22 November 2011
On the weekend I competed in the final round of the ASBK series at Phillip Island. I was really looking forward to this event as it was going to be my first ASBK on my new ZX10 and also only my 2nd ride on the bike, I had set myself a goal of top 15 finish for the weekend.
Friday came around and I had 3 practice sessions to get use to the bike and get a good setup for the weekend. The first session I used as a learning session but soon realised my gearing and suspension weren’t quite right. After a few changes we headed out for session 2 where we made some good progress with the bike and myself and improved my times. We made some more suspension changes to the bike for session 3 but unfortunately as I headed out on track it started to rain and I pulled in as the session was stopped due to the severe weather change. I was happy with my progress over the day. A massive thankyou to Greg from ASR Suspension for helping me out all day Friday and helping me to progress with the bike.
Saturday came around and the heavens had opened up for everyone. I had 2 qualifying sessions and also 1 race. My first qualifying session was wet and I was getting into a groove in the wet for the first time on the 1000 when unfortunately we had a mechanical issue half way through the session and I pulled in and got it sorted but only got 2 more laps in. I ended up 12th quickest and was looking forward to the final qualifying session.
The rain had held off for a few hours and the track was drying so we took a chance and put in a new set of slicks for the final qualifying session. The first few laps i very cautious to say the least as it was still quite wet in spots of the track. I got in 2 good laps at the end of the session as the track starting drying more. I put my head down on the last lap and pulled out a 6th spot in the session and for overall qualifying which I was very happy with and so was the team.
The heavens opened up again just before the race which was held in atrocious conditions. I got a decent start and felt ok, unfortunately I could not see very clearly through my visor, I stuck it out for a few laps but my vision just got worse, I pulled in to the pits to see if I could clear the visor. I lost 2 laps and rejoined the race with a clearer visor, but unfortunately half way around my first lap back out the visor became hard to see through again. I finished the race in 15th place, which I wasn’t too happy with. When returning to pits we noticed a greasy substance all over my visor, which was the cause of the poor visibility.
Sunday was upon us very quickly and we were greeted with sunshine, which I was extremely happy with. I had 2 races for the day, Race 1 was good I got a good start and I felt confident, we lost a few places off the start. It was a long 9 laps for me, as it is a big learning curve on the 1000 in the race. I had some fun and finished up 12th for the race which I was happy with.
Race 3 we made a few changes to the bike to try and help with grip. I got another good start and felt comfortable on the bike again. I was in a good battle for a few laps with a group of 4 for a top 10 spot, unfortunately a few mistakes and lack of experience on the bike I lost contact with the group and ended up 13th for the race.
I finished 14th for the weekend which I am happy with as I achieved each goal I had set myself.
I have to say a massive thankyou to Steve from Motorcycle RimStickers for buying me a set of wets for the weekend, without them I would not have been able to ride in the first race. Also a massive thanks to Greg from ASR suspension for helping me all day Friday and also Sunday to get the new bike sorted out for next season.
I could not have completed this weekend without the help of my sponsors Motorcycle RimStickers, Mototrack Accessories, Motorcycle Race Gear, ASR Suspension, Powersports Kawasaki, Dewith Motorsport, TBG Sport, also a massive thankyou to my parents for all their support.
