Pan Pacific Masters Games....Gold coast queensland in Oz

Just got home from competing in the panpacs masters for over 35's. the format was 3hr Vinduro followed by a 4 hr enduro on moderns. Then on sunday we did it all again backwards.

Following some bum advice we entered the pre 90, not seeing the pre 85 class when signing up (face it im old and easily confused.) we were in the 50 - 59 age bracket and +325cc in the modern event.



what a weekend! 35 degree heat (80 f) big humidity and some dust! (go on...) we started with 3 riders in team "cumagutza" riding 2 wr 400 twin shox. I started (after the team meeting I wasn’t at voted me in) and it was a great track, tight 2nd gear twisties, open grass paddock, black muddy goop holes and a burnt out commy ute next to a huge tree with masses of roots on the surface. It had it all.

We ran consistently in the old bikes and thought we had a chance but just missed the final flag to get on the most laps. After consuming some 20 bottles of water we broke out the wr 450 yammie for the modern event (I rode my 400 twin shocker) some how i missed another team meeting and started again, very hot and humid with nasty thunderheads building up. Around we went, no dramas with consistent laps reeling off. the 400 was going well, occasional missed corners due to the sudden change of the track conditions as the moderns just chewed it out with huge holes appearing in braking lines etc. the modern 4 bangers really put it down. interestingly there was stuff all difference btw me on the 400 and mates on the new wr yammie..

At 3 hrs and 1 to go the heaven's opened up and dumped 2 inches in 20minutes. it rained so hard that as our deck chairs started to blow away, the rain filled them up and kept them planted. I was standing waiting for Lloyd to appear and my boots filled to the top with water. Out I went, couldn’t see a thing, water cascading off the mx track jumps, lakes appearing on hillsides, just amazing. The black ruts got me and I had a stall and restart job which I repeated each time I went round! Unbelievably slippery with the twin feet sliding lines either side of the tyre line a giveaway.



The Saturday event finished and after hanging all our riding gear in the quickshade to dry, we took our shattered bodies and minds off for pizza and beer and sleep.



We fronted up Sunday and I once again started on the husky and JC it was greasy, nowhere except for two short road sections was there any grip and the tyres would fill with pooh and slide everywhere. By my second stint, the track was drying out and was a slide fest in the grassy track areas and the single line ruts were taking some serious throttle applications. At the riders brief, they said the tea tree tight area will to be cut from the course but it was still in until my second run wheras I went in to it only to exit to a red tape , they hadn’t marked the close off and I wasted a couple minutes in there while everyone else passed around it GRRRRR. Not happy Jan.



We ran out the vinduro comfortably setting lap times within 10- 20 seconds of each other which for three blokes on two old 400’s wasn’t too bad. We just missed the cut-off for that extra lap by 5 seconds…bloody course markers!!



Out again for the moderns and the team meeting put Lloyd up front. I had a lap on his wr 450 yammie and was all at sea so back on the wr400 for more consistent times. I was hunting down a punter on a pe 175 when he did a classic nose dive and tipped it right over so it was sitting on its seat and handlebars…nice one Jan.



We ran right up to the end when as I went out, the course marshal said ten minutes to go so I went as hard and as smooth as I could and just missed the cutoff again by a few seconds…the team could see me coming down the last straight when ol mate pulled out the flag.



So we rode for a total of seven and a half hours or so over the weekend which was pretty could with my 400 running basically all day for two days.



A great fun race and good to get the team Cumagutza back together for one last run

Sweet

some video of the sunday morning Vinduro just as the pooh started to dry out

View: https://youtu.be/H_1m-d0FOXI

some more...

View: https://youtu.be/X6CTgY1ntDU

a bit more to the end

View: https://youtu.be/57c4vXIUgnQ

Not bad at all Suprize!

was a great weekend (now the pain and suffering has moved on)

That's it Mate,

The pain won't last but the great memories are yours forever!

Your videos are great, the 400 sounds sweet!

I am always surprised how easy life is when reviewed through a video.

Great video John! It looks quite wet in places?

the Saturday arvo storm was of biblical proportions. I wish the go pro had had battery power still as ive never ridden in weather like it. (once before now I think about it but we went straight to the pub to dry out). it was a lake in parts then it soaked in o'nite. ill get the Saturday morning clip up soon veeerrryyy different track.

it built up again sunday arvo but the storm went north and flattened Caloundra. rooves off, power out, factories flattened, a classic tornado.