THE BEAST CARVES ‘EM UP

A month OR SO BEFORE the Old BikeAustralasia Classic Challenge held at Sydney Motorsport Park, ex- IoMTT racer, Alex Pickett,, did a test day on the FZR1000 Period 6 race bike. Alex hadn’t raced a bike in just over two and a half yea,,rs so he wanted to see if he still had his ‘mojo”.Well, he certainly,, did and I was a little surprised he went so fast so soon. Usually, Alex will build slowly into his normal fast lap times, but it only took him a couple of sessions, and he was back on it .Cheeky… very cheekyRoll on to the weekend of the Classic Challenge,, and Sydney’s crazy rain-sunshine-rain-sunshine was back for the first day’s racingDue to the wet track surface, Alex decided to sit out qualifying and the first Period 6 Formula 1300 race. This did cost him the overall win, but Alex needed to err on the side of caution due to a career change, which meant he couldn’t risk getting hurt, and as dangerous as racing can be on the odd occasion, it’s far easier to crash in the rain than the dry, as one of our good friends found out when he crashed onThe lads – Alex, Chris & StuartNanother bike’s oil after a blow up.

So, Saturday was an easy day for us and we caught up socialising with racing friends whom we hadn’t seen for some time due to Covid. It also meant we left the track early and had a great late afternoon/dinner full of laughs .Roll on Sunda,,y and the weather was looking more promising, despite the street outside being wet when we woke up.

The track was a littleSaturdayy was an easy day for u,s and we caught up with racing friends we hadn’seen dueeue to Covid. It also meant we left the track early and had a great late afternoondinner fulll olaughs whennen we arrived but soon dried out for the first race.Alex had to start last and was into 3rd overall on the first lap. This was anamazing display of skill as he carved his way through the pack. As the races were two classes mixed into one, this also meant Alex was 1st in class. The two bikes ahead were Kawasaki ZX7RRRRRRs with two top level racers on board. Alexsat in 3rd overall and enjoyed following the two in front and was a bit of a larrikin pulling wheel stands everywhere. Mind you, this is different to the power wheel stand you see in the opening picture!For the second race Alex started third on the grid as it was a progressive grid, meaning wherever you finished the previous race is where you start the next. Alex soon got into 2nd overall and again, 1st in class but I was worried his rear tyre would go off and sure enough it did, on the final lap. This allowed the fellow in third to get alongside Alex exiting a turn, at which point he decided to turn over on Alex and hit him. Alex rolled off and came in 3rd overall and 1st inAll set