MY FIRST TRACK-RACING EXPERIENCE
IT was race day. All preparations had been made and it was finally time to put girl and machine to test. I was about to take part in my first motorcycle racing event, the Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF) Merdeka race day,
A few modifications had been made to turn the stock Honda CBR 600 into a racing bike. We changed the exhaust system, swapped tyres, installed racing footrests, and finetuned the suspensions.
For the exhaust system, we replaced the stock exhaust with a used Moto3 rear muffler system by welding it to the header of the stock exhaust. This provided for a much better airflow because there was no need to adhere to the emission regulations.
As for the tyres, we replaced the Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S21 with the Battlax Racing Street RS 10.
My coach Oh Kah Beng and I would be sharing the same motorcycle for the MSF. This was not supposed to be an issue as we would be racing in different categories: he is in Category B (intermediate) and I am in Category C (rookies).
As long as neither of us crash, that is.
The first thing my coach asked me in the morning was if I’d had a good night’s sleep. I assured him that I did. But I told him I wished the race fairing we had ordered for the the CBR would have arrived. We had no choice but to race using the standard stock fairing and that, for some reason, was bothering me.
It was half past eleven, and it was time for Qualifying and Practice (QP) for Category C riders. The sound of revving engines got me the adrenaline pump.
“Drop the ego, finish the race and most importantly, have fun on your first race!” my coach told me.
In my head, however, a voice kept telling me to better make sure I didn’t crash on my debut race.
The first two laps were the free practice where I told myself to take it easy, warm up the tyres, and choose my lines on the Sepang track. I started speeding up gradually but cautiously, or at least I thought I was!
It was the final lap of the QP, and as I powered out Turn 6, I suddenly lost traction of the rear wheel, which then followed by a recovery of traction. I thought I had managed to avert a crash but the next thing I knew, as I opened my eyes, I was sliding on the track and could see the bike sliding away towards the gravel.
A few days earlier, I had faced a similar situation during a practice at a smaller track nearby. A “baby” power slide had almost thrown me off in what would have been a high-side fall, but I had somehow managed to bring it under control and avert a crash.
Unfortunately, this time I was going at a much higher speed and was not able to save the situation.
I got up and quickly ran towards the bike. The first thing that pops in my mind was, “I am so in deep trouble”.
The throttle grip, the throttle cable and the rear brake lever footrests were smashed. And of course, my worst nightmare, the standard stock fairing of the CBR was badly smashed in the fall.
As I returned to the pit, I could see many worried faces. My coach checked on me for any major injuries. Fortunately, I suffered only minor injuries as I sprained my pinky finger and bruised my right elbow.
Oh would tell people in jest that I had crashed the bike deliberately to test out my brand new racing suit. But, seriously, I was so grateful that my leathers protected me from the high speed low-side crash.
I told him that I was not even pushing myself when the crash happened but he said, according to the lap timing I did, I was actually pushing it. He told me that I had shaved eight seconds off from my first track day experience and that my fastest lap time was 2:50.
My coach had to give his QP a miss as the Most Fun Gym (MFG) team was still trying to fix the bike. We did not have spare throttle grip and throttle cable so we had to wait for one of the mechanics to get the parts from Kuala Lumpur.
“It’s okay, that’s the risk we both take by sharing the same motorcycle,” said Oh.
We were running out of time and I was beginning to lose hope of completing my first race. It was going to start soon and the spare parts had yet to arrive. But Kah Beng told the team it was not time to give up yet.
He told me to stand by and as soon as the parts arrived, the team rushed to the bike just in time before the race started.
Both of us finished our respective races. I ended up in third place (because there were only three women racers that day!)
Oh was a former racing legend back in the 70s where he used to race in the Penang Grand Prix (GP). The MSF Merdeka race was his first after 30 years of not racing.
He managed to record a 2:31 lap time on the CBR 600RR during Race 2. For a 64-year old, that is simply inspiring!
I learned that it’s okay to crash on your first ever race. You just have to stay calm and finish what you started.
Can’t wait for the third round of the MSF Racing series this December!