Notes on Practise/Heat race
As soon as I tipped in into turn seven the front tire tucked and down I went followed by the sickening sound of fiberglass and metal grinding on the pavement. I slid for about fifty feet before coming to a gentle stop. Thanks to my Joe Rocket Leathers, Arai helmet and Sidi boots I didn't even suffer a bruise. How's that for protection! The bike faired equally well, and was, for the most part, just cosmetically damaged. Unfortunately, the crash meant a back row start for the 600 race later that day, and quite a bit of work for Jay and James to get the bike cleaned up. I felt sorry for Jay and James as they worked diligently to get all the rocks, mud and sand out of the bikes fairing. I was also upset with myself for pushing the bike through that particular turn when the conditions weren't good, especially considering that this was only a heat race.

Race 1 Superbike Leg 1
I got a horrible start and went into turn one in about fifth. I managed to get into fourth by the end of the lap and was right behind Steve Dick. Allan Schmidt had gotten a great start and was pulling away with Mark Kruger following closely behind. I managed to get by Steve a few laps later but Mark and Allan had gapped us by about three seconds and I wasn't able to make up the ground in the remaining laps. We placed third.

Race 2 600 Supersport
I got a better start in this one but got shuffled back to fourth in the first turn. I was behind Steve for the first three laps but managed to get by him with a better drive out of turn three. I came up on Allan as the laps wound down and we started to have a really fun scrap for second. Unfortunately, Al caught a false neutral going into one of the turns and went wide allowing me to get by for second which we held until the finish.

Race 3 Superbike Leg 2
I was much more determined to get a better start in this race. I managed to get off the line more efficiently but still ended up behind Steve Dick in third place going into turn one. I managed to get by Steve within a lap and set off after the leader Mark Kruger. In my charge forward I was consistently setting very fast times and ended up setting the fastest "official" lap around Mission at 1:10.6. I caught up to Mark but wasn't able to get by him as his bike was accelerating more effectively than mine. As the laps wound down I could see that Mark's tires were starting to slide so I only had one shot. I decided to wait until the last lap and use a better drive to possibly take him at the finish. On the last turn I ran it in right behind him, got my center of gravity as low as I possibly could, and put every fiber of my being into getting the drive onto the straight. It almost worked as I came up on him at the finish and missed the win by only two wheel lengths. In the end, the lap times I had turned left me content knowing how much more potential this bike has and that we have plans to improve it in the near future.

From here I am going to do a WMRRA race in Spokane and then I'm off to Zlock headquarters to work with Dan on the power our ZX6RR produces. This is the start of a very long stretch of racing for me that will see me racing or testing every weekend until the end of August. I'm going to burn up a lot of Pirelli tires and race fuel.

Stay tuned.

Oliver

Please click on image to enlarge
All action shots courtesy of Hugh Jervis

James & Jay	The 600 pre-crash	The 600 post-crash
Pirelli Rain front	Pirelli Rain Rear	Looking busy
Still looking busy	My Dad & I	Race start
	Chasing Steve Dick
		Backing it in
"Charging hard"
Podium	Chatting with Steve	Chatting with Craig Turner
Podium	Podium	Podium
Sunset at the ferry terminal