Cleve's report AMCC Rd 1
Report is a bit late...
Didn't feel like writing a report after what happened to good friend and team mate Paul at this round.
I also had to leave the next day for business in Thailand and write this now from a hotel in Bangkok.
Puke should be banned for racing. Racing is dangerous and you can have offs and land badly but the worse that should happen is a few bruises, maybe cuts and at very worse broken bones. But a 180kph plus corner that is bumpy and with NO run off but just a solid wall next to it is just plain criminal.
I am still a bit shook after the event and can't stop thinking about it. With Greg, we were just behind Paul when he had his big off. We saw him as the crash was ending. He usually runs about the same as us but in that race he was a second a lap faster (1.04's) and was obviously going bloody well.
I have considered stopping racing but the message from Paul is that he wants Jill and I (and anyone else as well I guess) to keep going and not stop racing. I haven't told my wife yet what has happened to Paul and I am not sure what her reaction (and withdrawal of support) will be.
At least I will be seriously considering never racing at Puke again, as much as I, at places, just love the track (and with sufficient run off on those bad corners would be an awesome place to race).
Anyway on to the report. Two 5ths in F2 was OK. It was also where I qualified. And lap times in the 1.05's. I had new Ohlins on the rear and traxxion internals on the front by Robert Taylor just a few days before the meet and was really looking forward to trying a bike for the first time in my life with real springy parts. Need more track time to have them sorted properly though. In places they were awesome (coming in to Castrol) and in places horrible (coming into Jennian - but then again I think everyone was being bounced around there...)
Thanks to Shaun for his adjustments at the track as they weren't set up right at the start and to Kevin and the team Jill and Paul for the usual.
All respect and love to Jill for what she did that day. An awesome result (3rd in race 2 after Paul's crash). You and Paul are younger sister/older brother to me.
May see you all at round two, but as I said, still not sure on that one...
"...New Zealanders, for all their faults, have virtues that are precious: an unwillingness to be intimidated by the new, the formidable, or class systems; trust in situations where there would otherwise be none; compassion for the underdog; a sense of responsibility for people in difficulty; not undertaking to do something without seeing it through - "
Michael King
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Originally Posted by deano
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