Plodge Racing - 2015 WA State Championship

So the 2015 WA Weld West State Road Racing Championship has started, the points have been awarded…..round one is done and dusted and we all eagerly await round two!! As always, before I go any further…I would just like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors Hogs Breath Joondalup and Kelmscott, 2fiftycc.com.au and Lauren (the other half of Plodge racing) without all your support, I would not be able to do any of this! I appreciate you all been behind me and support you all offer!!


Ok so a recap on the day that was round one!


So after my last outing and off for the club race day I did expect to have a few demons to overcome and I was comfortable knowing I needed to deal with them. I had in my head that I did not want to crash again and reality was me over thinking it was not going to help me.


Any way, we arrived at the track and unloaded and what not. got myself set up and ready for practise. So for round 1 we got one 5 min practise, 1 5 min qualifying and 2 5 lap races. Not really what we were all hoping for but hey, you get what your given I guess.


So out we went for practise, 17 of us turned up for round one……however I believe there is more to come for round 2. so second lap in I could feel myself tensing up still for turn one but to my surprise I had lost any bravery through T7….this is going to hurt my lap times…..and it did. Coming back in after practise I found my best lap time after 4 laps was a 1:21.010….this is not a great start.


Lauren could see that I was stressing, so decided to tell me that even though I was braking WAAAYYYYY too early for T7 my body position had started to improve and I was managing to tuck in a lot neater…and told me, so what if you crash, at least you know you’re trying, right now your just riding, so with that in mind I decided I’m going to go hard and try shake off my demons in qually.


When qualifying came about, I made sure I went out hard, I wanted clean track and I had it in my head that I was going to do at least a 1:17. So after 3 good laps I felt I was a little quicker but defo smoother…..and I managed a….1:19:1860 which slotted me 13 on the grid….I knew I needed to work hard to give me any chance of getting in the top 10. It looks like every rider has improved since list season…..times are a lot closer, gone are the constant twenties.


So first race for the production series and we all lined up ready and waiting to take a stab at the points. So happy to say I got off the line beautifully, made 3 or 4 places coming into turn one only to lose them and 1 more after adding an extra gear in turn one, realised my horrid mistake midway through the corner when I started to roll back on and I got nothing….so as I saw all the places I had gained I know I was going to have to push to get back those spots. So I pushed and tagged behind Andrew until I made up enough ground to be able to made a pass. Took until turn 6 to allow me have a go and make a pass. So midway through the basin (t6) I took the inside line and tucked in and passed Andrew on the stretch coming up to t7….Andrew is clearly quicker than me in t7 and t1 but I was able to……just about…..hold him off from over taking me. I pushed to try make up for spots throughout the next 4 laps but unfortunately didn’t manage to grab any other spots. Andrew challenged me a few more times though out the race but I was lucky to be able to hold him off. a DNF and a pit lane penalty for one of the other riders helped me up the grid a bit to finish the race in 11. Not the greatest achievement but I finished on two wheels ad made a race out of it!! time to gather my thoughts and advise from the spectators to see where I could shave off some time as I felt I was not much quicker than qually…..turns out I was wrong and I lapped 1:17:3270. Let’s see if I can better this next time around.


So race two had me lining up in 11th due to my last finish, happy with that an keen to try better myself…..so off the line I got nailed by a 300, passed me straight up the inside, and then coming into turn one I was out ridden by Lesley who unfortunately took a trip through the pit in the last race, but happy with my start as I had passed one rider (this put me in 12th) on the start and sat in the “pack” in turn one. For the remainder of the race I pushed to keep my place and push for another, unfortunately this did not again materialise and I made a few mistakes (one was a big lock up and slide of the rear coming into t1) which allowed Gordon to have a few challenges in trying to get me into t7 and t1. Unfortunately for him he made a mistake on t1 trying to out brake me on the outside of T1 and left himself open to an overtake from Andrew, which of course put Andrew on the hunt for me……last lap Andrew dive-bombed me into the basin and tried to block my line coming out but unfortunately didn’t work as I pushed my way up the inside…..I was not losing that place. So we fought all the way to t7 and I went brave on the brakes and it worked….I crossed the line in 11th…..(someone had an off further up the pack) even though I thought I had pushed a lot harder in this race my times did not reflect that and I finished with a fastest lap of 1:18:4450…..


