained and rather than push my luck I called it a day after 3 sessions.
RACE DAY
As others have noted, immediately after riders briefing it commenced to rain, and didn't really dry out all day. This didn't help the nerves, as I hadn't raced on wets before and my experiences on proddy tyres had beaten my confidence bloody like Mrs Muss. After a brief scramble, I managed to get my wet wheels on and gave F3 qualifying a lunge.
F3 qualifying
I didn't have big goals for the day. All I really wanted was the wet experience, to stay upright and try and stay in the mid pack of riders. To say I was tentative gives the illusion that I was more confident than I really was, and when Nicksta blasted past like a fast chick on a Honda I figured there was some schooling to come. I was definitely taking my time to work out available traction. My best lap-time was a humbling 1:35 but put me 12th on the grid.
Post classic qualifying
Post classic qualifying was a queer fish of a thing. I was trying to push a bit harder but spent a bit of time behind a bunch of riders including Chris Sales on his XR. Seeing Chris in particular being so tentative just confused the hell out of me, while Nicksta and others continued to rip shit up. Too much time thinking and not enough riding. Eventually I dropped back and did my own riding. I managed a 1:34 and was 9th on the grid. This made no sense at all to me until learning that many riders were without wets, or on a similar learning curve to myself.
F3 Race 1
I totallythe first corner by braking way too early and politely letting more assertive folks through. I was still struggling with trusting Mr Metzeler's fine product (especially when cold) but quietly got on with the job of finding some new reference points and sticking with the basics of body position and relaxing the outside arm. To be frank I struggled with this all day and guess that the wet conditions anxiety over-rode my attempts at relaxation, but confidence will come with experience. Regardless, I was suprised to finish with a best time of 1:30 and 8th in F3. 13th on the track.
Posties Race 1
Pretty much repeated my attrocious start from F3. Bloody cold tire phobia. My visor was covered in crap and really couldn't find my groove until maybe lap 6. Something felt better and I started reeling a few geezers in. On possibly the last lap I managed to get past 1 or 2 others who got tangled up in back markers. The joy of this was short-lived due the at the hairpin, when I realised I was running out of gas. I managed to fart and burp my way around from there with the final gasp of internal combustion just before the start-finish line, losing the places I'd manage to gain. A best time of 1:31 and 8th in PC Junior. 11th on the track.
F3 Race 2
Things started feeling a bit more like fun during this race and I remember having a few more dices, but being an old bastard I can't remember who with. Best lap of 1:29, 6th in class and 10th on the track.
Posties Race 2
This race was a hoot. I ended up having heaps of fun harassing Chris Sales, now on his TM for some reason. If I was younger and hungrier I might have tried to put a desperate pass on and chased Rusty down. There wasn't a great deal at stake for me though, so I settled in to see if he'd make a mistake. He did manage to be completely thrown off the seat of his bike in a near high-side out of Splash, but held on to continue taunting me. Just beating me to the finish line. I think I repeated the 1:29 and 6th placing.
All in all I achieved my goals for the day and am working on not being frustrated by the knowledge that there was much more grip available if I had looked for it. The other funny thing is the conflict between being stoked at top 10 finishes while realising that it was hardly a level playing field with many riders not having wets and a fair bit of attrition because of this.
Man I love racing.
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see ya next month.
Originally Posted by roadracingoldfart
. Ta for the push by the way. I have definitely spent too much time pushing my bike back to the pits over the last 2 rounds.
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