Event Reports » 2009 » Event 5 - Actrix VMCC Rd 3
Moto Academy NZ set out to get in a good day of training at Manfeild on Friday 24 July. Will was unfortunately not able to make it due to work commitments, but Walter, Glen and Kyle all headed out to the circuit primed to get in some good track time.
The day dawned cool but promising to be dry. All of the rear shock absorbers had been serviced and set by the good folks at Crown Kiwi Technical. The forks will receive the same treatments during the next month. So, we set ourselves up in the stalls and now that the riders have some comfort on the bikes and are starting to develop some speed, we set about doing our belated suspension setups for each of the bikes. Most of the settings were pretty close which was reassuring.
The riders all set out on their first sessions in the dry but cool conditions to get warmed up and to work on various riding drills. The first drill was to ride with all of the suspension damping settings backed off to make the suspension as fast (soft) as possible. The riders all noticed certain characteristics of the bike set this way, which was also reassuring. Even though he has some experience now, we asked Kyle to go through the drills again in order to reinforce his learning.
After the first session however, the weather changed and it began to rain quite steadily. So we changed to rain tyres on the bikes and sent the riders out again. While it is good to get plenty of rain riding learning, the type of learning is different to that experienced in the dry. So we were not able to work through our programme of testing, and instead concentrated on rider awareness of the bike in the wet and developing smooth and progressive styles.
The day then went well for the remaining sessions until the last session when Glen seemed to grab a bit too much brake over the bump heading into Turn 6 (Higgins) and slid off into the mud. A bit of damage to the bike, but nothing that wasn’t fixable overnight.
We then set up the bikes and equipment in the garage ready to get into racing in the morning.
Saturday thankfully, dawned lovely and sunny with lowish temperatures. So the day would be spent on slick tyres in the sun. Avalon and her family had arrived that morning and were setting up their bike. We changed out the rain wheels from the previous day, and Robbie set about giving the bikes a bit of a clean after running in the rain yesterday. The riders all then got geared up and went out for their qualifying session, where Kyle put in a really nice time and qualified in pole position, ahead of Avalon, Jaden, William, Glen, Will, Callum and Walter.
It is good to see Kyle maintaining his speed against quite good opposition. He needs to work on his fitness so that he can maintain this speed, but hopefully this will come as the season progresses. Prior to the first race Robert and Dennis from Crown Kiwi Technical came and helped a bit more with suspension set up. This seemed to help the riders significantly and will be great to get the forks serviced so that they are in good condition.
Race 1 was a good battle between Kyle, William and Jaden for 2nd place, with Avalon taking off from the start to win the race. Kyle held 2nd and 3rd for most of the race but faded towards the end and had to settle for 4th place.
Walter is now starting to really get a feel for the bike and his speed is really picking up. He is much more comfortable on the bike after a few gradual changes and his style is really improving. Glen has good bike speed already, but really needs to work on his starts, as he is leaving way too much work for himself to do. Will is suffering from lack of bike time, but he clearly has bike speed. We might need to do some suspension work for Will inorder to get the bike handling better. Unfortunately his lack of bike time became evident in Race 1 when he out braked himself and slid off entering turn 3. Luckily again there was little real damage and we got the bike together for the second race. Will also seems to be suffering from front end chatter which is likely due to the wrong front fork springs. We will need to get some heavier springs from him, the same as those that Walter has. The other two riders are somewhat lighter and are able to manage on the medium rate springs.
Race two was similar to race 1 with Kyle again racing for 2nd place, when Jaden pulled out of the race leaving Kyle and William to battle it out for 2nd. William just managing to beat Kyle into 3rd after Kyle faded a bit towards the end of the race. All the other riders finished the race and all seemed to be running well with good style and speed, but with some justification, taking it easy around the Streetstock riders. Glen came in 4th, Walter 5th and Will 6th. Will had to admit that he was pretty shagged, which is no surprise given how hard he is working at the restaurant and now at Tech. His world is pretty full on right now!! But it will all pay off, and soon!
