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26 - 28 Sept 2003 FIM 亞洲公路錦標賽第三站 及 中國珠海摩托車錦標賽第五回合 |
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Text: Rene |
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| It was a glorious weekend for racing, sunny and dry. It was also the most anticipated weekend of the year for local bike fans as the Asia FIM circus was in town too. The usual Friday all day practice was out due to our guests. Instead, Friday was allocated for the FIM guys and our own 600 SuperStock boys to set their bikes up as well as doing their first qualifying sessions. As a result, I was hardly able to clear some of the cob webs for not having ridden for several weeks. | |
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| FIM certainly had some fast riders, but they were not Superman. In fact, our top local riders would have been quite comfortable in the top third of the pact. I was curious to see how the Dunlop tyres performed under the 'experts'. And judging by Cameron Donald's times, it was no different to a certain other brand. Although I could even argue that he matched his previous best in July on a less well prepared R6. Some people were saying that the Dunlops were sliding. Well, with the heat, the speeds and the extra 6 laps these guys were doing, it was hardly surprising. I think any tyre would have suffered equally. | |
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On Saturday, Cheong qualified sixth.
Everything was working fine until the sighting lap for Leg One.
Cheong's engine was spluttering quite badly. The only thing to
check with the little time we had was the fuel hose. This proved
fruitless. Cheong had to start from pit lane and even before the
first bend, the race was over as the spluttering continued. Still,
Cheong soldiered on for the sake of gaining some valuable
championship points. He would live to fight another day. I qualified 6th in Class 1, and even though my time was reasonable by my own standards, I was quite disappointed with my riding. I was missing apexes left, right and centre. Turns 1 and 2 were the worst culprits. As it turned, I never quite manage to over come this throughout the weekend. |
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| I was on the far right of the grid on Row 3 for the start of Leg One. In my opinion, I think it is the best side of the track to be for Turn 1. I hate the outside for any incident that happens at Turn 1 usually gets bowled to the outside, a la Second leg in the July race. Got a good start and wasn't held by traffic. It is so important to get a good start in this sprint race. Once you are behind someone of equal ability, it is so hard to pass. I had a good dice with #313 for a large part of the race. I would get better drive out of T14 and pass him down the straight (Perhaps it is because I am a fair bit lighter?). But Poon would hammer pass me on the brakes. In the end, the best man won and I was 7th. Even though I felt the pace was well off with my ragged riding, it turned out that I was only 3 seconds slower than my personal best. So much for gut feelings! | |
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Cheong's bike was overhauled the night
before and was now screaming fit. He came home 6th in a time of
17:42, which I believe was his best this season. Cheung Wai-On has
improved dramatically over the last 2 races and his Kawasaki is
just getting better and better. On-Jai was in touch with He Zi-Xian
for a while, so may be he will take him next race?
In my second leg, there was no
excuse. Just rode poorly and finished 8th. Having said that, the
total time was my third fastest, which again goes to show 'seat of
the pants' is no gauge of a good lap. Yes, I must invest in a lap
timer for my training! |
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