NZ SuperBikes Round 5 – Pukekohe
This weekend was a bit of a nightmarish weekend with a number of bike and rider problems which made racing quite challenging. Despite these issues I was able to qualify and start both races. The focus of the weekend was the learning experience rather than the results achieved as this was the first time for me racing at this level of competition.
Friday free practice: Pukekohe is not my favourite track and as it was 6 months since the last time I was there I desperately needed some track time. I took the day off work and got to the track early. The first session was a wet track but clearing skies suggested we would have a dry track later in the day. I went out with Phil Endean (toast) and followed his lines. I completed a comfortable few laps and on accelerating onto the back straight I suddenly found the rear sliding around to meet me! After a few milliseconds of trying to regain control I gave in and let the bike slide away from me.
Back to the pits for some hasty repairs and ready for the second session. Now on a dry track I circulated without incident but finding the track extremely bumpy. In third session I had some gearing changes and suspension adjustments to iron out the bumps in the track. I was a little late out and joined half lap behind the group. I did a few uneventful laps and on coming into the hairpin, one of the lapping riders cut me off at the apex. Unfortunately I grabbed the brake and lost the front. This time the bike got away with little damage but I earned myself a ride back to the pits in the Ambo. A graze to the elbow, dislocated jaw and some bruised ribs. I also wrote off my favourite helmet. A trip to the A&E that night revealed one cracked rib as well.
Saturday Practice and Qualifying: After a restless night I arrived at the track early with an ample supply of Panadol. Setup was quick as we were able to leave our gear overnight in the Marquees. The day was shaping up to be dry and clear.
A flat battery denied me the first practice session. With some luck I managed to find a new fully charged battery from the Yamaha dealer up the road and put my dead one on the charger.
Second practice came around and the bike started first time. I circulated without incident but still finding the track very bumpy. Then in the 8th lap on the back straight my instruments went blank. I quickly exited to the pits where the bike died. It would not restart and I pushed it back to our pit. After some checking it was revealed the battery was not being charged and on further investigation I found the rectifier/regulator was melted.
Unable to find a replacement I decided to leave it out and hastily reassembled the bike for the qualifying session. With limited setup and track time I went out for a ‘now or never’ attempt to qualify below the 115% cut off. Half a dozen laps round and my lap timer indicated I was off the required pace, with my ribs now aching I stayed out for 3 more laps. In the final laps my lap timer showed I was on pace and the official timesheets agreed ! I qualified for my first ever Nationals grid.
Sunday Race Day: Scrub in was wet and 3 more showers passed before the first race. I made last minute decision to change to wets for race one. On the grid, to my horror, I was one of only two bikes with wets. We lined up on the line but was sent back to the pits while Jamie Galway, who highsided on the warmup lap, was retrieved.
I frantically changed to dry tyres but only managed to get the rear on and went out with a wet front. I was allowed out after the group had completed its first warmup lap and circulated round to the start. I got a good start but was squeezed out in the first corner. I chased hard but the level of movement from the wet front made going over the hill and the fast turn 1 quite scary. I was told the bike was visibly snaking across the top of the hill. I gradually lost touch with the group and finished a lap down in 18th.
Race 2: The track was dry and no frantic wheel changing was required. I got a good jump but bogged on the line. This time I got a good tow from the rider I was chasing. Lapping consistently in my PB lap times the bike was working well and the bumps were less noticeable. But on lap 14 (of 20) down the back straight, the familiar blank instrument panel signalled my battery was about to die. I pulled into pit lane and sure enough the bike died outside our Marquee.
While it would have been nice to have achieved some good results (or complete the race) the main goal of the weekend was to learn as much as possible in preparation for a future Nationals campaign. This I achieved and have definitely learnt the importance of bike and personal preparation and planning. Equally as important is the support and encouragement of your supporters and support crew.
I would also like to thanks my sponsors who have made this weekend possible.
Metzeler tyres have been awesome providing unparalleled feedback and confidence.
Maxima Oils for all your lubrication needs in Engine oil, chain wax and coolants
Botany Honda: See Danny and his team for all your motorcycling accessories and making the above sponsorship possible
TripleZee Cycles: John for providing support and encouragement and his skill in dyno tuning the bike to get the best possible performance. See him for all your Dyno tuning and Electrical needs and FactoryPro parts
Special thanks also goes to Eddy Rotteveel for coming to the rescue with his spare tyre warmers after discovering on Friday morning my rear warmer was not working.
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Originally Posted by Toast
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