Name: Kai Sakakibara

Date: 3rd March 2012

Venue: Canberra, ACT

Race: National Champ Bikx 2012 Round 5 and 6

Class: 16 boys

Result: Round 5 – 6th, Round 6 – 6th

Weather: Rainy and wet.

Course condition: Quite soft and slow, especially the last two straights.

 

Redline, Blackman Bicycles, Time Pedals, Champion System, Michram Industries, Bluefit Gym, Peabody

 

It had rained very heavily in Canberra leading up to the event, and Round 5, which was supposed to be on Friday, was postponed to Saturday. This meant that we had 2 rounds of racing on the Saturday.

Practice started early in the morning at 7am, and we all found out that the track wasn’t in the best condition. The last 2 straights especially were very soft, with mud patches in between every jump on the third straight. Racing proceeded as scheduled though.

 

There were no time trials due to the bad track conditions, so the lane choices for moto 1 were through the points in the series.

 

I came out quite well out of lane 1 in the first moto, but got stuck on the inside of Max Cairns and Peter Little coming into the first corner. I had to back it off, and in this instance Jordan Lecher came through the inside. I was in 4th coming out of the first corner. My second straight wasn’t the smoothest, and I was still in the 4th down into the third straight. Peter Little got untidy and crashed, so I was able to get myself into 3rd there. I maintained that position from there.

 

My start felt good out of lane 4 in the second moto, but got tangled with Jordan Lecher next to me when coming down the start hill. I unclipped and lost my speed, so I was way behind coming into the first corner. I passed from 6th into 5th down the second straight, and was looking to get Brendan Floriduz through last half of the track. I couldn’t quite make it though, and finished 5th.

 

I got lane 1 for the last moto. My start was good and I came out well down the first straight, but Max Cairns got the better into the first corner. I had to take the corner tight because Max was there on the outside of me, and I didn’t quite get the speed I needed for the second straight. Jordan Lecher got the speed and came past on the outside, and Max lost his speed so I had two riders in front of me when I was trying to get through. I was still in 3rd down into the third straight, but had Peter Little on the outside of me pushing it in. I couldn’t risk another bad race, so I stayed back in 4th, and finished 4th.

 

I ended up with lane 7 for the final.

 

My start was a bit wonky and I came out sideways, but I was still with the pack coming over the first jump. I hit a big bog spot on the outside and lost my speed, and this put me behind coming into the first corner. There were riders everywhere on the inside, so I went for the rail around the outside for the inside line down the second straight. I was catching up well, but Jordan Lecher and Kyle Borresen got tangled up in front of me, and took Curtis Dowdell with them. Curtis was right in front of me when he crashed, and I had nowhere to go but right into him. I came down with them. I got up from there and finished the race, but came through with a 6th.

 

 

There was a 2 hour break before Round 6 started at 12pm. There was a quick warm up, then straight into racing.

My start was pretty good in the first moto and I was with Max Cairns down the first straight, but Alex Cahill came up the inside and I had to high low to get a clear run for the second straight. Alex ended up moving on the outside again where I was, and I lost my speed trying to find my way around him. Zac Wilson took advantage of this moved his way into 2nd into the second corner. I did some catching up down the third straight and went for a move down the last straight into 3rd, but wasn’t quite enough, and finished 4th.

 

I came out of lane 3 in the second moto. I had a good start and first straight, but was in 2nd behind Max Cairns into the first corner. Alex Cahill came up the inside out of nowhere, so I had to rail the first corner for the second straight. This worked and I was back into 2nd into the second corner, but Alex got the better of me through the soft rhythm straight and shut me down into the last corner. I lost my speed here and Kyle Borresen came through, so I was pushed back to 4th. I couldn’t regain any positions, and ended up 4th.

 

It started raining quite heavily through and after the second moto, and the race was cancelled there. This meant that they took the points from the first 2 motos and gave the final position based on the points. Having two 4ths, I didn’t have a very good chance for the top spots. I ended up 6th.

 

It wasn’t the best time for me down in Canberra, but I look forward to racing everyone again at the Nationals.