Yesss Brrrrrrr .... it is a bit chilly

Well here we are, home from the first event of 2013. It didn't really go terribly well, but of course we had a good time and it certainly could've been much much worse!
On the plus side, it didn't rain one drop in 4 days! Nor were any parts damaged and no cases cracked.
The event also ran to conclusion which last year was a rarity. Lizz McCarthy was the worthy winner, number one qualifier (by miles), and ran too many PB's for me to keep track of. My new camera made itself invaluable, between the slow motion footage that Sam took, and the information the racepak supplies, there really isn't a lot left to the imagination. It's definitely a must have at all future events, especially when trying new things or when runs are problematic.
The new racing surface at Santa Pod was really very good too, the racepak picked out no real bumps at all and the grip was good considering the amount of preparation it's had. Oh, and my new wheelie bars didn't snap.... they didn't work terribly well either - and i guess that can lead me onto the down side of the event, which I'll attempt to keep brief.

The new bars were largely a failure, the sliding joints were the problem, they simply rode further and further up the bars, pulling them out of shape as they went, and flexing far too much to be acceptable. The fix was simple but may affect the integrity after a while, and it was simply to pop rivet each joint so they couldn't slide. And hey presto they worked absolutely fine after that.
The bike didn't run too well either, the problem was a misfire just after launch, it would just get up on the bars, then misfire a few times, crash back down, then come back to life ... usually rearing off in whichever direction it fancied. The cause is still under investigation, but the new battery is having a finger pointed at it in the meantime .... the logger shows the voltage dropping to just 10volts when the nitrous comes on.
Oh, and lastly, it was the coldest event we have ever been to, BRRRRRR.

Because Sam was on slow-mo video duty she didn't get chance to take many pictures, so there's no gallery of shots like usual. Instead we have the video and a couple of burnout pics. But that's all folks!