All in all, Regardless of my lap times, I finished the day on a high, bike was good, starting to feel a little more comfortable on it but i still know where I need to improve but delighted I stayed upright.. so after finishing both races in 11th and due to some offs I am now sitting in 9th from 17th in the championship….needless to say I am happy with that but with more guys coming for it on round two I need to get as much practise in as possible and learn to let myself go on the bike that little more……but its early days yet and who knows what will happen….all I know is…..as long as I am having fun doing it, I’m happy!!!


Again thank you to you all and my sponsors for your continued support!!


Cheers,

Plodge Racing!

 

Cheers for the comments and the feedback folks i do really appreciate it! i had 30min of track time last night and i spent it all working on corners and body position, i still need a lot more to get comfortable on this bike but hopefully it will come. @Murdo 125 and 132 are my markers, my aim is to have myself as far off the bike top middle and bottom hopefully as we progress so well my body position...125 is a good mate and he has been helping me a lot, i'm hoping to get out on a practice day with him to try a mirror his braking points and help work on my body position.....

@Zedsled its all a mind over matter situation......i just need to get my mind over it, I've crashed on 3 of the 7 turns in Barbagallo and only one of them i have managed to get my head around and ride it better than i used to.....more track time and perseverance will help me overcome and sort my body position also.....

i'll keep you all posted as it all unfolds!!

thank for all your support!

 

So I’ll take the stick I am due for this update as its soooooooo far behind……………please accept my apologies!!


Ok so far I have failed to post an update for Round 2, 3 and 4……so here’s a quick recap.


Round 2:


Well not much to say about Round 2 apart from it was a learning curve. So they day started out WET….very wet and the race was declared a wet race and so I knew it was going to be interesting……considering I had never raced in the wet before. Our class is able to run wets but my budget didn’t allow me to buy a set and same was said for most, so we as a group decided to have a gentleman’s agreement and not run them………clearly the gentlemen’s agreement wasn’t taken all that serious with a good few opting to run wets on the day.


So P1 one didn’t last long and allow me find a “grove” with someone going down in the last corner and red flagging the session. P2 was still very very wet and I did my best to try get my head around the conditions but struggled and the times showed it. kept trying to ride the bike as it was a dry day and when I felt the bike slipping I’d would come off the gas way too much, instead of trying to ride it like a motox which in hindsight is what I should have done L


So R1 was approaching and the rain was keeping away…..track started to dry up so needless to say I was happy. First lap going great and then second lap it started bucketing down…..I had a woopsie in turn 7 that cause me to freak a little and I lost 3 places….. unfortunately I didn’t have the confidence in myself to try gain the places back so I ended up finishing that race in 16th.


R2 and it was still pouring down……didn’t gain any places in that race but ended up dropping to last, but due to a few offs I ended up crossing the line in 15th.


I chalked that round up to needing to find confidence in the wet and a learning experience and if I get an opportunity to buy wets and get more practise in the wet I will J


Round 3:


So round 3 of the Weld West state championship went under way on a sunny but cold day (far better than round 2 already!!!). The mornings practice session went really well with me setting 2 PB's on the little Ninja (1:16.9360 in P1 and 1:16.3850 in P2) and ending up 8 fastest in practice(all the practise I was putting in between round 2 and 3 really felt like it was paying off, my bp was improving and I could feel me getting faster).......Unfortunately race one didn't end as well as the practice session. As it’s a progressive grid I ended up starting from 15th (due to my poor result in the last race of round 2) on the grid and wanting to make ground I was eager for a good start, unfortunately I cooked my clutch on the start line and that ended my race the moment the lights went out, I tried to limp the bike around but no matter what I did it kept slipping and I was at risk of doing further damage and a danger to others had I decided to stay out…..also it would have been a long 5 laps so there was a DNF that I really didn’t want….


We had a play around with the clutch cable (adjusted it to allow more slack and left to cool down. so I after a while I give it a run up and down the paddock and all seemed ok so I said sure I’ll give it a bash in race two and hope it holds up, I've nothing to lose but heaps to gain.......(new clutch had already been ordered at this stage haha)......so fingers were crossed that it would be right


So lined up for race 2 - 17th on the grid and made the decision I was going to be the last off the line (even though I was last on the line haha) as I was not going to go for a “race start” just in case, so the lights went out and everyone went off and slowly took off and realised that hey my clutch was holding……… so I came into T1 as everyone else was coming out of it, it all came together in my head that I am going to fight hard and if the clutch goes bang so be it…….so I managed to pick my way through the field as best as I could to finish the last race in 12th with a slipping clutch and another PB of 1:15.7050!!! Delighted with that outcome!


So headed off for a 4 week trip to Ireland and then came back to fit a new clutch and hoped round 4 is positive, straightforward and not eventful!