I would like to thank Robbie for helping and being an enthusiastic mechanic. I can now leave him to do certain jobs on his own, which is really great. I would like to thank John and Dave for helping out also, Patrick for photos and support and Mikey for corralling the riders and assisting with their learning, and thanks to the riders for their enthusiasm, development and for having fun!
Thanks also to our supporters and suppliers. We are grateful for your on-going support.
Please read about the event from the riders points of view, to see how they enjoyed the weekend and what they learned.
Robbie making sure Will and Glen are on the ball!!
Photo courtesy of Moto Academy NZ Staff photographer
Avalon Biddle
Hi everyone!
It has been really good lately to have been getting back into a bit of racing. I've had a few rides on buckets at the local go kart track, I'm even currently leading one of the classes in the Auckland champs, but unfortunately we will miss some of the later rounds due to getting ready for the 125GP nationals later in the year. It’s great practice riding at the bucket track as it's so tight and there’s lots of passing, not to mention it’s great fun!
Last weekend (25th July) we once again travelled down to Manfeild for the 3rd round of the Vic Club winter series. It was a long drive just for two races but I managed to win both of them so it was a good day! This series is really competitive this year, so it’s really enjoyable, although a little bit cold!
I've also started a new plan at the gym and am looking forward to some more bucket racing and the rest of the winter series. Hopefully we will also make some races in the South Island not too far away.
I would like to thank Graham Dorreen for his continued support recently and all my other supporters, it is really appreciated.
Until next time,
Avalon.
Walter Gouws
Glen and I arrived at Steve's House in Palmerston North early Thursday evening, after our (way too long) drive from Auckland. After a less than impressive last round, I was keen to get out on to the track again, and I was pretty happy that we'd be getting a test day this time around to give us some time to get familiar with everything again, instead of getting thrown into deep end like we have been up until now.
Friday (Test Day)
We got to the track fairly early on Friday morning for the test day. At first I was a bit concerned about the wet weather, but despite the rain, it turned out to be a very valuable day for me in terms of training. Our first session on the track was quite damp, but even so, we didn't bother with wet tires. I just figured I'd take it easy first time out on the slicks, and treat it like a Sunday ride just to get into the swing of things. The entire session was pretty uneventful, and after about 15 minutes of riding I went back into the pit again, as our session had come to an end.
By the second session, it had gotten quite a bit wetter than before, so we opted for full wets on the front and rear. Seeing as this was my first time in the wet, on wet tires on the front and rear, I took it pretty easy early on, but after a couple of laps of circulating, I felt right at home. As the session went on, I tried to experiment with different lines through the corners. I guess my legs started getting tired, because I kept missing gears through Turn 3, just about every single time I went past.
I spent most of the third session just going around and around the track, to get some more time on the bike, but I kept missing gears on the same turn every time, so I called an early end to the session and went into the pits so we could adjusted my gear lever a little bit.
Going out for the fourth session, I felt really good on the bike, my feet felt firmly planted on the footpegs (whereas before, my feet kept sliding off and grinding on the ground going through tight corners). The extra padding on my seat really helped, as it put more weight onto the footpegs, and it made it easier for me to get behind the bubble.
By the fifth session, it started bucketing down with rain, and seeing as I had done so well during the earlier sessions, I decided to end my test day on a high note, rather than to risk crashing in the wet.
Saturday
We got to the track at around 8:30. Despite the light showers earlier in the morning, the sun eventually came out. There wasn't a whole lot for me to do other than sign in, as we spent the latter part of the day before moving all of our bikes and gear across into our new pit garage.
Qualifying:
We went out for our qualifying session late that morning. I took it pretty easy since it was still a bit damp from the showers earlier on. On top of this, I started noticing some abnormal behavior on the front suspension, as the bike started chattering heaps under heavy brakes (going into hairpins from the straights). I didn't really feel confident because of this, and I was pretty slow during the whole session and ended up qualifying in 8th place, with a lap time of 1:32.654.
