Event Reports » 2010 » Actrix Victoria Motorcycle Club Round 1
Three of Moto Academy NZ’s four riders (Ben was unable to get time off work) arrived at Manfeild on Friday for a testday where we would run in new pistons and then work on some suspension drills aimed at teaching the riders how the motorcycle performance changes with different suspension settings. It is impossible to understand what changes a rider should make to make the bike do something different, if the rider does not know what effect those changes will have. It is one thing for a manager/technician/mechanic to say, “We’ll put two clicks of that or this on”, it is another for the rider to know that they need those two clicks to make the difference that they want. Ideally one would want to test each adjustment separately over several sessions in order to fully understand the effect, but we are time constrained, so need to achieve the same thing in shorter time.
While the weather was cool, it was fine and conditions were good for riding and testing. The riders all went about the task well, with the bikes firstly all being set to the standard manual settings followed by two sessions with the front damping all off, then we set the front damping all on and ran two sessions. Following that we reset the front and set the rear damping all off and ran a session. Unfortunately right at the end of the session Kyle was slightly off line going into T6 (Higgans) and hit a bump which launched the rear up into the air (remember, no rear damping) and put Kyle down in a low speed crash. A few scratches on the bike resulted, but no real damage to bike or rider. Unfortunately, during the next session a big bike dropped oil right around the track (due to poorly fitted oil filter) which took so long to clean that the day got dark and cold, so we called it quits.
Raceday dawned cold and wet, but the wet weather went through quickly, so only the first qualifying sessions were wet. For our session the track was drying but still had one or two damp patches, so we went out on slick tyres. All the riders rode well and sensibly for the conditions, getting a feel for it. Ben having been unable to take part in the test session was in the deep end for his first race meeting, but he quickly got into the groove of it all, qualifying in 3rd place behind Kyle and James, with an injured Glen (injured leg earlier in the week) in 4th. Sadly, the Moto Academy NZ bikes were the only 125GP bikes to enter this first round, so the races would be a Moto Academy benefit.
In the garage Round 1
Race 1
The race got off to a great start with all four riders getting away well enough and racing well until Ben had an engine seizure going into T1. He did all the right things, getting the bike and himself away from the track. It turned out that the sparkplug had failed and caused damage to the piston which had in turn seized in the cylinder. During the break we replaced the piston and cylinder and got him out on track for the next races. Over this weekend we would see that Kyle is certainly a step ahead of the less experienced Glen, James and Ben and was having trouble maintaining concentration being some distance ahead. Nevertheless, he maintained fair lap times for the time of year and riding on his own.
Kyle #13, Ben #12, James #14
Race 2
Owing to many delays on track in other classes our last race was late and shortened from 10 laps to 5 and also our third race was cancelled due to the weather and a big crash in the 600 class. This is unfortunate, but a fact of life in winter racing. The race went off very well with Kyle getting away and stretching out, but followed strongly by Ben and Glen. James admitted that he had lost his train of thought during the long day and was off form for this race. It was great to see Ben putting into practice the lessons about starting and then the lessons from the California Superbike School to come home in 2nd place with Glen and James not far behind.
Overall we had a very successful meeting with the one crash on the test-day and one unfortunate engine failure due to a parts failure. The riders all learned plenty about riding in the cooler conditions and maintaining their performance over a long day.
James Jarman
Standing after Round 1:
Kyle Hammond 50 points
Glen Orwin 40
James Jarman 40
Ben Taylor 22
Right, before I start I would just like to say this first round of the VMCC winter series completes my first year of racing motorbikes, and I am still loving every bit of it! (Only thing I don’t love is not having any money to do anything else!). I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Steve and Moto Academy New Zealand, all of its sponsors/supporters and anyone who has given me advice and tips along the way.
Test day
The weather turned out to be pretty good, which was nice because I hadn’t ridden since the Hampton Downs round of the nationals and felt a bit rusty on the bike. I was also nursing some injuries to my leg which I was worried about making worse, as that would mean more time off work. The morning sessions were spent mostly riding around getting back into the grove of things. Then in the afternoon we did a few suspension drills. After setting the bikes up as per the manual, we wound all the damping off the front end to see how the bike behaved. Then reset the front and then took all off the back. The day was cut short because a big four stroke bike spat oil all around the track and this took some time to clean up. This was a shame as we didn’t get to try any more suspension drills.
Race day
Qualifying
Qualifying was wet and crap, so I basically just rode around slowly in the rain waiting for the session to end. I really do need to improve my wet riding, which is one of my goals for this winter series. There were only four 125s anyway, so I ended up in fourth. (Still on the front row though!)
