Quinte TT 2007
This season is off to a good start - I arrived on Friday in time to set up the tent before dark! I also arrived in time to register; missed tech inspection, but I managed to walk the track with a few other racers, although that was more or less after dark. I woke up early Saturday, to get through tech - which found one spot I'd neglected to safety wire. Tim saved me the dreaded push up the ramped platform the tech inspectors use... my plea for a lower ramp for shorter racers has gone unheard. I was easily able to remedy the missing safety wire (I haven't yet gained mastery over this skill, but I'm getting better at it).
Practice on Saturday was instructive; I found a shift pattern I liked and the updates to the front end of the NS made hard braking easy. For the second practice session I worked on braking less, but I was still entering corners too soon. Afternoon heat-races were shortened to 6 laps. I started from the back of the second wave start grid, feeling my standing start skills might be rusty. I got clean start, but struggled with the shift to second, leaving me near the back. My right-side (high pipe) silencer fell off a few laps into the race, on the front straight right in front of the stands. Fortunately it rolled off the track, right at pit-out, and I recovered it easily after my race. I managed to finish with a few people behind me. The P4 Vintage Challenge was a huge grid, over 40 bikes. I got a slightly better start, my very loud exhaust preventing me from being distracted by the sounds of other riders bikes, but I had to weave around a rider trying to kick-start his bike. Trailing behind most of the second wave, I managed to avoid the carnage (nearly a 1/4 of the field DNF'd) but I finished near the end of the pack, with about the same lap-times as the P4-F3 heat race.
Sunday's practice session I was determined to enter corners later, try a new line through corners two and three, and figure out the 'S' corners coming onto the front straight. I managed to figure out the line through 2 and 3. My final race was scheduled for last thing at the end of the day, and I was gridded in the second row of the second wave start. The race was fun, I had a good chase towards the two riders ahead of me, but as soon as we started getting lapped by the front-runners, our little group spread out, and I didn't have time to catch them before the end of the race.
On the whole, an excellent start to the racing season for me. I know what I need to work on for the next race.
Saturday morning practice session at VRRA's Quinte TT
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Looking left through the repaved corner 4 on the Nelson circuit
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Looking right through the final part of the 'S' corners
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12 Lap final race on Sunday
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Yes, I've got PINK Hair, that's not a reflection
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Photos by FLAIR Photo - www.flairphoto.ca
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