Phillip Island Thriller On Corser Aprilia
Illawarra Mercury
Friday April 21, 2000
As I cross the Phillip Island start/finish line, I'm in sixth gear on the Aprilia RSV 1000 at 1100rpm and looking down the straight it's like you are going to go straight into the ocean!
I'm doing 290 km/h as I climb the crest of the rise on the straight and head to turn one.
You must watch for a cross wind as it tries to blow you off the track as you tip it in, and the occasional seagull can cause a problem as I found out in the second race in '96!
Hop on board for the ride of your life.- < p>TURN 1: Past the 100m mark I grab the brakes and backshift to fourth gear.
A super-fast entry here to start a fast lap is a must. there are also some bumps in the middle of the corner that can unsettle the Aprilia.
Hard on the gas as gently as possible and a lot of wheelspin as you head to Southern Loop, 185 km/h, mid corner.
TURN 2: For Southern Loop it's back to third and in late to carry a lot of corner speed (120 km/h) through this double apex off camber left-hand corner to give you good speed down the straight towards Honda; fourth gear, fifth gear.
TURN 3: I'm in fifth gear with the Aprilia doing about 240 km/h.
I try to stay tucked in under the screen as I cross under the bridge only using my left knee to help the bike in. (A crash here would be huge).
Big balls needed to go fast through here with the throttle wide open.
TURN 4: Honda corner, 71 km/h. This first gear corner approaches really fast as you exit turn three.
Slightly before the 100m mark it's on with the anchors, backshift to first and the rear end hanging out as you tip in for Honda.
Careful on the gas (as it's easy to highside here) hook second and hard on the gas to Siberia.
TURN 5: Changing into second out of Honda and through turn five is full throttle (175 km/h) and rev limiter stuff if the rear tyre is wheelspinning.
Braking hard into Siberia.
TURN 6: 97km/h. Apex a little late to Siberia to keep good corner speed. Open the throttle a little to get the rear sliding to help turn the bike.
Hard on the gas in second on the Aprilia RSV 1000 is awesome as it tyres to wheelie and leave huge blackies as you head to turns seven and eight.
TURNS 7 & 8: I click third and fourth here before turn seven (210 km/h) to keep the front tyre on the ground as you go from white line to white line pushing the front tyre hard throughturn eight at about 196 km/h, heading towards Lukey Heights.
TURN 9: Brake and backshift to third as you tip into the left-hander at Lukey, at 145 km/h.
Tip in late because of the bump in the middle of the corner.
Knee on the deck as you approach the top of the hill, with the rear end hanging out leaving huge blackies as you get back on the gas.
TURN 10: This is a downhill right-hander. Braking hard and backshift to first (70 km/h), watching you don't lose the front end as you tip in still braking hard over a couple of small bumps.
TURN 11: Short shift second and third gears to keep the front end on the ground as you accelerate out of the hairpin and flick it to the left for turn 11 at around 120 km/h.
This is probably the most important corner on the whole track as you need a good run out of here and get hard on the gas as early as possible.
Clicking fourth along the straight towards turn 12 (205 km/h).
TURN 12: You are sliding the front and rear as you tip into turn 12 at 170 km/h and just ease off the throttle a little to help steer the Aprilia into the corner.
Then start to open the throttle again watching the front doesn't let go.
There are a couple of small bumps here similar to turn one.
Click fifth just after crossing the rise that leads on to the straight and tuck in as early as possible A good draft down the straight makes a big difference.
Click sixth at the start/finish line at 245 km/h, with the revs at about 12, 200rpm. A good time around here would be in the 1m33 - 1m34 mark.
See you at the island!
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury
