NZSBK Rd 3 Sidecar report

[Warwick]

Ruapuna Nationals 2009 Rd 3

As usual I took the Friday off to help set up at Ruapuna and we went out for a few easy laps to make sure everything was ok

Tim had been saying his outfit was weaving under brakes and as we went under him at the hairpin I could see it squirming around as he got on them, one lap later we come back around and see the yellows out and he’s parked off the edge, turns out the lap after we passed him he got on the brakes the outfit flicked around and they turned it upside down, so that’s one slab of **** already owed for the weekend

All was good with us so we parked it up, checked it over and buggered off to catch up on some people, I wandered over and introduced my self to Choppa who was turning is some fairly respectable times for his first visit to Ruapuna

Saturday

At the track nice and early and we gas up and check tyre pressures, it was pushing the front yesterday so Dave hooks out the back shock and makes a small change to the preload

It’s heating up and looking like being a fairly hot day, so drinking water is nearly a full time job

We head out for P1, unlike previous years the first session of the day is practice only and qualifying is the second

P1
We do a few laps and then hooking into “Pothole” we loose the front and its off over the ripple strip and out into the grass, we gather it up and head back to the pits, a quick discussion and back out for another couple of laps, despite the heat it feels very slippery and we pull back in not very happy with the way it’s going and a 1.52 sec lap proves just how slow we were going

We check the gas and top it up, bleed new fluid through the brakes and after a bit of discussion about the session we’re wondering what to do when Dave decides to lower the gearing which turns out to be the single best thing we do on the outfit

The lovely Joni turns up with food and drinks and for us and immediately sets about making sure we’re hydrated and fed

Q1
Immediately I notice the change, it punches off the corners far better and feels much more controllable mid corner and on exit

We’d decided to go out do a couple of warm up laps then hit it hard for another couple and that’s pretty much what we do and when the times come out we’re third on the grid and have done a 1.46.796 which is a personal best and we’re pretty happy with that

Another look over the outfit, check the fuel consumption and gas it up and the waiting starts, it doesn’t fell like it’s getting any cooler and I’ve been through 3 litres of water so far, I soak the T shirt in a bowl of water and put it back on to try and cool down which works for about 30-40 minutes before it dries out

We’re first up after the lunch break and I’m getting my gear on as the 5 minute call come through and wondering whether I’ll handle the 30+ degree heat for the 8 laps

We’re on the grid and waiting as someone down the back ****s up there spot, 30 sec board moves off and the revs come up

The Launch isn’t bad and we’re behind Stacey/Louise but Pete the Pirate gets a flyer to drop us to third, we get through T1 with no drama but Steve/Denny cocked up the start and have the “angry face” on and come hammering past with millimetres to spare just before we hit pothole, the Lawrence’s were about to try an outside pass at the same spot but Chris decides against it and takes us into the hairpin instead and then passes Pete the Pirate

We spend the whole of the race trying to pass Pete the Pirate, he’s faster on the straights and we gather him up under brakes and through the corners, We hook into the hairpin out a bit wide and turn in and just about rear end him, we’re both fairly loose through the right hander after the hairpin, through the left and into the infield sweeper, the outfits lighting up and I’m shifting around trying to find us a some grip, onto the front straight and he pulls a few bike lengths and we close him down under brakes again, I’m yelling in my helmet to “****ing pass him”

My right hand is hurting like **** due to the heat off the oil cooler blowing directly onto it and I’m looking for the white flag, **** it not this lap must be another to go, we’re the closest we’ve ever been and looking for the gap and not finding it, white flags out and we’re coming up on back markers, Pete the Pirate slips past them before pothole, Dave has hung back and we get good drive out of pothole past the backmarker and latch back onto Pete the Pirate at the hairpin, through the infield sweep and we’re spinning up, along the short straight and we’re running out of corners, we carry more speed through the righthander and shoot up the inside before the left hander, the pass is untidy but it sticks and we lead him through to the chequered flag, 4th place and a new personal best lap at 1.45.876

Back into the pits and our adoring public flock to congratulate us , we’re well happy with our result and lap times and think that if we’d past Pete the Pirate earlier we’d go faster again

Well tomorrow we get another chance and hopefully we can step it up a bit more

I’d also have to say a big thanks to our local support crew (Joni) she turns up to support me at every meeting, makes sure we’ve got food and water and is very supportive of me and my chosen sport (and cook an awesome banana cake which all the guys loved))

[Warwick]