Race 1:
Fortunately for us, it warmed up quite a bit for Race 1, and there was heaps of grip on the track. I had a pretty bad start. I thought I had the bike going, but I left the clutch too early, and bogged down a little bit. The first few laps were tense as usual, battling it out with the 250s, I eventually managed to get ahead of most of them. On about the third lap, I got passed by Will, but as we went through Turn 3, he grabbed a bit too much of the front brake, bringing up the rear of the bike, running off the track and dropping it. I sat in 5th place for a few laps before getting passed by Glen which put me back into 6th place, where I stayed for the rest of the race.
Will, Water and Glen racing for position.
Photo courtesy Moto Academy NZ Staff Photographer
Race 2:
Our second race of the day was delayed by quite a bit, due to a number of crashes in the races prior to ours, and by the time we went out, it had cooled down quite a bit, which meant we'd have less grip out there. I had another disappointing start. I pushed myself off the line, and held the clutch for what seemed like ages, but even so, by the time I got going, even the 150s had caught up to me. As before, I spent the first few laps getting away from most of the 250s, except Adrian Billington. All it took for me was to mess up a couple of shifts through Turn 3, as I had been doing all weekend for him to overtake me. For a couple of laps, it seemed like I was gaining on him, before I messed up another shift, and lost him completely, Glen on the other hand didn't seem to have too much trouble passing both of us. Other than my shifting problems, I felt quite good on the bike, but strangely enough, my lap times were slower than in Race 1 (I was only able to manage a 1:28.077, compared to my 1:27.273 in Race 1). Due to Jaden Hassan falling out with a bike problem, I got put up into 5th place.
Overall I feel like this is easily my best weekend so far, as we got lots of track time between the Test day and the Race day. Due to the adjustments we've made to the bike, I feel much more comfortable on it, and I can now focus on the actual racing aspect of things (brake points, apexes, getting on the throttle early, etc) , rather than having to worry about my feet constantly dragging on the ground every time I go through a tight turn. I genuinely feel like I've progressed onto the next level after this weekend, and I don't think I should have too much trouble improving my lap times even more from now on.
Grats to Avalon Biddle on the double, and Cheers Steve, Mike, Robbie, Vic Club, our sponsors, and everyone else for another great weekend.
Bring on Round 4 :)
Walter
Moto Academy #12
Kyle Hammond
Testing
I arrived at a damp track on Friday morning. I skipped the first session, as the track was very slippery. But I still managed to get in 5 sessions after this, 4 wet and 1 with a dry line, nevertheless, I still had a awesome time out there, really building more wet confidence!
After the test day, we headed back to the Raceway Court Motel, for a tutioral with Steve. Going over some very valuable ideas about the weeks before the race day and getting into it faster. With some facts about tyres and how they are made at the end of it.
Thanks Steve for this, it was very valuable stuff.
Race Day
Q1
The track was slippery and wet by the time we got to the track, but because we were headed out last, it would give the track sometime to dry. I headed out in front of everyone and took off in front. This was possibly a mistake as I approached the Streetstockers in record time, just after the second lap. Next time I'll leave behind them, in the hope that I will finish passing them all by the start of the first flying lap. Nevertheless I got in a couple of pretty quick laps, until I noticed I was struggling to change gears. As I knew I had a fairly OK position on the grid I didn't risk it being fatal. It turned out that the shifter was the wrong one for me, and it was quickly swapped over for the right one. No worries!
I qualified on pole with a best time of 1:19:5, what was a fair bit slower than I have been before, but I guess the track temps were quite low at the time. I did notice that the bike was moving around alot during qualifying, so I talked to Steve about this and we decided to slow down the suspension settings a bit to suit the drying track.
Race 1
The race approached, and as I went around the warm up lap I could immedinately feel the difference. That being the steering was more precise and the overall feel was more rigid. The lights came on and then they went out. Somehow I managed to finally nail my start to a pretty good standard. Heading in to turn one just behind Avalon, I had a brain fade, and started braking a little bit too early. Not carrying enough corner speed I got eaten alive by William, who took me down the inside. This was a big mistake, as I was now getting held up a wee bit on the midfield straight away. I finally got past him through the in-field, but by this time Avalon had taken off. Eventually, I buttoned off a little bit towards the end of the race, due to lap traffic/not being aggressive enough and ended up letting Jayden through and started battling with William. On the last lap, I was following William with the plan to attack him at either theT6 (Higgins) or T7 (sweeper). I managed to get right up next to him down the back straight, but I didn't quite get a strong enough slipstream on him, disappointingly when I look back at it. I could have probably out braked him into the sweeper, instead I got on the power super early exiting the sweeper and was less than half a metre behind him. It was disappointing but also a good battle. Disappointing because I wouldn't have had to battle him if I remained consistent in the last lap.Best time was a 1:17:1, on the second lap. On the lap chart I could clearly see I was slowing towards the end of the day, maybe a fitness thing.
