The beauty of having a BEARS bike is you get a LOT of racing! The 675 has meant I have had a pretty full race schedule this summer and the latest meet was at Ruapuna on 24/25 Feb for the Sound of Thunder meeting. It was the 24th running of the meeting (25th anniversary next year should be good).
I arrived at the track at 7.30 on saturday morning and soon realised (by the fact nobody was there) that the meeting was pretty layed back. Got about 4 practice sessions on Saturday morning, I went back to my national settings and the only thing that was different was my tall gearing I left on from Paeroa, this helped quite a bit as the bike was a lot more settled using 2nd through the infield sections and had good drive out of some of the 2nd/3rd gear corners. The track was pretty slippery and had slides everywhere, you tend to get that when you have a bunch of old ducati's/triumphs/bsa's etc dripping their way round the circuit and a scrutineering check that was as tight as a cardboard sump plug.
All the first day races were first in best dressed for gridding, we had one Best of British race and a Formula 1 race on the Saturday, BOB ended up 3rd behind Paul Dobbs & Chris Huddlestone (both on 675's) after having some good dices with Chris. F1 and I was running in 2nd most of the race, caught up to Dobbsy on the last lap and we came up to 4 backmarkers into the dipper, I went tight he went low on the entry and Dobbsy still held the lead then through the dipper I went tight and he went high and I came out in front, into the last corner and I had a bit of a spinup which let him just get past me on the line by a wheel.
Lots of racing on the 2nd day, Best of British race I finished up 2nd after Chris crashed going around a backmarker at Nanas (Dobbs in front again staying ahead of me by only a bike length). Second F1 race Chris Huddlestone pulled finger and led the way, I had a good battle to get in front of Bruce Telford and stayed there for 2nd again, Bruce and I had a coming together at the hairpin (both of us stayed up) which I though nothing about until I went to put the bike on the stand and saw one of the stand spools had been sheared off when we collided!
A grade races next and after an average start off the 2nd row went about chasing Chris (great starts and racing by Lee Munro on the 999 who was doing an outstanding job - big ups!), got him on the last lap on the right hander before the dipper to get the lead but as I found out later the oil flag they were waving on that corner they deemed to be a yellow flag so I got relegated to 2nd place. Doh.
As for the rest of the day, Conti Cup (for treaded tyres) got 2nd behind Dobbsy, last A grade race got 2nd again behind Chris and the North vs South got 2nd behind Dobbsy which I might add North Island won!
So all up 2nd in A Grade, Best of British, Conti Cup, North vs South and 1st in Formula 1. Was a really fun meeting and definitely will try to get back down. Shame it clashed with the nationals at Manfield (where my times would have put me about 7th/8th) but will be at Pukekohe next weekend for last round of the nats.
Thanks to Dad & Peg for coming down to support & huge thanks to Dobbsy & Bridget for carting the bike all the way down!
Thanks as always to my sponsors:
FREDCO MOTORS
TRIUMPH, AMPS, CASTROL, METZELER, FFM, FORMA, CORSA DISMANTLERS, SDV, WOODCRAFT, WAIKATO SANDBLASTING 0800 SANDBLAST, PROTECTA INSURANCE.
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Originally Posted by Dean
, I too kinda have a curvy figure which makes it worse beacuse im a guy. Well the waist kinda goes in and the bum pushes out. When I was in college the girls in my year would slap me on the arse and squeeze because apparently it is firm, tight...
I wear jeans
how was ya arm...??? 
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