Conditions were almost too good for the Cliffhanger Promotions standing and flying quarters on Dalefield Road, Carterton, on Sunday. In temperatures that hung around the 30C mark the record 41 riders sweltered in their leathers, spectators slopped on sunblock supplied by St John Ambulance, melted tar tugged at jandals and arush trip had to be made to town for ice to un-fry the brain of the timing gear. Towards the end of the day, as the sun continued to beat down, more and more riders parked up. In temperatures that hung around the 30C mark the record 41 riders sweltered in their leathers, spectators slopped on sunblock supplied by St John Ambulance, melted tar tugged at jandals and a rush trip had to be made to town for ice to un-fry the brain of the timing gear. No doubt the club will provide some official figures later, but at the time I left the fastest bike in the flying was a 2006 Suzuki GSXR Hyabusa which clocked 302 km/h (187.65mph) and took 4.7921s to cover the quarter-mile. Local hope Tony Sampson, whose Suzuki was over-geared last meeting, found he had the opposite problem this time. The bike was hitting the rev-limiter too soon, limiting him to just under 300km/h. A good turnout of fans were treated to some awesome wheelies at lunchtime and some very quick standing quarters in the afternoon. Organiser Dina Albrett said the riders were happy, having got very good value for their money. "At this stage we intend to have another one on February 3, and our Cliffhanger Hillclimb is on March 15 and 16. "We have just been informed that the Aussies are sending over some riders to contest the hillclimb, which has been granted New Zealand championship status," she said.
