VOL. 52 ISSUE 17 APRIL 28, 2015 P97
CYCLE NEWS' RACE!
It had been two years since my
last encounter at Wanganui,
where I managed to take 7-6
results in a standard 2011 Suzuki
GSX-R600. So this year I was
feeling confident of a top five re-
sult to bring some glory to Cycle
News. My ride for this year was
an, ahem, older 2006 GSX-
R600, one that needed a bit of
massaging to get it into racing
shape. Two days prior to the
race was spent working on it and
the morning of the race, I was
in the pits at 5:30am fitting the
Öhlins rear shock that turned
up just in the nick of time.
However, any hopes I had of a
top five result were dashed after
two laps of practice.
Just getting ready to set a flier,
the front brakes decided to take
a Christmas break. The lever
came right back to the 'bars en-
tering turn one, and that session
was over and done with before it
began. As was I. No brakes on a
street course is what I imagine a
UFC bout to feel like. Standard
brake lines were the cause, and
with no spares, I wasn't sure if I
was going to be able to race.
But then just as all hope
seemed lost, Suzuki New
Zealand General Manager
Simon Meade came to rescue
with a whole front brake system
(calipers, master-cylinder, pads,
lines) off a 2015 GSX-R600.
Happy days!
Until those ones failed after
four laps…
By now I was getting a real
appreciation for just how hard on
brakes this place really is. And
about how much damage I could
cause myself and others with no
brakes.
Finally I was able to secure
another set of calipers, pads,
etc., but this time with a proper
set of racing braided lines from
young F3 hotshot Daniel Met-
tam, and Cycle News was back
in the game. I'd qualified a lowly
13
th
thanks to the minimal track
time (only three flying laps in
total), and for race one got an
average start that saw me jump
Scaysbrook
leads Isle of Man
Manx GP lap
record holder,
Billy Redmayne.