Race one
For race one the track was drying out, but still wet in places, so we went out on rain tyres. I got off the line OK but the engine bogged for a moment, but I managed to save it and only lose a bit of ground to Kyle and James. I was a bit distracted by Kyle doing the biggest wheelie I’ve seen on a 125! (Bet you can’t do it again Kylie!). Ben came hauling past me through turn two and quickly pulled up to James, which I though was going to be a good thing for me as it looked like they were going to hold each other up. But then Ben had a mechanical and had to pull off. After that happened I thought I was going to catch up to James, but every time I thought I was making ground I would get held up by some streetstock bikes. Towards the end of the race I realised I was not going to catch him and it wasn’t worth pushing it as the track was now mostly dry and the bike was beginning to move about a bit with the rain tyres.
Race two
The track was quite dry by now, so we went out on slick tyres looking for a faster race. I got a slightly better start than the last race, but still not as good as the hard starting James and Kyle! Ben came past me once again through turn two and we both caught up to James through the rest of the lap. Ben got him in the last corner and pulled away. I managed to get James in the same place in the next lap and tried to catch up to Ben. The gap between Ben and I stayed pretty much the same the rest of the race. I did think I was going to get him in the last one or two laps, but left it too late and got a few bad catch points with the streetstock bikes.
Overall I didn’t feel like I improved much over this round as I wasn’t really comfortable pushing when I shouldn’t have really been riding anyways (with my sore leg). By the end of the sessions I was quite uncomfortable on the bike. I do really have to learn how to relax and ride better in the rain, qualifying in the wet felt like the first time I had ridden a bike again!
Thanks to Steve and Moto Academy New Zealand and all of its supporters. A big thanks also to the VMCC and all of its helpers.
Thanks, Glen #15.
FRIDAY PRACTICE:
This was a good opportunity for us to test different suspension settings and feel the effects this had. I had never done this before and was enthusiastic about trying it out. With the front completely soft I struggled to get around the track with good speed but got the feel for it. This affected me hitting my markers (I couldn’t hit them). In the pits again we set them back to standard and softened the rear and went out to try this out. I could notice the difference but this took some time, I felt as though I could ride at speed and comfortably. I also spent the day trying different lines and approaches to Dunlop (this was one corner I did not feel comfortable around). By the end of the day I felt a lot better around Dunlop and due to an oil spill from another bike I had to take the corner in a completely differently way, showing me a different line that could be taken.
SATURDAY RACING:
QUALIFYING
The day turned out to be wet and looked to get worse but when qualifying came around the track had drying out considerably but was still wet in places. We had earlier heated the bikes up so all we had to do was start them up and head out on the track. I went out to test out the conditions and did not worry about my times as there were only the four Moto Academy NZ bikes so we would all be on the front row (I wanted to make it to the races). I was piecing all my points together and was ready to do my fast lap but unfortunately by this stage the checked flag came out, which was a real shame. I was happy with the session but felt I had heaps more speed. I qualified 2nd which was a real surprise.
RACE 1:
The track was still wet but had drying patches, which got dryer during the race. I had no real plan for this race and just took it as it came (which I shouldn’t do with racing). I hadn’t done a race start on the Academy bike before so was hoping that it wouldn’t be too different from my own bike. My start was good but got a bit carried away when I saw that I was beside Kyle who was in pole (nice wheelie!) and I then let the clutch out too fast and bogged the bike down. The first lap I tried to stay with Kyle but could not keep up with his pace. Then Ben came past in lap 2 only to be stopped by a bike problem. I was in second position and knew that Glen was behind, so for the rest of the race I managed to keep the gap at a safe margin. While doing this I slowed down and lost concentration which caused me to miss my markers, this was not good. I also felt that the rain tyres were moving around lots and was unsure of how fast I could go in the drying conditions. I came across the line in 2nd place and was happy with my performance but knew that I would have to speed up as the track was drying.
RACE 2:
It seemed like along time until the next race which had been shortened to 5 laps. I had trouble with getting focused on what I was to do as I seemed tired from waiting around (It was mentally draining). With the slicks on and the track dry but cool I was ready to see what I could do. I was happy with my start which saw me get in front of Kyle in turn one only for him to get past in turn two. Ben and Glen passed me in the first two laps around Dunlop. This highlighted a weak point which I had already been working on during the test day as well as during racing (I will need to keep working on this corner). The rest of the race went by quickly as I could not keep up the pace of the others and came home in 4th place.
All around it was a good weekend with plenty learned and things achieved.
Thanks Steve, Vic Club, Mum, Dad and everyone else involved.
James #14