Round 4:


So....round 4 done and dusted and I'll be honest....it wasn't the day if hoped it to be! Morning started really out well, P1 allowed me adjust the clutch and get my head in the game, during P1 I was happily lapping 77's. P2 was even stronger, bike felt great and so did I and the 75's on the board was proving it. That was all to be short lived.


Race 1 I started from 12th on the grid and I had a cracker of a start.....as we all bailed towards turn 1 I was making up a few spots, but no sooner had I tipped in I got a nudge in the rear which put me on my butt and sent the bike sliding. Lucky i didn't take anyone else out. After picking up my bike and trying to get back on it I realised my race was done, so another DNF but hey…..rubbing is racing yeh??. Never the less, we got the bike back to the pit, stripped the broken rear set and bar and patched the fairing and ready to go again for R2.


R2 had me starting from the back of the grid and with an average start I had my work cut out for me. I managed to claw back two places but the next two proved to be a little harder and few attempts were made but with no success, but still happy to have finished and I'm hoping that my run of mishaps has come to an end!? really looking forward to round 5 and ending the season on a high! If anything the last few rounds have definitely been an experience and I am still having fun! A massive thanks to my sponsors Hogs Breath Cafe Joondalup and Kelmscott and 2fiftycc.com for their continued support and to Declan (Lauren's stand in for the day ) for his help yesterday in the pits! As well a big thanks to all those who pitched in to get me back out for R2, they are all the Heroes of the day in my eyes and what makes this sport and class so enjoyable!! Congrats to all who competed in yesterday's events and a big think to all the flaggies and marshals for making the event possible see you all at round 5



If you folks would like constant updates and more pictures, please jump on to my FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paddy-Browne-144-Team-Plodge/445272902314342 and give it a like! I appreciate all your support and encouragement I get from you all! I really encourage anyone thinking of giving racing a go to do it! it’s addictive but so much fun! I’m still loving every minute of it and learning so so much every time I’m out!!!


Thanks again to the site and all the members for the support this year!!


Oh and here’s some pictures from the round 4……..some from practice and some from R2.

 

So I've somewhat settled back into reality and it's sad to think that the 2015 season is done and dusted! So many highs and low......sides this year, it's really been something else, an experience and a half. I achieved a few PBs, I fried a clutch, I built a few sand castles and bent a few bars, I got shown the meaning of "rubbing is racing" and ground down my fair share of foot pegs, nothing I regret and so many positives I took from each and every round. To every single proddie rider I had the pleasure to share the grid with this season thank you, you are what made the season for me. The fun, laughter and mateship is what brought be back every single round and it's what's gonna have me back hard at it again next year. More last min T7 over takes and dive bombs into the basin....I can't wait! I could go on and on for ages but I'll only send you all to sleep, so first and foremost a massive thank you to my sponsors Hogs breath cafe Joondalup and Kelmscott, and 2fiftycc.com, thank you so much for your support this season, it would have been near impossible for me to have done this without your support! To Renèe at OH for whipping into shape. To Scardifield smash repairs, thanks for all your hard work in making my bike look so good.......only for me to mess it up again! To Tim and Jess a massive thank you for making this class a reality, to all those who put me up for the production sportsperson award on final night thank you so much, so unexpected but I am truly truely humbled by it and blow away that I won....The smile is still firm on my face! thanks all those who helped me from start to finish this year, to John from helmet house for believing in us all and this class, again my sponsors for their support. Declan, Tim and Acacia for their constant commitment to come watch, help and support, Emmett for the massive job in helping build the bike, to the proddie riders and of course @Aufitt that were always at the trakdayz and helped me learn and let me chase them and Lastly to Lauren, CLEARLY couldn't have done any of it with out her!! I've made some lasting friendships from this experience and I hope that I can make more in the seasons to come! I achieved my goal of finishing in the top ten (I finished tenth in the 250's and twentieth in the 300 combined) and the goal is to try better it next season! Again to all the riders, thanks, you are all bloody awesome and winners to me So now the 2015 season is done...work has already started on 2016 season

 

I was doing a little better on the FZR with PB of (high) 72. i'm 3 sec slower on the ninja at the min with a PB of 75, but in saying that I've crashed on the ninja a bit more while trying to learn a craft on it, and i did add to my times after i crashed the FZR. i'd say id be bringing my times down more if i spent more time practicing and staying on the bike

 

cheers bud, its been a great year of learning, we'll both be coming back stronger next year!

 

cheers mate! and thanks to you and all from 2fiftycc for the belief and support this season! it really means a lot!