Drag Racing Drag Racing - Gunnedah NSW

Weather a bit ordinary this morning. Cloudy and a few spots of rain, but not enough to cancel the meeting. There was a strongish headwind yesterday, which is much milder today. All of Team 2fiftycc (except Mason) have run sub-10 second times in the first round of qualifying. 9.7 to 9.9 range.

 

2nd round of qualifying a mixed bag for Team 2fiftycc. Mason ran a PB of 11.08, so we're all giving him tips to help him crack a 10sec pass. Pete missed a gear, so ET was not flash. Murdo improved to a 9.46 and yours truely knocked out a 9.40

One more round of qualifying and we're into eliminations.

What my bike hopes to be when it grows up...

 

Okay, round 3 of qualifying is in the books, but it has started raining, so it might all be for naught. For the record...

Mason had a tree malfunction, so no time recorded for him. The rest of Team 2fiftycc...

Frank 9.274
Pete 9.680
Murdo 9.682

And now the lightning and thunder has started.

 

Okay, good news...the rain, lightning and thunder have moved on. The officials have called lunch, so we're waiting to see if the track dries out enough to race on.



@jmw76 same as HPR & 'no' I have not sorted my launches. I have decided to just launch at lower RPM and ride it down the strip. It's a pain, as I am watching the RPM and not focusing on the tree, so my reaction times are rubbish. Hopefully, we'll get some racing in.

 

Yes, only a couple of weeks to go until the next 'Bikes Only' HPR event. Hopefully, the weather will hold out and I can try and sneak up on my new combo a bit more.

 

Well, I'm back in Melbourne after the latest TDRA event in Gunnedah. I said I had 2 choices after round 1 of eliminations; go to round 2 or go home. I scored the latter, so here I am.

I did watch the bike semi-finals from the pit area as I was leaving. I couldn't see the Christmas tree properly, so I can only go on who won by who crossed the finish line first. In race one, Murdo won by a sizeable distance and in race two, Pete got beaten by the ZX14R, but the Kawasaki went past him at a real clip, so maybe he broke out and both Team 2fiftycc bikes made it to the final.

Congrats to Mason who lost in the first round (because he broke out) by running a PB of 10.72 on his DR250. Well done young man.

Murdo showed me the way and even rubbed it in by backing off before the finish line. Well done.

 

Hopefully, that wasn't the last meeting the TDRA has at Gunnedah. They have their final event for 2022 scheduled for October. I can't see myself getting back up there for that one. The price of fuel is about to jump with the fuel excise returning in September and I really can't afford it. Never say never, but 'probably not' at this stage.



At least I got a chance to compete at the venue one last time. The weather certainly looked bad from the staging lanes in qualifying.

 

Ouch, I just found out neither of the Team 2fiftycc boys made it to the final. The ZX14R rider sent me a text saying he broke out in the final against the Triumph. The guy on the Triumph was the NSW Modified champion and has been runner-up in the Australian championship, so he's pretty good at what he does. No shame in loosing to him.

I forgot to thank Murdo for putting me up, teaching me some more about bikes, making a special tool for me and for organising most of the weekend. Thanks Bud.

Bloody cold camping there, so nice to have a big fire to sit around. Nice trick with the oil too Murdo.

 

A great weekend enjoyed by all, particularly Mason who had a big grin all the way home.
To further Frankster's report, I ran against the Triumph in the semi final and knowing he was the NSW champion had me on the edge so I gave it my all and didn't back off as I thought he might get me on the finish line. Unknown to me, he fluffed the start and I was way ahead but thinking he would zoom past kept on the throttle. When the timeslip arrived I had broken out, 9.482 on 9.500 dial in. Bugger, I could have backed off (braked even) and still gone through to the final. Such is racing.
I enjoy the racing and the good company of my friends more than any piece of shiney plastic, so will see you at the next one or wherever.

 

Thanks for the heads up @GreyImport - That's nice of them to include a pic of me in their story. I'll have to let them know their facts aren't quite right. "Racers came from as far south as Windsor (NSW) and as far...". I'm pretty sure Melbourne (VIC) is further South than Windsor!