Okay, how about a round summary? Well my weekend started with leaving Albany at midday and riding 410 km to Perth to catch a plane. I had a cold which only got worse over the weekend, but fortunately I wasn't the one riding
Friday morning was wet, so we took our time getting the bike out, charged and through scrutineering. The other teams had been set up but were waiting for the weather to improve. We missed the first session but the second practice session was on a fairly dry track. Tim did a few laps on Voltron where we were able to adjust the regen settings but there's not much else you can take away from a few cold, slow laps.
It was wonderful to see several SA AEVA folks come up just as we pulled into the pits, but unfortunately for them the wall of water headed our way was imposing, and by about 11 am it started to bucket. The rain and hail didn't let up, until about 40 mm or rain had fallen by 4 pm. At least the pumpkin soup was warm and delicious!
Saturday morning was clear and the sun was slowly warming the track. The eFXC class is always given the first race of the day - yes, the coldest, usually wettest track of the day. The race was declared a wet race about 15 minutes before the pit exit was opened, so we didn't bother putting wet tyres on. Brad Swallow lead the first race from start to finish as he was on the right rubber, while Jason and Tim tip-toed around the circuit to collect second and third.
We put some fresh slicks on Voltron, and for the first time we could fit a 200/65 rear. This means more rubber at lean, and hopefully faster times. The track was plenty dry by the midday race, and Brad and Tim put on a good show.
The Ripperton machine is aout 100 hp and 170 kg, so it could out-brake Voltron into most corners. But Voltron's 130 hp advantage meant the lead would be re-taken within a hundred meters of the last corner. Swallow set a record breaking 1:17.358 only to be taken by Boujos the next lap with a 1:17.284. Boujos took the win from the exit of the last corner by just 53 milliseconds! Jason Morris took third with a new personal best lap time of 1:18.091.
The race schedule was looking increasingly tight, as a few big crashes meant significant delays. We knew that if time was tight, the afternoon eFXC race might be cut. But after not hearing any word from race control, the helmets were on and the bikes were ready. Then we watched the flag marshals pack up for the day. Yes, they failed to tell just three riders that the last race had been cancelled. More on this later...
Sunday morning's race was frustrating for Boujos as an uncharacteristic inverter fault stopped him at the exit of turn three. It took a few seconds to re-start but by this stage Swallow and Morris were in the distance. Swallow set a blistering new lap record of 1:16.408 and took first place with Morris a mere half-second behind. Morris also set a new personal best of 1:17.589.
Swallow's pace on the Ripperton machine took it's toll, as the already tired battery pack was now toasted. The bike's builder, Danny Ripperton said three blocks of cells were reading zero volts at the end of the race. He worked as had as he could to recover something, but the job was too big for the weekend.
Race four was at midday and the track was warmer, but only Morris and Boujos gridded up. A delayed start to clear some debris from the track meant the bikes were allowed a second warm-up lap to keep some heat in the tyres. Unfortunately this drained the pack slightly, meaning both bikes would be down on power and this showed in the lap times. Frustratingly for Morris, the Varley PR1 threw a controller fault costing him time.
The last race of the day was again graced with just two bikes, but the Varley PR1 machine hadn't been charged fully while the cause of the fault was isolated. Boujos set a blistering pace with an opening lap of 1:19.532 and a record-breaking flying lap of 1:15.723. Morris had to nurse the bike home after heading out with an already depleted pack, but still collected points for the round. A DNF or a non-start can be costly in a small field.
Points standings after Round 1:
Tim Boujos (WA) - Voltron Evo - 115
Jason Morris (NSW) - Varley PR1 - 108
Brad Swallow (NSW) - Ripperton R1 - 72