2008 NZPCRA GP Taupo. - NZ Post Classic Racing Association

Labour Weekend Classic
Motorc ycle Register Races
Labour weekend and the first race meeting for the NO 1
Plate for the NZPCRA which is incorporated in the CMRR
Labour Weekend meeting. The CMRR always put on an
enjoyable meeting with a relaxed atmosphere and a great
little barbie and a few beers to finish off with. As usual
with running at this time of the year the weather was
unpredictable and Saturday arrived cold and overcast.
The meeting is split over two days so it allowed for a little
more time between races. First race of the day was the Pre82
juniors and Peter Sales on his TM435 got away to a good
start followed by Carl Hanna on his Ducati TT2 and Trevor
Taylor on the TZ350, By lap three Trevor had worked his way
to the front and Randy Scott on the CBRR was up to fourth
spot just behind Graham Moorhead and his TZ350. With
the white flag waving Randy managed to get past Graham
Moorhead and the finishing order was Trevor Taylor first,
Peter Sales second and Randy Scott in third.
Next up was the senior class which was a mix of Pre 82 and
Pre 89 senior machines. It was Craig Smith on his Suzuki
GS 1000 who made the most of the first lap to come across
in first place with Nick Turners RC30 in second and Phi
Duxbury on the GSXR7/11 third ahead of Brian Deadman So
it was pre82 first and fourth with the Pre 89 bikes second
and third. Russell was forced to return to the pits when his
visor blew off at the kink at full noise. But was not allowed
back in the race after fitting a replacement.
By the end of six laps we had Craig out in front with Nick
Turner in second and Phil Duxbury in third spot. Brian’s
weekend was beginning to turn stale with his bike developing
a misfire which was to haunt him for the weekend.
The second race for the Pre 82 Juniors saw Trevor Taylor
pull away from the rest and settle into first spot leaving
Carl Hanna and Graham Moorhead to argue over second
spot, unfortunately Grahams TZ showed the eccentricities
of two strokes and locked up on the third lap leaving Randy
Scott to come through into third, the way the race ended
The last race for the day for the Senior Classes saw Craig
Smith and Phil Duxbury head off leaving Brian Deadman
to pull up with engine issues before the end of lap one.
On the third lap Phil started to have misfire problems
which saw him drop back down the field and Nick Turner
come up to second and a hard charging Paul Dobbs on
the Norton come into third spot overcoming Phil Clarke
on his GS1000 who ended the race in fourth.
With the weather during the day flitting between overcast
to showering it was with a sense of relief that everyone
went away hoping for a better day on Sunday.
Sunday dawned but not clear and warm, rather wet and cold, it
was going to be a hard day with only one race for each class.
First up it was the junior’s and it was a depleted field that
formed up on the grid. With the track wet it was the TM of
Peter Sale that went to the front ahead of John Carter on
the Suzuki GSX400 and Glen Walker-Holt on his GPZ550.
As the race unfolded Trevor Taylor moved through the field
eventually taking second spot just ahead of John Carter
but the man of the moment was Peter Sale who ended the
race in First almost 50 seconds ahead of the rest.
For the senior race of the day it was showery. Off the start
Smithy bogged which allowed a number of riders through.
Large puddles had formed on the inside of turn 1 which
every one avoided except for Smithy who obviously had
forgotten all about this particular track condition and
thought this was a good opportunity to slip up the inside
and get a few positions back. Yep you guessed it, the big
aquaplane and lucky not to lose it (some good shots of
it on the Highside Photography website) The wet track
also caught out Brian Deadman on the first lap as he had
a big off coming over the mountain with Smithy almost
binning it again as he was forced to take to the wet grass
to avoid the Z-man lying around on the track.. The race
continued and the showers turned to heavy rain When the
dust had settled it was Nick Turner who got the best start
and he went on to hold out Phil Duxbury .Further back
Russell Barker, who had to avoid Brian Deadmans bike on
the first lap was fighting with Phil Clarke on his GS The
race finished with Nick Turner first, Phil Duxbury second,
Russell in third and Jim Manoah on his Kawasaki giving
Russell a hurry along and coming home in fourth.
Brian’s bike luckily only suffered the usual superficial
damage; tank damage, bars, footpegs and a little more
lightning up of the fins on the barrel. As a result it looks
likely that this will put the Zed man out of the rest of the
number 1 plate series. We hope he can get the machine
back together and we look forward to seeing his smiling
face when he next turns out.
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Page 4 The Post Classic December 2008