Event Reports » 2009 » Event 8 - Actrix VMCC Rd 6
The final round of the Actrix VMCC Superbike champs was very rewarding, while seemingly frustrating at the time. The weather proved to be good right up until the last couple of races when the heavens opened up. Luckily, by that stage we had decided to call it quits and pack up. Rewarding because all of the riders seemed to continue to improve, if not in laptimes, then in confidence and ability. Glen went slightly slower than the last round, but was very comfortable at nearly the same speeds and was able to stay with the front three riders for the first couple of laps. Will dropped into the 1m:24s bracket, which is one of the next steps. Kyle AGAIN showed how fast he can be and Walter got over the mechanicals of last meeting to keep on pushing his limits.
Frustrating because the Tuesday prior to the event I had injured my back, so I was in pain and hobbling about on crutches, Kyle slipped off again in the first race while dicing for the lead with Jaden Hassan and Walter had another mechanical when a rear wheel sprocket carrier bearing collapsed. This did some damage to the bike, but he did everything exactly right in raising his arm, pulling off the circuit and keeping out of the way. I sincerely hope that the next time out his bike will keep going for him!!
Given that this was the last round of the champs we all attended the prizegiving that evening where Glen won 3rd place for the day and his first recognition, Kyle won 3rd place overall for the MotoGP125 class and Moto Academy NZ won the best presented team for the second time.
Our next event will be a round of Motorcycling Canterbury champs at Ruapuna on 6/7 November.
Thanks to everyone again!
Steve
Qualifying
125GP
Rolled the bikes out under the threatening skies and started them up it looked as though we may get some track time in on the short track before the rain came. I felt really comfortable on the bike and quickly picked up the pace to where I left off from Round 5. I focused on trying to carry more speed into Higgins and Dunlop and I seemed to improve slightly.
Qualified 5th with a 1m:29.944
SuperLite
The sun struggled through the clouds a few times as we headed out with the big bikes. I was feeling focused and enjoying my time on the bike with my lap times getting quicker. I started focusing on my weak points, such as not carrying sufficient speed through Higgins and I got around faster. Qualified 4th out of the 125’s with a 1m:27.895
Race 1
125GP
Had a terrible start but managed to catch up in turn1 and 2 tagging on behind James Jarman and following him around the track. I could see I was gaining on him though T3 and coming into the hairpin but he just seemed to have the bit extra everywhere else! Got really close to him in the 2nd to last lap only to get caught behind some backmarkers while he took off ahead. Shift leg and clutch arm dead by the end of the race, but would have to be the best race I’ve had so far, thanks James! Finished with a personal best time of 1m:24.628
SuperLite
Another terrible start, but catching a few bikes into T3 and passing Walter and a few others. Ended up being stuck in between the fast riders and the slower riders and no one to race with so I tried a few different things getting my weight off into the corners and carrying the drive through the corners and out.
Race2
125GP
Starts really were my downfall this weekend with another crap one, but I found myself being alot smoother and consistent managing 1m:27.000 lap every lap.
Great day, I'm really happy with how I went and I'm still improving.
Would like to thank our sponsors for helping keep the bikes running smoothly.
Cheers
Will Baker #14
Qualifying
125GP
Qualifying was used to run-in a new piston on my bike, so I just cruised around for a few laps not revving over 10,000rpm, then 11k and then 12k. I ended up with a time of 1.23.909, which put me in 4th place and giving me my first front row start.
SuperLite
During the SuperLite qualifying I did a few more easy laps and then didn’t get one clear lap. But I still had fun riding round with the bigger bikes. Best time was 1.22.683, this didn’t really matter though because we would be starting from the back of the grid anyways.
Race one
125GP
For a change I got a pretty good start! I didn’t lose any positions and pretty much stayed with the other three people on the front row! And then to make it even better I had a pretty good first turn, by beating James under brakes and then trying to hang on to the next bike in front of me, which happened to be Avalon. I lost about a second from her in the first lap, but she still looked close enough that I might be able to hang on for a while, but she just kept pulling away. It was quite deceptive under brakes though, it looked like I was reeling her in, but then coming out of a corner the gap would go back to what it was or get a bit bigger. My best time was 1.19.954, which is slightly slower than last round, but felt really comfortable and like I wasn’t pushing real hard. Kyle crashed half way through the race, handing me 3rd place and my first podium! (Thanks Kyle, couldn’t have done it without you, haha)
Superlite
Once again I got a pretty good start and tried to sit with Jaden, but he was too fast through the traffic in turn one. I felt that there was everything to lose and nothing to gain, so was planning to let the traffic thin out a bit before I got stuck into things. But someone crashed on the hairpin, so the race had to be re-started. I returned to my crap starts for this one, but it didn’t really mater, as I usually just try different things and practice my passing in these races. Having said that, it did piss me off and ruin the rest of the race a bit. I gave myself a few frights when coming up on other bikes mid-corner because it felt like they were stopping! Best time 1.20.926.
Race two
125GP
After the crap start in SuperLite I spent a bit of time just going over my starts in my head trying to work out what went wrong. I worked out that I had missed one thing in my start routine and made sure I did this for the start of the 125 race and it seemed to work. This race was pretty much the same as the first race, except I was a bit further away from Avalon and ended up just on my own for the rest of the race. Best time was 1.20.451 with most laps hanging around there for that race.
I’m really happy that my starts have gotten a lot better, but I was a little disappointed that my times didn’t get any better. I think the problem was that I usually go into each race with a few things to really focus on, but I pretty much just wanted my starts to be good and then I thought I would be able to hang on the back of the faster riders. I guess I need to try and have a few more things to work on each time if I manage to sort everything else.
Thanks to Steve, Mike, the Vic club, and everyone else out there.
Glen Orwin #15.
