60… 70… 80… the tach was reading 7300 on 3rd… the CBR just came of turn 6, a fast left hand switchback after a 60 foot drop from top of the hill… He undercut a deep blue R1, just before the entry to the turn and scraped his wafer thin knee puck on the apex, trying to keep the beast in line. He catches a glimpse of Alex’s grey daytona just as he looks towards the exit marker. Its a good 100 ft in front of him.
He hangs of the bike, head still down, lifts the bike as he rolls on the gas… real hard, his calf muscles scream in agony as he weighs the outside peg. The voice in his head is still calm. “Focus. Focus. Focus” The throttle is fully open even before the bike is stood up fully and bike drifts towards the rumble strip on the outside of the track.
Its a good drive out of the corner, and he just has to maintain his pace through the next 2 turns to outbreak the torquey triple on the inside of turn 9. He has ridden that triumph. He knows the radially mounted Nissins in the triumph lacks the initial feel or bite of his bike.
Turn 7 and 8 might as well be a straight line for most bikes as they keep they hardly roll of the throttle for either of the corners. Not for the 1000’s though. The outside of 8 is too dangerously pitted for any sort of off road excursion. Ram’s R6 had a lucky day when it just ended with a broken windscreen. However there have been worse. A 06 gxxer’s frame split it half when it hit the rain ditch at over 100 mph, went up in the air a good 15 feet and landed on its steering snapping the frame in two and tossing the engine out like a crushed soda can.
Not today, not to his CBR, the body is firmly set to the left of the bike as he goes full throttle through turn 7. On exit the bike drifts right as he sets up the entry for turn 8. Rolls slightly off the gas as he gives all the strength to counter steer the bike into the 120mph obtuse left hander.
He gets it right. The bike rises again as he gives it the full beans on exit. He is less than 40 ft from the blue and white leathers of Alex. He hasn’t let the revs fall below 7000, which means there is a chance another cog can be slotted before the tight uphill right hander to enter the new section. The tach redlines just as he crosses the exit marker. He slots the next gear and the bike is really shifting. 20 ft.
He gradually shifts his lower body to the right setting up for the next corner, with the throttle fully open and body tucked in. 10ft.
He sees Alex brake a good 4 bike lengths ahead of the marker. Thats it, this is his chance. He keeps the throttle pinned.
He shoots past Alex at over 100 ft per sec on the inside line.
He is so focused on the triumph, that he fails to notice his line. At this pace, he is not going to make the next right hander. The braking marker has just crossed the peripheral vision, but the mind hasn’t registered it yet. It takes a fraction too long for him to shut the throttle and squeeze the brakes.
The braking and entry point is long gone and he desperately tries to look for the apex of the turn hoping that he can still slow down enough to make the turn. He knows that turn 9 has a wide entry and most people don’t capitalize on it. The uphill to the following 90 degree left right switch back is a real momentum killer.
The brakes are really pulsing now and they fight hard against his middle and index fingers causing the rear wheel to hop.There is less than 200 ft to make the bike comply. At which point, it becomes neon impossible to make the turn at any speed over 40 mph. Especially considering the steep angle of attack to the corner.
The bike is covering 88ft/sec and decelerating.
He knows he won’t make it.
He stands the bike up and runs off past the cones into the uphill left hander of the old course.
That’s it. His session has come to an end. He is livid. Stops the bike and looks right as Alex shoots past him shaking his head. He knows Alex is grinning inside his lid.
Looks at the turn worker’s station as the lady waves the yellow, indicating a moron off course where there are 9 orange cones dotting the area not to be in.
She points him in the downhill direction towards turn 10 on the old course.
With less than 3 min to the end of the session, he just cruises down the essess, puts his hand up, and pulls into the pits.
Dehydrated, Tired, Sore and Seething.
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