Saturday / Sunday, 21st - 22nd March 2009
Round 1 &ndash Irish Supersports, Mondello Park
Disastrous start to season.
The weekend didn't go to plan at all for me. On Friday and Saturday I was struggling to find any speed around the National circuit. My times were way off what I had expected of myself. The Triumph didn't give me much confidence in corners and nearly spat me off a few times with slides from both the front and the rear.
After failing to qualify for the Supersport 600s, I got on the phone to Steve Harnett in NDM and he asked me if I could bring the bike to him for a look. Thanks to my dad, Jackson, bringing a bike trailer to the track, My mate Myles brought me and the 675 all the way over to Balbriggan to Steves workshop. A few hours later, we were on our way home with springs changed in both forks and the Ohlins rear shock. According to the Ohlins website, the front end was too stiff and the rear spring was too soft for me.
In Sunday morning practice, the bike felt a lot better than before. 1st NQ race of the day saw me take 1.5 seconds off my qualifying time which was great to see. I was leading the race from the first lap but after the rear had a big slide, I lost the advantage I had over Mark Glasgow and he nipped by me to take the win.
We made a few more changes before the 2nd race, but surprisingly, I didn't improve on my times. I had to defend my lines in the closing laps to keep Mark Glasgow behind and made it to the line in 1st.
Very disappointed overall with the weekend, but pleased to see my times take a turn for the better. Hopefully with more setup time in the coming weeks, we can improve how she feels, and give me more confidence to push the bike harder, getting my times down more.
Huge thanks to Steve in NDM for taking the time on a Saturday night to help me out, Myles for bringing me all the way over and back from Balbriggan and Iain in Absol for being very patient with me. :)
Next championship races are on the Easter weekend but I might do the clubman round at the start of April as its on the International track and would give me more setup time.
Cheers
AJ