Throttle to the stop

The one and only competitive racing event that I took part was in the late 90's. The Honda EX5 Endurance Challenge Cup (kapchai racing mah) at the Batu Tiga Circuit. All the bikes were identically supplied by Boon Siew Honda and only limited modifications were allowed.

There wasn't enough racers (Cub Prix was in season and the racing teams would not allow their contracted racers to compete) and we were roped in to fill up the grid. The rules of endurance racing for this cup means having three riders in a team and each rider can only race up to maximum no of minutes in an hour (rotational basis).

That was my first time racing on a kapchai. Please bear in mind that riding and racing kapchais are two different beasts. I have zero experience in racing them. My first time racing on one was during the practise session on Friday, two days before the actual race. Anyway, we sent our best rider for qualifying and we qualified in the lower teens for the grid.I was the third rider on team.

On race day itself, the paddock was a hive of activities. It was a rolling start i.e. the race started with the riders running to their bikes waiting at the start line (held by a mechanic). We, the waiting riders lined up against the pitwall looking at the rolling start and cheered our respective riders.

Once the race started, we just sat there twiddling our thumbs waiting for our turn. Despite the calm within us, you could see all the riders were itching to race. I could feel my adrenalin level pumping on high, eventhough my turn has yet to come. When my turn came, we had some problems with the bike. Ah Heng (the second rider)told me the front brakes were feeling spongey. The rear sprocket was also dry. The mechanics sprayed some lubricating oil on the rear sprocket and tightened the nuts for the front brakes. That cost us some time.

I also botched up my launch when I left the pit in the second gear. The bike was spluttering until I corrected the gearing. Malu-malu. I think I rode okay but we were way down the field. The brakes were downright spongey and I had to brake earlier than I thought I should. My concentration was wholly on the race. It was so intense. I thought if they had checked my heartbeat then it must have gone through the roof. When my time was up I was knackered like hell and I slumped against the my pit wall.

We rode well that day with no incidents. We didn't win of course since we were all novices and racing for the first time in our lives.