Based on the previous year, I had identified Ruapuna as the most difficult track to learn in NZ and the one that I figured I would need the most practice at. I don't find the track to be very flowing and for the most part, each corner is very different and has it's own little secrets that you need to learn to unlock a good lap time.
After a couple of test days where Kerry and I were finally able to work on the setup of the SV we made some huge steps in terms of feel and speed.
Qualifying
The weather had been kind for the most part and come qualifying I felt like I had a very capable machine under me. As usual, Johnny was up to his usual tricks and so I took a trip through pit lane after the first lap to try and find some clear track. I then put in a long series of laps and got a best time of 1:39.3, which was enough for my first pole of the series and also just a hair under the lap record for Pro-Twins.
Race 1
I didn't get as good a launch from the line as I had hoped for and ended up a bit further back in the pack by turn one. Johnny was just ahead and riding very aggressively with some F3 bikes. On lap three someone crashed just ahead of me in a huge cloud of dust - it turned out it was Johnny. This made my job a lot easier and I backed off to conserve my tyres for the next days races to take my first win of the series and about frickin time! Fortunately for Johnny, he was uninjured and was able to remount to finish 5th.
Race 2
Again I got a bit of a dodgy start and ended up following Johnny into turn one and over the first couple of laps I tucked in behind him. I knew that I needed to make up some points on him and that he was capable of making mistakes so I just put the pressure on. He took a look couple of looks behind to see that I was gaining on him and this gave me a lot of confidence to take another win. Any hopes were quickly dashed on lap three however when I heard something 'snap' on the bike and the engine died, leaving me coasting to a halt on the side of the track. I frantically tried to assess what the problem was but when I saw how much oil was sitting in the belly pan I pretty much knew that the championship lost.
After the race we saw the extent of the damage, which turned out to be a snapped rod essentially writing off the engine. Luckily it didn't spit me off and there wasn't any oil spilt onto the track but we were almost in disbelief at how much bad luck we were having at this point. Pro-Twin bikes are stock so I wasn't expecting such a catastrophic failure but having spoken to a few people since, it is not unheard of for this to happen.
Almost immediately another Pro-Twin competitor, Nick Southerwood, was in our pit offering me his spare bike to use for the last race of the day (the Grand Prix). Thanks to Nick's generosity, and that of a number of my other direct competitors, we were able to transfer the wheels and suspension from my bike to Nick's spare bike in time for the GP race.
At this stage I felt like the pressure was off and I just needed to collect points. Nick had stressed that he didn't care if I crashed his bike but regardless, I didn't want to push my luck. The bike felt very foreign due to a different geometry but it was plenty quick enough to bag some points.
Race 3 (GP)
I got an OK start but by the end of the first lap I realised that I would not be able to run the same pace as what I had done on my bike. One by one, people passed me including Nick who was riding really well. After a few laps I saw that Nick had come off at the hairpin and I felt really bad for him but there was nothing I could do but push on. Robbie Stokes was also riding really well and so I ended up finishing 3rd in Pro-Twins, which by all accounts was an awesome result considering I thought I wasn't going to be able to ride at all.
I have to say a big thanks to everyone who helped me on Sunday, especially considering some of them were my competitors!
Nick Southerwood
Duncan Coutts
Geoff Irving
Peter Rees
Trevor Stokes
Neil Chapell
Pietre
Tony Collins
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