FULLER
TAUPO
ROUND ONE
After our first practice day there was about a
month until the Suzuki Series and the Gixxer
Cup, with no practice days at all. When race
weekend rolled along I was feeling well under
prepared. Friday was practice day so we
could learn the track and get some more time
on the bike.
As it wasn’t an official Suzuki Series practice
day I was in a group with a huge range of
bikes and abilities, which was really good
experience as I would pass in the corners
and be overtaken down the straights. This
would help on race day as I hadn’t done any
dicing back and forth on a road bike before.
With the session finished we stayed the
night at Grant and Vicky Townley’s where we
would stay twice over the season – thanks
for the accommodation and out of this world
dinners, really appreciated.
The Suzuki Series practice session was the
next day and this was to be my first real
comparison to the other riders... and I was
way off the pace. So, we put to work trying to
cut the lap times. We did pretty well, taking
off three seconds compared to the day
before, but still weren’t quite at pace of the
other Gixxer Cup riders.
The next day, race day, kicked off with
qualifying, which was a first for me. By the
32 KIWI RIDER
end I was in 13th, which I was disappointed
with but I knew there was a lot to improve on.
Come Race 1 there was a mishap on the start
line with another rider taking my starting
grid. With my inexperience I just moved back
a row.
After starting on the back row I had a good
start, passing six riders. I just kept at my own
pace having a few little battles but ended
up 8th out of the fourteen who finished. I’d
ridden my own race with no moments or
mishaps and ended up doing real good. I was
feeling a lot better about my riding and I was
having a lot of fun.
I was feeling more confident for Race 2.
Starting on the right grid spot this time
around, I had an average start and rode a
safe race, keeping it upright with no incidents
and ended up in 9th.
It was a good weekend and I learnt heaps
and knew what I needed to work on for the
next round. The results were online a few
days later and I was rapped to see that I’d
finished 4th overall! Consistency really paid
off, as those who finished ahead in one race,
crashed in the other. Thanks to Paul Jelaca
who was on the tools keeping the bike in
tip top shape and giving me pointers for my
riding.
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