Second Round Of the Southern Downs C’Chips
Warwick, Qld- May  17 – 18

The 17th of May saw the second round of the Motorcycle sportsmen “southern Downs” series.  I qualified on the third row of the formula 400 grid which was 20 riders strong, which put me an alright position for the races ahead.  In the first race I got a horrible start and I was third last by the first corner which left a lot of work ahead. I was passing people every chance that I thought was possible and managed to cross the finish line in 8th place.

Sunday morning was a freezing cold which was a bonus for me with my tyres lasting twice as long as usual. The second race I got off to a similar start working my way through the pack till I latch on to the back of Gary Robinson #29 (VFR400) and Peter Turner #129 (ZXR400).  I followed them for a few laps picking out where I was faster and planning how I would pass them. Two laps before the end I made my move passing Garry under brakes into turn four and then passing Peter under brakes into turn 6. After I passed them I put my head down for the remanding laps to pull a handy lead to finish in 8th again with a fastest lap time of 1:12.222.

For the final race of the day I got a my best start of the day and I was in decent position for the first corner I worked my way through the pack again working my way o 7th where i got my fastest lap time of the day with 1:12.063 so close to my goal to get into the 11’s.
Overall it was a good weekend I was proud with the fact that every time I went on the track I was faster. Hopefully next time I will crack the 1:11’s

First Round Of the Southern Downs C’Chips
Warwick, Qld- March 29 – 30

The First round of the Motorcycle Sportsmen’s “Southern Downs” Series was a great weekend. I qualified on the second row in 6th place only 2 seconds behind pole. The first race was a hard fought battle with rvf400 racer Chris Fitzgerald, it was a very close race which saw Chris and I swap positions many times. I was leading coming into the last lap but I lost the lead to Chris after getting stuck behind a lapped rider. It was an awesome race and I crossed the finish line in Fifth.

The second race was a near replay of the first with Chris and I fighting for positions, but on the last lap Chris again passed me to finish ahead of me in fourth place.

Race three was an even tighter battle between a pack of about four riders who were all desperate for positions. I got off to a really bad start and was 10th by turn one. After 1 ½ laps I had worked m way up to the pack on lap 3 I was attempting to pass Alistair Lang under brakes into turn one but I locked up the wheel and ran off track. I rejoined the race with no dramas and pressed on. I went on to pass a few riders and finished in 8th position

In conclusion I set my goals at the start of the day to finish in the top 5, so with an overall 5th placing, I achieved exactly that.

First race of 2008
Warwick, Qld- February 10, 2008

As I pulled out of pit lane on to the track for the first practice of the day I was nervous, as it was not only my first race weekend on the bike but my first ever time I had ridden the bike. The practice went well as I adjusted to the bike and slowly got faster and faster.

In race one I decided to be conservative and just hang back and learn more about how the bike handles and how far I could push it. I placed a reasonable fifth place and get a personal best lap time of 45 seconds

Up next was the Ron Newwit memorial race, which was a race held in the memory of former president of Motorcycling Queensland, The late Ron Newwit. The race was very interesting as it was held over a grueling 25 laps. It helped me a lot and proved to be a step forward in getting used to the bike as I cut down a second off my lap time from race 1.

Race Two saw me getting off the line for a horrible start which didn’t help me improve my final placing, but it did affect my improvement as I set a new personal best lap time of 43 seconds.

Race Three was my best race of the day as I got a much better start than the first race which put me in a really good position with the front runners for two thirds of the race. Being up with the front group most of the race helped me to get my lap times down to 42 seconds.

Overall, the first race of the season was a really good day, I learnt a lot and I progressed very quickly, I am looking forward to a very successful year.

Jacob's first ride on the 2007 cbr600rr
Queensland Raceway, Qld-    January 27, 2008:

The 27th of January was my first ride of the season at Queensland Raceway on my new 2007 Honda cbr600rr.
I started off the day just getting to know the bike and getting used to the weight and the brutal power of it.
As the day progressed I got faster and faster eventually getting my lap time down to a 1:25.00