28/03/2017
So KOR Round 4 was a pretty awesome weekend, big thanks to Pete Gunn for the loan of his 650 Pro Twin, to both myself, and Joshua Double, while he waits for his shoulder to heal after his off in Taupo.
After managing to part ways with my bike on the exit of the infield sweeper during qualifying on the 250, things were a little awkward for the rest of the day on the Ninja, having not completed a single lap, leading to me having to start off the back of the grid... No matter, just knew I had to go fast to catch up with the people up in front. Ended the day with a 2nd, 1st, and a 1st in 250 production. Was pretty fun to get to race with Dani Marie, the cheeky sod getting in front of me a couple of times, with nice tidy passes, this being her first time on a Ninja 250, and she did pretty well
Pete's SV650 was awesome, with Josh riding in Pro Twins, and myself in Clubmans. My best time of the day on the 650 was a 1:44.764, which I reckon is pretty good for the second time out on the bike, ever. Conditions for the day were... interesting, with rain coming and going, but the track staying mostly damp enough to warrant keeping the wets on the bike, only getting one race in the semi-dry, which is where I got my fastest lap in. The part I was happiest with was when I jumped into Pro Twins, for the final round, after Josh had crashed his 250 at hairpin just behind me in the previous round and hurt his shoulder. In that race, I managed to go around the outside of Ryan Bradshaw on the final turn and get the drive out of the corner, beating him across the line by 0.044 seconds.
The 650 felt waaaay different to the 250, of course having way more power, and with much higher footpegs, and lower bars. The one difference that I wasn't expecting was where the tank was, it being a fair bit higher. It was pretty good though because it was easier to get into a good race position than on the 250. The other major difference was the grip in the tyres, wets being absolutely brilliantly sticky. I will admit that the 250 surprised me with the lack of grip, getting on it straight after the 650, literally running down pit lane to get out on time, and having to get used to it again in the warm up lap.
Thanks to Underground Brown, Budget Motorcycle Spares, Pete Gunn, Joshua Double, Dennis Charlett, Wendy Ashmore-Guy, Kim Langsford, and Richard Wiltshire for all your support