On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 17:50:51 +0100, Andy Bonwick
wrote:
>Champ finished 4th in the 600 race earning himself £50 beer money in
>the process. 4 seconds a lap improvement on his times in May are
>probably more important to him with the GP looming large on the
>horizon.
Oh, my poor aching head...
Yesterday was a fantastic day. I turned up like a works rider to find
my mike ready for me, prep'd and fuelled. But the first practice
session was worrying - the thing was tank-slapping everywhere over the
bumps, and I could't keep the gas on at all. Best lap of 2:31
compared very badly with the 2.24 I did in May (tho my practice times
in the two sessions in May were 2:34 then 2:30). Despite this I
qualifed 15th for the open
I brought the bike back to Slick and he took a tooth of the rear
(making the bike less lively on the power, and adding a few mm to the
wheelbase), took off some high-speed compression damping (the shock as
high and low speed damping adjustment), and, er, we wound up the
steering damper. And then out for the next session - this was more
like it: I could actually race the bike now, and has a fastest lap of
2:24, putting me 7th on the grid for the 600 race.
We did some more detail changes, hoping for some more to come.
First race was the open, with a bunch of 1000cc bikes in it, which is
always a challenge on a 600. The club was using start lights instead
of a flag for the first time, and with the sun shining brightly I (and
several other people) completely missing them - I set off with about a
dozen people riding straight past me. But, Slick's 600 Kawasaki is
nothing if not fast, and I managed to fight my way through to an
eventual 9th, with 3 laps in the 2:21s.
The next race was the 600, and the one I had my best chance in.
Because of problems with people seeing the lights, the starts had
switched back to using a flag, but I still didn't get a great start -
the 600 Kwack has so many revs that even if you drop the clucth at 8k
you're barely in the mid-range. But I managed to join the main
peloton down the fast fast straight, and make a couple of places in
the slipstream and on the brakes. Then I got my head down and picked
people off, until I was lying in 6th place. Tony Oates obligingly
blew his bike up in front of me, and then on the last lap I came
alongside Justin Croft on the brakes. He let his brakes off, so I did
too. This was only going to end one way - we both missed the corner
and ran into the safety area. I made a better job of turning round
than him, and there was no one behind us to take advantage, so 4th was
mine! Another race of 2:22s and 2:21s, which I was pleased with, as
it seemed I could now run this pace continually.
The last race was another Open race, and I was determined to better
the 9th I got earlier in the day. I got an average start this time,
and worked my way up from 15th on the grid, eventually getting past
Callum O'Shea's ZX7R (which my 600 was about as fast as down the
straight!) for 8th. I then set about team mate Dan Kneen, who'd 'gone
to sleep' with no one near him; when I caught and passed him he woke
up and came back past a lap later, which was the last lap. I did a
do-or die outbraking maneurve into the last corner, missing the apex,
and not only did Dan tuck past me, but so did Callum too! Bugger -
9th again.
But the day was about getting the bike set for the MGP, and that we
really achieved - the only guys in front of me in the 600 race were
bloody fast TT riders, so I'm really very positive about the pace I'll
be able to run now. Add to that the change that I will have two bikes
- one with the 599 motor for the Junior, and the other with the 636
motor for the Senior, which means I'll be able to swap between bikes
for practice and get more laps in, and things are looking very good
indeed.
--
Champ
I don't know, but I been told, you never slow down, you never get old
ZX10R | GPz750turbo | GSX-R600 (race)
neal at champ dot org dot uk
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