Broadford R1 hartwell 2008

What a blast!!! A new lap record for period 6 and 3 straight wins in our class!
1min 6.9 seconds.

But not without the usual dramas. , Water leak, slipping clutch, a jump start, oily rear slick tyre, bendy gear lever and a split oil pipe that meant a dash home to get a spare, all made for an exciting first round of the Hartwell championship.
Lucky for me I have great support from the crew, without Tracy and Chris jumping in and getting done the things that need doing and putting up with me barking orders at them like a grumpy old man. The bike just wouldn't have gone out in time for any race at all.

A highlight of the weekend was in the Over 600 novice race. I entered it just for the track time and no hope at all of winning against such new bikes. I hadn't even bothered to qualify so I had to start at the rear of a 18 bike grid.
I dumped the clutch and just hung on! I think my legs were just flapping in the breeze! Zig Zaged my way past and into 5th position for the first corner!
The new motor is awesome, with everybody commenting on how fast it is. I think there is still about 10% more to come too, with some tuning.
Only finished 8th but it was in front of a field of newer bikes, with mine being 18 years older than the next oldest bike. It was crazy but a lot of fun.

The next race is Phillip Island April 12 and the first round of the interclub series. This should be the most competitive of the series for this year and the racing will be very close.

Cheers!

Chris Rostron