NI Cup Round 2 – Napier - 14-15/01/11

This race, like the Tauranga race was a Friday and Saturday race. I drove up with dad on Thursday about lunch time as Shaun was going to be doing some shuttle runs about 5.30, but that never happened. They had left the track building stuff to the last minute by the looks of things. They were still sorting out the 2nd to last jump and the scaffolding to go in between it. Dad and i arrived at about 5.30, and they were sorting out the scaffolding then, and we left a little after 8 and they were still sorting out the scaffolding. Since the shuttles werent going to happen i just hung around Kaytee and waited for Carl to turn up so i had someone to walk the track with, as everyone else there had already walked the track earlier. Cant remember when Carl turned up, mightve been about 7, but not sure. We walked up the track looking at lines and discussing them, then on the way back down i just looked at the lines again, and disscussed ones i wasnt sure on with carl and got his opinion. By the end of the walk i had a rough ideas of what lines i wanted to try to see what worked best and and an idea on what jumps i should be able to hit realitively easily and what ones i might struggle with.

So Friday was practice day. Just like Tauranga it was stinking hot, except unlike Tauranga there was a bit of shade in the shuttle line in the form of a single tree, which when you were under it, it felt a lot lot cooler, I swear i sweated more waiting for the shuuttle then i did actually riding. By the end of the day i had my lines pretty much sorted, and was doing all the jumps but 2. Wasnt doing one cos it was quite big and teh corner before hand that you needed to rail was getting a bit blown out and the other i didnt do cos it was a step up with a horizontal take off and i cant bunny hop that well.

Come race day i figured i wasnt going to win, but i was going to try anyway. I did two practice runs in the morning making sure i could still stick to my line in the steep dust bosl, which i could For seeding run i just cruised down and didnt bother pedalling up the top really as i wanted to say save my energy for race run. I got 2nd for seeding 7secs behind Maddy. Race run was pretty average as far as my runs went. I pedalled as much and as hard as i could, and i swear it was no faster but a lot more tiring. I got most of my lines well enough that i was happy. At least untill the end of the steep dust bowl section where i hit the rock and had to get off and drag bike vack to the side of the rock onto the track again. Rest of the run was all good. Was pretty Knackered by the end though. Ended up 2nd agian but this time 10secs behind Maddy.