I decided to register in D garde as this was my first race and the first time I'd ridden in a group of anything bigger than 2 or 3 riders (excluding the Gong ride last year, which is more of a rabble than a group).
A and B grades were 40 minutes + 3 laps, C was 30 minutes +3 laps, and D was 25 minutes +3 laps. The course is a dead flat boomerang shape with 2 hairpin corners at either end.
Before D started, they decided to split it into 2 groups. The slower, less experienced riders started first, then about half a lap later, the second half of D took off. I opted for the first group as I had no idea what to do, or how I'd perform.
One of the guys in our group actually owns the lbs and he was giving me some advice as we rolled around the track at a gentle pace. You can see how slow this was from the graph below (downloaded from the Garmin).

At about the 17 minute mark, the rest of D had caught us so I decide to stick with them for the remainder of the race. The pace was considerably faster than I thought it would be. See the other half of the Garmin Graph below.

The hardest part I found with this race was the two hairpin turns at either end of the course. I found it difficult to stick with the riders in front when accelerating away from the corner. Guess I'll have to practise accelerating from 10km/h to get this right. I also noticed that most guys continued pedaling through the curve in the middle of the course. I'm a little hesitant of that as I keep thinking the pedals will strike the ground and down I'll come.
Anyway, I managed to stick with the top guys in D and I think I finished 5th or 6th, so I was pretty happy with that result. Unfortunately I've got other committments for the next three weeks (Spring Cycle, trip to BrisVegas, then the Gong Ride) so it'll be a month before I can do this again. I've got to admit, I did love it though and I'll be back for more.
I've got to give a big "well done" to Killerheadwind. He rode out from Penrith to Smeaton Grange, did the race in C grade, then rode home. All of that after a big ride yesterday (can't remember how far he said he rode, but I was impressed).
Cheers all,
Kev.