Javelin Broderick Happenings!
Hey Everyone!
Well, this is Dads first Blog on the webpage and I am going to continue to do updates from here from now on as it gives us a better look at Javelins history.
The last two weeks have been so busy that I have a hard time remembering everything? We did a 4-day run the week before last that included Racteown 395 dirt racing, The Grange RS85 testing and 2 days of practice on the Ninja 250 with The Track Club!
The race at Racetown 395 was probably the most aggressive race that Javelin has ever put on! It was followed by disappointment with a photofinish that was handed to his competitor. The first moto wasn't very eventful. Jav got an OK start but wasn't in any battles really thoughout the entire race. I believe he was 3rd in that moto. The second moto was something completely different? He got a massive launch off the start and headed into turn 1 in second place squeezing a number of riders wide as he muscled his way through. His fastest rival Vincent still got ahead of him into the corner by a nose but it was "game on"! After 2 laps in the moto, it was clear that Javelin was weak through the last 2 corners prior to the start finish and the 3rd place rider was strong there. However, once they got over the finish line step down, Javelin was extremely strong down the front straight and into a pretty tight left handed turn 1. So here is what started to happen - the 3rd place rider would attempt a pass right before start finish and they would come over the jump together but as they came down, the 3rd place rider was no match for Javelin coming down the front straight and into 1. There were actually gasps coming from the people around me as they both flew by at a speed into 1 that made me very nervous. But Javelin would slam that bike into 1 and relegate the 3rd place rider back to third. Jav would then pull away some but lose his advantage again on those last 2 corners before the finish line. Unbelieveably, this happened 3 times in a row and the spectators were getting pretty excited! This was the hardest battle being fought all evening without doubt. Each time the 3rd place rider would get the edge and each time Jav would take it back going into 1. Vincent had pulled a nice lead by lap three because of the back and forth going on behind him but by lap 5, Jav and the third place rider had actually caught up to Vincent and even put a wheel beside him in an attempt to pass! This wasn't to happen though because of the battle still coming from behind. White flag came out and all top 3 riders were packed together coming around for the final lap. I held my breath as they Jav pulled his move going into 1 for the last time. Vincent managed to pull out enough to secure his 1st place victory while Jav's battle went on. Then he made a mistake and instead of switching up his line on the last corner and surprising the rider behind him, he kept the same line thinking he could race him to the finish. They came over the finish line so close that I didn't even know who got it?? The start / finish flagger looked bewildered and I don't think she knew either? It was not meant to be however and Jav was handed 3rd place. Talking with him later, he felt confident that he could outrun the other rider to the finish but it was a mistake. He should have swapped lines at the last moment and blocked the other rider around the last corner. Live and learn.
We stayed with friends that night and the next morning went to Grange Kart track to test the RS85 with our friend Sean. We have all three entered into the Grange 8-hour Endurance race and we plan on riding 20 minute sessions each...........................all day! Sean is by far the most experienced on these little bikes being a class winner with CMRRA in the past. The day went very smoothly with Sean quickly getting into the 1:07 range after 1 session on the bike.......he is fast and smooth. Javelin also did very well pulling a 1:09 after 2 sessions so he is on the move as well. Me on the other hand? I have some work to do..................lol. I was like a new born baby Giraffe on this thing!! I am 6'1" tall and I couldn't get my feet back far enough on the pegs. I kept dragging my toes around corners but after 2 sessions I started to work it out. On the second to last session of the day, Jav came in with a broken shifter that ended that days testing. The shifter has since been repaired and reinforced.
The Track Club was awesome as always. I was hampered with bike problems all day which made me ride more conservatively than I am used to. I did have a moment going into T1 though that had me spinning up my Pirelli Supercorsa rear from apex all the way out to within 4 inches of the edge of the track! I finally had to let off a bit which gave me a bit of a wiggle. This was enough to throw my feet of the pegs but I regained control and continued. Jav had wanted to ride the RS85 on the big track but couldn't because of the aforementioned broken shifter. The Ninja250 ran well except for a float bowl sticking on day 2 which we fixed pretty quickly. On the last three sessions of day 2, I gave Javelin the ZX-7R to take out on the track. He was so stoked that his face lit up like a Christmas tree!! He did really well on the big machine and looked like Dani Pedrosa...lol. He put in three very smooth and fast sessions on the big bike and I was thrilled. Thanx Mark for letting me run your ZX10R to chase the little bugger around!
After 4 solid days of riding, we were both completely exhausted on the way home to Ojai. Nothing much to look forward to now except the next weekend which had the Racetown 395 series end and the very first SCminiGP roadrace! Nope, nothing to worry about here.....................lol
Check out the next blog to learn how things went!
Bernie And Javelin....................Number 814