Sunday, Day 2

I changed a few tyres last night as we wanted to fit a new rear for the two Sunday races and swapped some over for Steve Brons team as well, so we fitted the new rear on the outfit, fuelled it up and had a look over it

It’s already looking like another hot day so we’re guzzling water like it’s going out of fashion and trying to stay in the shade

Scrub session rolls around and we head out for a easy 4 laps, I always find the scrub session a good warm-up for the day rather than going straight into the racing

Race 2

Stacey/Louise get a flyer and Pete the Pirate/Jono not far behind, the big surprise was the Lawrence Bro’s coming from somewhere behind us and going past us on the inside and the taking Pete the Pirate/Jono through T1

I’m expecting Steve/Denny to come blasting past any second but looking around can’t see them, turn out they fired the clutch on the ex Reeves/Farrance #77 outfit and didn’t even make the start

It’s looking like a carbon copy of yesterday with us hard out trying to get past Pete the Pirate/Jono; they slow us through the infield but have enough punch out of corners and down the straight to make it very difficult to pass

Stacey/Louise are parked off the side of the track around the hairpin after a faulty kill switch put them out

We turn it in tight coming out of the dipper trying to get up the inside and then Pete the pirate/Jono misses a gear and we’re through

We pull a couple of bike lengths and with a couple of laps to go we’re looking good, but we’re coming up on back markers, through the dipper on the 2nd to last lap and Bill/Trish baulks us on the way out and Pete the Pirate/Jono are now right on our tail, they’ve got a few extra HP than us so the make the pass easy down the straight, we’re within a bike length through pothole and alongside into the hairpin, less than ½ a bike length in it through the infield and I know Dave will go for the pass where we did it yesterday, we go in hot into the right hander trying for an outside pass and next sec the outfit is coming around, I get flicked off the side but are still hanging on with my left hand (no slab of **** for the boys today) back on the tray, Dave hits the starter and we’re off again and run home 3rd without losing a place

Joni is waiting to help me get my gear off and has a wet towel ready to drape over me, what a little lifesaver she is

We give the outfit a quick look over fuel it up and are good to go, with a couple of hours between races we’ve got plenty of time to rest our weary bodies and as usual the lovely Joni does a superb job of making sure we’re fed and watered

Dave and Spike in the meantime seem to be having a competition to see who can show their testicles to the most people


We hear Dave being called to the control tower and wonder who he’s managed to **** off now, turn out some enterprising guy on the other side of the track was charging people $20 to park their cars on the bank on the south side of the track using signs left over from a car meeting , with Dave being such a fine figure of a man they wanted him for intimidation value to help sort the guy out

Race 3 NZGP

I think a bit of CBF (cantbe****editis) is setting in, it’s bloody hot and it’s been a long day, we roll up to the grid and it seems to take forever for the 30 second board to move off, the starts is a duplicate of the previous one, Stacey gets a flyer followed by Pete the Pirate/Jono and the Lawrence’s coming from behind to slot into second by going up the inside straight away

I’m expecting Steve/Denny again when I see the green and white outfit behind us at the hairpin but the clutch repairs haven’t worked and it’s Jim/Wayne on the ex Hegarty Windle who’ve made a good start and are slowly coming to grips with the outfit

We’re slightly off our previous pace and Pete the Pirate/Jono pull a gap, we maintain it for a few laps but can’t close it down

I’ve started taking my hand off the left handle down the straight as it feels like it’s getting burnt by the hot air coming directly off the oil cooler and it blows straight into my helmet when I tuck down, bloody wonderful on a cold wet ****ing down day but not so great when it 30+ degrees before we even get on the outfit

Through the infield and Stacey/Louise on the ex Abbot/Biggs outfit have spun off on the same corner we did and are rejoining the track as we come through, they’re on the outside of us and we take them between the two lefthanders into the dipper, they blow past us down the straight and for the next lap or two have a bit of a battle with Pete the Pirate/Jono

I don’t even notice the white flag but I’m bloody glad to see the chequered , we pull back in and Joni has the wet towel and rinks ready and ha become quite good at stripping my leathers off

We absolutely rapt to find we’ve finished 3rd overall for the round, our best National round finish since we’ve raced together and also our best lap times we’ve ever done at this track

As usual Joni did an awesome job running around after two sweaty smelly guys making sure we kept our fluids u and got fed and it’s fantastic to have her support

Roll on Manfield

[bestfit]

A great report and congratulations on your 3rd place overall!