Event Reports » 2010 » Taupo Road Race Spectacular
The final event for the 2010 season for Moto Academy NZ would be the Taupo Roadrace Spectacular. This year the event would be run by a different group to the previous few years, but overall it went off well and aside from the weather, everyone had a great time.
Monday 27 Dec was a practice day prior to the 3-hour endurance race, but we would also have a 10 lap Two-stroke Grand Prix class race. This is an enthusiasts clas that a group of riders are trying to get off the ground at various meetings. It is open to all 2-stroke GP bikes and 250 Production type bikes so captures a very wide range of machines. At Taupo, running on the new 'short' track the 125GP machines would clearly be at an advantage.
Ben had planned to arrive on the Monday afternoon due to other committments so would miss the practice and the GP race, Kyle had been unable to find the funds to attaned and Glen had decided to sit out this meeting also, while Steve had bought out the RS250 to do some more testing and set up and have a go in the 2-stroke GP race, but Glen had a couple of sessions on the 250 in the Post Classic class practices.
Monday was an awesome day with bright sunshine and light winds giving us a great day for racing. Steve, Glen and James had a good time riding in the great conditions and doing some set-up on the 250. Time came around for the 2-stroke GP race, the start of which would be a first-come, first-served basis. James forgot this on the warm-up lap and lost out on a good starting position. Steve knew this well and took off to get a front row start.The race start went well, but Steves severe lack of saddle time was very clear, along with the fact that the 250 remains a work in progress with regard to set-up and performance. After about 4 laps Steve had had enough and decided to pull out and watch the rest of the race. James on the other hand got a great start and was immediately racing at the front of the pack. After a few laps he and Daniel Mettam had pulled away from the rest of the pack and were dicing for the lead of the race. James managed to get in front of Dan, but he put in an aggressive pass to get back in front of James. Unfortunately James missed the white flag as he was setting up a last lap overtake and missed his opportunity and had to settle for second place behind Daniel by only 0.03 sec!
What a fantastic result! James really showed that he has taken on board all of the lessons from the past year and when he sets his mind to it he can push on and compete one on one with a rider many are considering to be one of the rising stars of NZ racing.
Tuesday however, dawned wet and crappy!! After such a great Monday it was quite a disappointment, but there is nothing we can do about that. Steve decided to leave the 250 in the shed rather than get it wet and risk damaging it in the wet conditions. For the sprint races we would be racing in the Formula 3 class, which unfortunately had only 9 entries. Ben qualified in 4th place ahead of Dan and James which was an awesome result all round. The three 125GP riders were separated by less than 1 second. Avalon Biddle had also decided to sit out these races given the poor conditions.
The first race came round and the rain continued to pour down, but not quite enough to make the track unrideable. The F3 race would be dominated by Scott Moir on his RS450 which is a very fast and awesome handling bike, but James and Ben would have a great race battling between themselves and with Daniel. James managed to see off the challenge of Dan reasonably easily and set off in pursuit of the rider in 2nd place. Given on more lap he may have overtaken him, but he had to settle for third place 0.5 sec behind second. Ben had also seen off Daniel and was racing with Paddy Doohan on the NSR250, but due to Bens lack of saddle and practice time he was unable to keep Paddy behind him and had to settle for 5th place.
Race 2 however did not go quite as well. On a damp but drying track on rain tyres James and Ben both got stuck by slow starts at the beginning and got stuck behind slower riders who held them up significantly. After they got by their laptimes dropped significantly, but by then Daniel and Paddy had gotten far enough ahead to make it impossible to catch. So James came home in 5th and Ben in 7th places.
And so ended the third season of Moto Academy NZ. Overall it has been a very successful season with Kyle showing he has the racing skills to run at the front of an NZ 125GP grid if he wanted to, Glen showing that he has also developed into a solid performer with an excellent deliberate approach. James has achieved all that he set out to by joining Moto Academy NZ. He has gotten all the saddle time he was after and has learned plenty about racing and bike set up. We have discovered Ben Taylor who could also run at the front of an NZ 125GP feild, but we have to accept that motorcycle racing is not Bens passion. That lies with sheep, horses and flying. We wish him all the best with that.
So what for the immediate future? Kyle now has his own bike (the #13 bike he has been riding), which is capable of running at lap-record pace if required, so he will now be able to run his own programme for the future. But we must also accept that he is a student and his studies are an important priority in 2011.
Glen and James are both planning to run the 2011 NZSBK 125GP championship with their own bikes and programmes. We certainly wish them all the best for that, will be barracking for them and will offer whatever support we are able.
Moto Academy NZ will be running Amirul Hafiq Azmi from Malaysia for the South Island rounds of NZSBK 2011.