"Kraygstar" Craigs personal account Le Minz 2007 We put Craig on the Matrix to prove its reliability. We didn't expect the team to win, which is just what they did. "Kraygstar" Craig This is the story of Le Minz from Craigs point of View, Craig does not work in the industry he is in the medical field and it was a dream of his to compete in the Le Minz 24 hour scooterthon. Such a nice bloke is Craig that we gave him a seat. Here is what he has to say...
The email said it all. “Want to do Le Minz? Vmoto are giving us two scoots for Le Minz, want a ride? This came from Brendon from ScooterHQ a little over a month ago.
It seems like a dream now, not sure it really happened but when looking at some photos and seeing me then it all comes back.
Saturday 8th Rob and I made it down a little early and proceeded to soak it all in. We chipped in and got to helping as he swept one part of the track and I swept another and dang! I got a blister on the palm of my throttle hand and I hadn’t even set bum or foot on a scooter. Soon after we met Tanwyn, the Manager of Vmoto Australia, our 3rd team member. He gave us some matching shirts and caps to make us look a little more like a team and now we were set.
Rob and I both knew what the little Vmoto Matrix looked like but up until now, had never turned a lap on her. But soon all the necessary duties like signing in and getting into our gear had passed and practice came. My 10 minutes soon came and went and what a rush. But got to focus, the big game is yet to start.
The clock ticked down and the rush to get photographs was nearing an end then Darcy, our “Team Boss” says to me, “Craig, I’m going to send you out first”. I didn’t even have my jacket on yet. Quick, they’re griding up, found my gloves and got my water backpack on and rushed down to the grid. With a roar, 24 scooters tore off while I struggled to get my gloves on but seconds later I was off as well. Watch out everyone, Here comes Scooter no. 25
I remember a little piece of advice from Tim, “Don’t look at the clock” which the Matrix has in the centre of its dash. But a while later in this first session, I seemed to have been circulating for a while and I couldn’t help myself. I looked…..15 minutes!!!! Ah Damn! Settle down, Breathe, Corner coming up, Brake Lean Corner Accelerate…..Only another 23 hours and 45 minutes to go!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, things started settling down into a routine and we thought we might try some longer stints but just settled doing the hour on and two hours off. Though a couple of stints went a little longer than an hour just to give the next person a better rest.
I couldn’t really sleep that well, though I do remember napping and waking up not remembering where I was. Also had a kip still dressed in my leathers under my sleeping bag right up over my head as the cool night air was covering everything with a layer of dew. More sessions went past then I was out again as the sky was getting lighter with the morning sun. A real magical experience in the crisp cool morning air and the other thought that went through my head was…. Wow! We’ve put 18 hours of near continuous riding behind us!
Rob went out again then back to me which by this time was about 6:30 – 7am. I’d found my sunnies by then and felt quite alive and energetic. Quite a contrast from when I was on the track just after 9pm the previous night and thinking “I’ll never do this again…” Now, the sun was up, the Matrix was on song and hadn’t missed a beat all night and everything was gooooood. Yeah, I’ll definitely want to do this again.
The sun was getting higher and closing in on the 12 midday finish. A massive crash whilst I was out again had us backing off as we passed the pits and scooter in pieces on the ground and someone lying on the ground near the trees. A few more hours to go and Rob was starting to feel it and my hands were cramping and Tanwyn was having trouble with his long legs. Finally, the last break was upon us and Rob was bringing in the Matrix. Mark Peterson, the organiser, yelled out that the last session was only 2 hours and ten minutes. In comes Rob and you could see it in his eyes that he was near exhausted. I remember yelling at Rob amongst the surrounding noise of other scooters coming in and refuelling, “Congratulations, Rob!! You’ve just completed your bit in the 24 hour!!! Well Done mate!”
“Is that it?” he uttered
“Yeah, there’s only 2 hours and ten minutes left in the last session so you won’t have to go out again.” I said.
“Thanks goodness”, he said as he attempted to extricate himself from the scooter without falling over”
“Well done, Champ! Go and have a good rest and cold drink”
From there it was pretty well a straight ride down to the Flag. I tried to stay out of the way of the faster scooters in the closing stages as I knew they’d be pushing harder to get a good finish and soon enough, at the end of the 23rd hour, I brought the Matrix in to hand it over to Tanwyn. It took a little effort to unfold my legs from the scoot but soon I was standing upright, getting pats on the back from Rob and handshakes from Darcy.
I stood there for a few minutes not know what to do next, still trying to comprehend what I just been through.
And then when Tanwyn crossed the line, I was elated. My first 24 hour scooter race and not only did we make it home without crashing once, we won our class. After 24 hours we finished 14th overall out of 25 scooters. 1514 laps and 999 kilometres. Big numbers for a rookie team on a little scooter. But what a weekend….Awesome!!! I won’t be forgetting this too quickly.
I have to thank Brendon and Darcy from ScooterHQ for the guidance through the whole experience and for setting up the opportunity in the beginning. Darcy, Thanks for your uplifting words at the end of each session. You start to loose the focus of why you're out there after awhile, getting a little disillusioned especially when you're constantly being passed by all the unrestricted scooters.
Tanwyn and Vmoto for bringing such an awesome little weapon to the fray and giving Rob and I the opportunity to take part and "FEEL THE BURN..."
and Nana for the little touch of home life humanity....Nice Pumpkin soup...
Thank you to Everyone that made this such a memorable experience. published 18/09/2007 |