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Series: WMRC
Date: September 10th
Classes raced and results
Superbike Race 1 - 4th
600 SuperSport - 4th
Superbike Race 2 - 4th
This has undoubtedly been the most stressful weekend of racing
I have ever had. Last week's Nationals aren't even in the
same league as what occurred this weekend in Mission. But
hey, I'm still smiling.
This weekend illustrated to me how rich I am in friends and
supporters. There were several people that quite literally
came to my rescue this weekend, and I want to thank all of
them for everything they did to lend a hand. I feel blessed
to have so many great people in my life.
Going into the penultimate round of the WMRC series I had
a lot on my mind. First, my bride had still not gone into
labour despite the due date having come and gone. Obviously
I didn't want to miss the birth of our second child, but with
the race being at least five hours in travelling distance
away, if she did go into labour, I would most likely miss
out. This equated to what I'll refer to as stress level one.
Stess level two arrived when I went out for our first practice
and immediately noticed the 600 was running very hot. Not
Good. I pulled off the track in total disappointment as the
head gasket was obviously compromised and we were effectively
out of the races that day.
Here is where things improved dramatically. With the news
of my motorcycle misfortune spreading throughout the paddock,
people suddenly came over to offer up their motorcycles just
so I could stay in the points. It went as far as people that
were actually competing against me in various classes offering
their bikes. To be honest, I was quite taken aback by their
generosity, and decided to accept an offer from Jason with
the squids
racing team. He had a rather well-used 2003 Kawasaki 600RR
that was also fairly stock. It did the trick for me as my
races didn't interfere with Jason's, even though he didn't
seem to mind one way or the other.
So here I was on the starting line with a motorcycle I had
never ridden. I managed to get a decent start while deciding
to play it a little safe for the first few laps and get a
feel for the bike. After all, this was a friend's bike and
I couldn't simply just say "sorry" to him if something
happened. Despite the bike being well down on power compared
to our current 600, I managed to bring it home in fourth place.
Okay, things weren't looking too bad, or were they? Unfortunately,
Jason crashed his bike in a small lowside just before our
next race of the day. Although he was thankfully uninjured
in the crash, the bike was damaged to the point that I would
not be able to ride it in our next race. This equated to stress
level three.
Again the racing fraternity came to my rescue with Richie
from squids racing offering his bike for the race, another
2003 Kawasaki 600RR. Once more I found myself on the starting
line with a bike I had never ridden. This one had serious
motor (a Zlock engine I might add), but there were some serious
handling issues that I simply couldn't account for and I ultimately
had to settle for fourth place. Luckily, it was enough for
me to clinch the 2006 WMRC 600 SuperSport Championship with
one round remaining.
Race three - the final.
With Richie now needing his bike to race in the same final,
we had to frantically reassemble Jason's bike. Yet again,
more people offered support with parts, rims, brakes and everything
else we needed to get the bike out on the track. Unfortunately,
James Cyr (my crew) had seriously burned his knee as he worked
diligently to get things prepared. Thanks for the sacrifice
bud - you worked your tail off. With only moments to spare,
we got the bike ready with fuel, tires and brakes. Now all
I had to do was ride it. As I soon realized that was easier
said than done as in the panic of the day I had unintelligently
neglected to eat anything or even drink much water. Stress
level four?? Yep.
I managed to get a decent start and rode as hard as I could,
somehow bringing it home in fourth. To say that I was relieved
to cross the finish line is an understatement. I immediately
called my bride to thankfully find out that we weren't in
labour yet. Stress level somewhat normal.
This weekend has once again reminded me how fortunate I am
to have the people, friends and family behind me that I do.
It's also reminded me (once again) of how good I have it riding
for Dan Zlock and his team. To be honest, I'm quite spoiled
riding his machinery, and I really don't effectively clarify
the significance Dan plays in any success I might have on
the race track.
Thanks again to everyone that played a part in this weekend.
Stay tuned
Oliver
Please click
on images to enlarge
All action photos courtesy Hugh Jervis
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