Even back in the seventies, my skills were pretty
intermittent, and my nickname was Crash. There was no
way my body or my bank balance could keep up with that
sort of riding style again!
On to race day practice; still nervous, still
twitching, still slow, and still wondering why I was
there at all…..Race one, off the back of the grid,
and into it. I made it around the track, and didn't
finish last, but I could count the number of bikes
behind me on one hand. The GS was pulling OK down the
straights, but I was getting left behind in the faster
corners, especially between the hairpin and the front
straight, and the sweeper a the end of the front
straight. Time to talk to some people who know how to
do it!
Dave Freeman and Sean Donnelly were very free with
advice. Dave on the corners out of the hairpin:
"Just keep it nailed for the first left hander,
this settles the bike and makes it easier to set up
the right hander coming over the hill"
Sean on the sweeper at the end of the front straight:
"Don't use any brakes at the end of the front
straight. Just click it down a gear and hold the
throttle open."
I just about laughed out loud. I thought I was really
brave with half throttle through the left hander, then
a full handful of brakes before the sweeper at the end
of the front straight! It was going to be a steep
learning curve.
Race two: Feeling a bit better. Keeping ahead of
that Z650, and keeping that GS 1000S in sight. 3 laps
into the race and the bike starts farting and
spluttering with fuel starvation. All the hard work
goes down the toilet as the Z650 goes by, and the
GS1000S disappears into the distance. Still, I'm
feeling better, getting the peg and pipe down on the
track, and starting to enjoy myself. Shame about the
carbs, which are mysteriously starving despite clear
float bowls, and despite help from half a dozen other
racers. Hey, these guys are seriously friendly, and
not only did I get my carbs checked out, but I got the
front suspension sorted as well.
Race three, and I'm feeling really good. Slow, but
good, mixing it up with the GS1000S, and ahead of the
Z650 which had both beaten me in the other races, when
the fuel gremlins struck again, and put me back at the
back of the field where I belonged. Time to check out
the lap time sheets. These are great, and were never
around in my day, just a girlfriend (if you were
lucky) with a stopwatch! Lap times? 1'19''s. The good
guys were going 10 seconds a lap faster! Sean Donnelly
took my bike out for the final race, (his normally
reliable Z1 had died badly) and showed what a good
rider could do, holding down 3rd place until the fuel
gremlins got him as well.
End of meeting. Both the bike and myself are still
in one piece, and I'm buzzing! I have got a huge
"improve bike shopping list" and I'm
determined to get back for some more. My impressions
of this fast growing class? Just great. Cheap to get
into, abilities range from ex works riders to complete
novices, extremely helpful and friendly people, and no
pressure. The people who compete are the ones that
will keep me coming back. Thanks to Sean, Dave, John
Carter, Kevin Grey, Vince Sharpe, Ross Buchanan, the
guy I carved up exiting the track to the pit lane
without indicating (for not naming me at the rider's
briefing), and all the rest for their friendliness to
a novice, and last, but most importantly: Alistair
Wilton for organizing the whole thing. I'm sure a heap
of work went in to that.
To all you procrastinators out there: Get those
bikes finished and on the track. This is a great
class, and a ton of fun.
Postscript 1: Two meetings later, clean carbs, some
progressive fork springs with heavier fork oil, and a
bit more confidence, and the lap times are down to
1'14". The smile is wider, and the wire wheels
and alloy rims are ordered! Seriously hooked!
Postscript 2: 1 year later, a new bike with 1100
big bore, wider, wire wheels, 33mm smoothbores, Dyna
2000 ignition, no alternator, fully flowed head, and
braced frame. The lap times are down to 1'10" and
the highlight of my season was my last race where I
scored a second behind ex-Honda works rider Vince
Sharpe (Who was just playing with me, and could run
away at any time during the race…)
|