The older I get, the faster I was... 

The old GS thou and its rider both twitched nervously as they came over the hill and down into the front straight at Pukekohe Raceway. As I concentrated on keeping the bike in the dry line (it had rained all morning) I wondered what the hell I was doing here, trying to keep a 20 year old bike and much older rider upright around a racetrack.

It was practice day before the inaugural Historics meeting, and I was keen to get rid of my mounting nerves, and rough lines before the racing proper started. It didn't work, and race day came around far too quickly. It had been over 21 years since I had been on a racetrack myself, and to add to that, Pukekohe was completely new to me, as I was a Manfield boy. It had also only been a year since my return to bikes after giving them up in 1982, so confidence was not present in abundance.


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…)
   

© 2001 Craig

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