Hi everyone
This last weekend was the 4th round of the NZ championships at Hampton Downs. Wolf Pack racing was sporting new red Total Oil livery which really stood out along with my new Axo leathers and the whole team was looking forward to getting back on track.
Up until Saturday afternoon I had been chasing suspension set up and hadn’t got any fast, consistent laps down so I knew I needed to get my act together for qualifying. I followed one of the top riders around and was on the front row for most the session but just got pipped by 0.001 right at the end and ended up in 5th place. Still, what an improvement!!
Sunday race 1 got terrible start, the red mist soon came down and I was pushing hard. I did a 1.06.8 on the 2nd lap which is a fast lap time, but the pace didn’t last long unfortunately as I low-sided out of the race at turn 4. There was just a bit of minor damage that meant I couldn’t finish the race but thanks to the hard work of the Wolf Pack crew the bike and I were ready to go again by race 2.
During the first few laps of the TT I knew my set up still wasn’t right so was just focusing on finding a rhythm and settling into a pace I was comfortable with. By lap 9 I was sitting in around 8th position but as I turned into turn 3 the front washed out again unexpectedly. So the conclusion to the weekend was I managed to ruin new paint job on both sides and wiped out the onboard camera.. oops.. but as they say without the lows you dont get the highs.
On a positive note my new Axo leathers held up extremely well to the thorough crash testing!
Huge thanks to Jamie, Wes and the team for all the hard work this weekend, and to my sponsors and supporters Uncle Geoff and Aunty Gay, Blue Wing Honda, Race Pace Trainers, Deep Web – Web Design, HJC helmets, Sidi boots, NGK spark plugs, Tridon Toledo Tools, Carcolors, Bearing Wholesale, Metzeler tyres, Total Oil and Axo.
It was a tough weekend to handle but I know certain areas I need to work on for this weekend and will give 100% effort to finish the championship with a race report filled with exciting results…
Thanks for reading,
Avalon.