Race Two
Yet another pretty good start, coming second again into the first corner I was on to it and managed to brake pretty late, but yet again I lost a place. This is a good thing to work on for next time as there is plenty of grip going into the first corner. Jayden was the rider who managed to get past me, as I knew he is fairly quick I expected him to chase after Avalon. So I planned to let him drag me up to Av, however I noticed I was getting held up by him, as it turns out, due to him having a engine problem. Down the back straight on the second lap his bike blew up. By this time again Av had disappeared. I made the stupid mistake of relaxing during this race and got overtaken through the sweeper during the last lap by William. I tried to get on the gas harder than him as he ran it wide a little bit, however a Streetstock was in my way to make this impossible and the front started to slide towards the ripple strip. I avoided the ripple strip, but still finished behind. Best time 1:18:7, no real excuse for having such a bad last race, but it had gotten alot colder during the afternnon, and learned a lot about it.
Kyle on the pace at Manfeild (T6)
Photo courtesy of Nigel 'aka Kendog' Manning
The things I need to work on:
Being consistent. I had the pace to win, but I didn't have the consistency. This was very disappointing.
Being more aggressive while lapping other riders.
Eating/Sleeping the week leading up to the race.
Playing with hanging my upper body off more.
Being smoother.
Plenty to work on, but I learnt a lot about racing in general during this weekend.
Thank you a lot to;
Steve Bagshaw / Mike Reps for keeping everything running and all their mentoring help during the weekend.
Moto-Academy and their sponsors
Will Baker
Saturday
Got to the track at about 8am, very cold again but the forecast for the day was very good. We were all set up and ready to go as the other boys had been out on the practice the day before. Big thanks to Robbie for coming up to help!
Qualifying
Felt really good out on the bike, got a nice start and the sun was shining bright. Had a few more unnerving front suspension niggles that we needed to sort out. Steve got the Ohlins guys to adjust the settings on my bike, as well as them checking over our other bikes. It was great fun being out there, coming in at the end with a reasonable best time of 1:31.706.
Race One
Had a really good start managing to sneak up through a bunch of Streetstock boys, managing to tag on behind Walter. Us three guys (Glen, Walter and I) had a great dice on that first lap. I managed to pass them both out of Dunlop on the out side, and coming onto the straight, but I lost my concentration and went in too hot for my abilites coming into T3. I grabbed a lot of front brake to slow down, bringing the rear up in the air and ended up riding right off the track to go down digging in the gravel!! Only minor fairing scrapes to the bike fortunately and a bruised ego for me. Best time of 1:28.587
Race Two
Got another really great start off the line. I decided to take Mike’s advice and take this race a little slower and learn more about how the bike works and handles. Felt quite unnatural to be riding extra slow and I’m unsure about how much I learned, but hopefully will see some sort of improvement at the next races.
Plenty to work on:
I had another great weekend with all the guys, got out there in the great weather and had loads of fun… and hopefully learned a few things too… looking forward to the next session!
See you all there. Thanks to:
Dad
Steve & Mike
The Ohlins Guys
VMCC
Robbie
Cheers
Will Baker
Moto Academy NZ #14
Glen Orwin
Qualifying.
Qualifying was fairly uneventful. I just went out and rode around with no real aggression because the track was still damp and cold. I realised I was way off the pace of the front runners when Kyle came flying past into the last turn. I ended up in 5th place, with a time of 1:29.565. 
Glen, Walter and Will racing for position.
Photo courtesy of Moto Academy NZ Staff Photographer