THIS is a Long report!
Prep.
I really, really stuffed up rebuilding and engine for str8 Jacket before the event.
After heaps of late nights I finally got the engine running on wednesday night, rode it home and it seemed mint, much better than my own
Everything seemed gravy I was happy to finally be done.
I started it up on thursday morning, all good, pootled out of the driveway and then shhhhhhhhhhhpwing CRACK!.
The fingertight bandit strike again.
I'm lucky I have an understanding boss that had just mentioned I need to burn up some of my excessive accrued annual leave...
So with a begged two days off I managed to pull the enige apart and after a bit of a panic and a call to Peter Jones knowing we had a back up plan with a spare engine possible though him I was able to settle down and crack into it.
Luckily (in a way) because the damage was all gearbox based due to some idiotleaving a balancer shaft nut fingertight the big end and tope end were fine meaning I had enough parts spare to make one complete engine.
The Engine was started about 5pm On friday and ran mint, Sorted!
The Actual Race Day.
I was worried somthing mechanical was going to go wrong but apart form a NAST grabby homemade clutch cable on my bike everything wroke out fine in the mechanical department.
That was one big win for the day
Qualified 5th on grid, 3rd 150.
I came ahead of Zane Brookes, (normally much faster than me) I was surprised.
Tazman was in 7th, I was determined not to let him beat me in his first race but I was starting to get worried...
Race 1.
Usual Story,
Really Bad start,
Make up a few places in the first lap.
Work real hard to make up a few more over the rest of the race.
Tazman made me work HARD to beat him by a wee bit I think this may have been the race I got past him when he ran wide on the hairpin?
Scary moment apexing splash at the wrong point due to traffic, out of the seat over that ripple strip lump bit.
Race 2
Worse start.
Thankfully I had more laps (15) to try claw back but the Christchurch riders were making that a real task, they are FAST espcially with less pactice on our lovley track!
Huge epic battle with Taz that I hope is on video...
The White stuff on the hairpit and Higgins really got to me!
Race 3
Best start yet, cocked it up after that tho by getting a bad line out of turn one, a CHCH rider with spyke leathers, the CHCH NSR150, the KTM orange #16 CHCH rider, a Beutiful Blue CHCH bike with a rear bubble and that DAMN TAZ all got past me between the exit of turn one and the end of splash.
I was caught in a pack with these riders, except the NSR which made a nice clean break.
we battled it out while the lead pack dissappeared into the distance.
It was great fun because we were all around the same speed and it was very close dicing.
Battled TAZ for a bit, right on him until he asked a fraction to much from his front tyre tipping into the hairpin and washed out.
Bugger!
Managed (just) to not follow him.
Got clear of the orange and blue bikes by a tiny weeny bit to beat them to the line by way of a Scary fast sweeper entry.
The finish was SOOO close between the 3 of us:
57 Malcolm Nabbs 9:30.755
20 Matthew Hoogenboezem 9:30.902
16ch Cameron Hudson 9:32.411
Apart from the injuries sustained by others (get well soon guys!) It was a pearler of a weekend.
I was stoked with the close racing and the great fun, Str8 was happy as to have had such a great time and while TAZ was fair gutted about binning it I think he enjoyed it alot overall.
When I was tying the bikes onto the trailer they called my name out.
They thought I came first for the weekend, I went to tell nasty she must have got it wrong, I got 3rd, 3rd and 4th. Surley not enough for first place.
She showed me the paper and said somthing like "Nope, you won by 2 points."
Yeehaaa!
Consistency is all I could say!
Upon reflection it was pretty much bum luck that worked in my favour with Speightsbud breaking down in race one and a few crashes putting people out and some of the faster CHCH guys not competing in all the races.
Im happy to take it any way I can get it tho!!
Thanks heaps to:
All the other streetstock riders, It is mint racing against so many good people.
The CHCH riders for coming up and giving us a good schooling, it was humbling to be having such great close racing against young up-and-comers.
The pit. (Hells, Paul, Gary, Deano, Luke, Vicky, Drew, Kerry and KTL, Rob, Cherry and the Anglo American Motorcycles Crew, Tony, Marty the typeface guy and Alan the pitbitch legend!)
You guys make the race day, the social side of this scene is so shitloads better than sentances with eccessive esss sounds.
Peter Jones for all the work he unselfishly puts into the streetstock class, the man is a true legend.
Marshalls and volunteers for making the event happen, you guys - and gals rock!
The fingertight bandit for leaving us alone for this race.
You poor bastards reading this ramble
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! Bring on round 6!
Originally Posted by Kendog
.. great stuff seeing you & Hels buzzing for the weekend & whew the bike went .. at least it went kaaaapow before the weekend & not during it 
Karma ... Justice catches up eventually !! 
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