2010 Nationals Round 2 - Teretonga - 22nd to 24th January

After the previous weekends fairly average results I was chomping at the bit to get out to Teretonga and start riding the 450 like it deserved to be. Having had so little time on the bike I was still in the very early stages of getting the handling right and continued the changes upon arrival at the track on Friday morning. On recommendation from the Ohlins suspension agent I swapped over front and rear springs and made a few other minor suspension adjustments.

I managed three sessions during the day and gradually got my lap times down to a 1.06.0. Not a bad start but still well off the pace needed to run near the top 3, looking at last year’s times I would need to be closer to 1.04.0. I made a few more suspension and geometry changes to the bike ready for practice on Saturday morning and packed up for the night.

Upon getting out to the track on Saturday morning it was fairly crisp, there had been a small amount of overnight rain but the track would be dry for first practice. There was a small delay whilst the fire brigade finished cleaning the track down at the final corner. In the last session on Friday a 600 had dropped its guts on the track leaving a nice oil trail which was well cleaned up before the first session. However, the whole corner was still wet and due to this the session was basically a waste of time. On slicks and a cool track it was impossible to put together a semi decent lap so after a few laps checking the bike was ok I pulled in and readied myself and the bike for qualifying.

I was determined to get on the front row, knowing that I had to tag onto one of the front 3 guys during the race if I was to be able to get up to their level and fight for a podium spot. The track was now in good condition and the temperature had started to rise towards 20 degrees so the scene was set for a good qualifying. I went out and managed to find some clear track to try and work my lap times down. After 9 laps I had managed to get down to a time of 1.05.72, my fastest lap of the weekend and I thought I would have a fair crack at being on the front row. When the qualifying times were posted, I was a bit disappointed to see that I had missed 4^th position by 0.03s and thus would be starting the weekend’s three races in 5^th on the grid.

Around two hours later we were lined up on the grid ready for our first race. The lights went out and I got a pretty average start, then I missed changing down to 4^th gear into turn 1 (staying in 5^th instead!). I lost another place through the loop and got into the groove during the lap and focussed on passing the pro twins that had swamped me off the line. I slowly worked my way past the two front running pro twins in lap 4 and 5 using the superior power of my 450 to pass down the straights, this elevated me to 5^th place. I could see a fellow F3 competitor Jason Nairn in front of me. The gap was still rather large and I had to put my head down to close it before the 10 laps were up.

By lap 8 I had closed right in and followed him for the second half of the lap. I got a good run out of the final corner and was lining him up for a slipstream when he slowed a bit and I went past rather easily. Turned out he missed a gear change so that made things slightly easier, but there were still 2 laps to go and I couldn’t let him get a sniff. I put my head down for the next two laps and produced my two fastest laps of the weekend, both within 0.02s of each other and crossed the line in 4^th position. A big relief, I was finally beginning to ride the bike the way I wanted to and had gained a solid result. However there were still two races to run on Sunday and I was still determined to give the front 3 guys a run for their money.

The weather forecasters got it right on Sunday morning, I awoke to steady rain and very gloomy skies. I arrived at the track nice and early to get the bike changed over to wets and ensure I had it setup right for a day of wet racing. At about 0830 I had the bike all sorted and what happens, the blue sky comes out! After riders briefing at 0900 the track was already starting to dry, although for the morning warm up, plenty of guys were going out to test their wets. Having seen a similar scenario a few years ago I pulled the wets off and threw the slicks back in, knowing the chances were fairly high of a completely dry race. My call was correct and on the warm up lap I could only see 2 or 3 patches of slightly damp track, all well off the racing line.

Again I got a terrible start, worse than the previous race, this time I was 8^th after the first lap. I managed to quickly pass the two riders immediately in front of me at the end of the first lap. It took me another two laps to pass James and Geoff but I did so with minimal fuss and was now behind Jason again. He had around a one second lead on me so I had to put my head down for some good laps. I managed to catch him on the 5^th lap and got a good run onto the front straight to get past him before the first corner. I kept my head down for the next three laps to make sure he didn’t have a chance to get back past. I could see Jason Easton and Terry in front of me and it looked like they weren’t that far ahead, although by the end of the race it had extended to 7 seconds, if only I got a good start! I crossed the line in 4^th and had improved my fastest lap to 1.04.85. A good improvement over race one but still not quite good enough, my bad start really hindered my progress and I missed a good opportunity to run with the top 3.

So now it was down to the last race of the weekend, so long as I could get a good start I could try and latch on to the faster guys I was confident I could run with them. I got the best start of the weekend, holding the front wheel above the ground momentarily as I slipped the clutch. However I wasn’t able to beat those pesky twins into turn one and had lost one place to 6^th. The race was similar to race two although I did manage to get into 4^th by lap five and by then the top 3 had cleared off. So all I could do was ensure the other guys stayed behind me and focus on consistent laps. The wind was a lot more gusty than in the previous race and it was quite an effort to get the bike to turn into a few of the corners. Before I knew it the chequered flag was out and the 10 lap race was over, I had continued my steady progress and again finished 4^th.

Looking at the race times I was 4 seconds faster than in the morning race although I hadn’t improved on my fastest time. I was however further away from the front guy’s most likely due to the warmer track, I was however just over 10 seconds a drift. So the weekend was a much improved effort after the fairly average results of Ruapuna. I am slowly closing the gap to the front guys and know I have a bike capable of giving them a run for their money this weekend at Timaru.

Finally I want to say thanks to my sponsors, my bike is looking great thanks to the paint job by the guys at Alexandra Panelbeaters and sign writing from Alexandra Signs. Along with www.motorbikeparts.co.nz, Shoei Helmets, Teknic Leathers, RK Chains, Afam Sprockets, Silkolene Oils and Two Wheels Unlimited Alexandra.