6 Mar 2010

SUPERSTOCK 600cc

The first race for the year is always very exciting! You can't beat the adrenalin rush of lining up on the grid for the first big race of the year. With no practice under my belt since last year, I felt a bit under prepared and in a less than ideal situation as I like more track time to feel good on the bike. There was also the looming evidence that the new control tyres for our class weren't as good as the control tyre of 2009 but I was sure after a few laps of The Island would soon tell if I liked them or not.

There were small set-up changes made to the bike in regards to the suspension to compensate for the different tyres and 'Pinky', my trusty Yamaha R6, had a brand new set of shiny pink fairings ready to race. It was pretty hard to miss me out on the track with the pink colours and it was a great way to gain profile for the McGrath Foundation.

QUALIFYING
Approximately 30 riders entered my class, the biggest field of the weekend. With so many riders on the track, qualifying was very busy on Thursday morning and with only 20 minutes to get the bike sorted, it was all very hectic.

Surprisingly, I managed to qualify in 10th position on the grid, with a personal best lap time! What a great way to start the season and with no practice. Although most of the riders complained about front end grip with the new tyres, I seemed to have more of an issue with turning the bike! The new set up made it more difficult for me to tip the bike in on a turn and when exiting the corner on the throttle I seemed to run wide. With some more time on the bike I am sure I will get a better feel for it, but I wasn’t complaining with top 10 in qualifying, that’s for sure.

RACE 1
I got a terrible start. It is extremely daunting having 30 riders all aiming for the one race line in the first couple of corners. I was a bit hesitant on the first lap and dropped back a lot of positions as the race settled down. However, I fought my way back through the pack of riders and picked off riders one by one to finish the race in tenth position. A good start to the year and I was happy with how things went.

RACE 2
A much better start this time and I tried to be a little more aggressive on the opening lap. But I missed some gears and lost a heap of momentum that allowed other riders to overtake me. I passed a few back but by the end of the race I finished 11th. I would like to have stayed up front early in the race and try and match my pace with the leaders.

RACE 3
With the amount of races scheduled for the day, our final race was at 6pm and I was ready for dinner, not racing. Things were going well until my last flying lap when I decided to overtake a rider under brakes through a hairpin turn. I was going too fast for my own good and I couldn’t pull the bike up in time. So rather then T-bone the other rider, I decided to try to tip in hard on the right and make the turn. I cranked it over, all the way over and went down. I also took the other rider with me.

That was a disappointing way to finish the weekend as I was headed for ninth in the race and that would have given me a pretty good overall result for the day. 'Pinky' only ended up with a few small war wounds that can be easily fixed and she will be ready to go for the next race.

Racing resumes in three weeks time at the opening round of the New South Wales series. By then I hope to have had a lot more practice and feel much better on the bike. I might also learn how to use my brakes properly and not take myself out when in good positions.

Again, thank you to all my sponsors who make racing happen.
Yamaha - McGrath Foundation – YRD – Shark Helmets – Axo Boots – Ixon Suits – Belray – DID Chains –Cunninghams Property - FYI Property – Smeaton Grange Paint & Panel - URM Group - Action Motorcycles – Roland – Fancy Dog Accessories.