quickbuck
1st February 2013, 09:10
Hi All,
Round 1 of the Bike Rider Magazine PMCC Summer Series was held at Manfeild. As I had some off from racing due to our class in the Suzuki Tri-Series being cancelled I decided to give the bike a bit of a make-over.
I got the damage in the fairings that I put there back in June fixed thanks to Mike W in the Composites Bay at Ohakea. Paulie M, in the Aircraft Finishing Section, also fixed the dent and scratches in the tank that I put there a couple of years ago, and the painted everything. Thanks guys, you both have done a fantastic job. The bike is white at the moment, and Paulie needs more time to put the Black paint on it, but it looks awesome so far.
I also found some time to replace my stock handle bars with some after market aluminium “Clip-On’s”. This involved some changes to the front end geometry that I was unsure about. I also replaced the rear Dunlop Sportmax A12H that had seen many great sessions of racing with a brand new one. I also changed the Oil, Brake Fluid, and put on my taller 44 tooth rear Sprocket, as I wanted to test that out. I then gave the bike a general tidy up to make the Team Air Force Racing Ninja 250 Production Racer look pristine for the up and coming Summer Series.
I got to Manfeild nice and early, and set up my bike with Neil Chappell on his ZX650R under Neil’s “Ezy-Up” out in the open. It was a nice sunny day, and the wind was a very strong warm westerly. This meant that there is a head wind through the esses, and down the back straight. It also meant engines are less likely to perform at their best…
Qualifying:
Our call came up immediately after Neil’s F2 Qualifying. I head out on the track with a few things in the back of my mind. Firstly, being brand new the rear tyre has release compound all over it, so I have to be careful on that. Also the Triple Clamps have been lowered 10mm down the forks to get the “Clip-On’s” on to them, and also the handle bars themselves are further forward to clear the fairings. Another consequence of lowering the triple clamps is reduction in ground clearance! All these things meant as I ventured out onto Manfeild, I was in effect on a different bike! I took it very easy at first and slowly got faster. I managed a 1:33.686, which was a little slow compared to my previous best, but the wind was very strong, and couldn’t actually use much of top gear into it.
I was happy though, as I was 3rd on the grid, and the Pole Sitter was Warwick Torr (#13) who managed to get pole on his 250 and between us was Zane Burrell who was on a Suzuki RG150 Street Stock (#103). In 4th was a new comer to the sport, Daniel Phillipson on a KRR150 (#50). I had never raced against him before, so was unsure of how he would fit into the mix.
Race 1 (5 Laps):
I lined up on my 3rd spot, and waited for the 5 lights to come on one by one and then go out. I got a shocker of a start. It has been a while, and I had never started the bike with the gearing so tall! Warwick and Zane left me for dust. Over the course of the race I was reeling them in lap by lap, and finally got past Zane in the last corner of the last lap. The corner is now called Pepsi Max, but I always call it Dunlop (as it used to be, and is on the map above). Warwick crossed the line 3.0 seconds ahead of me. I did get the fastest lap of the race out of everybody with a 1:30.916. This is some way off the 250 Production Lap Record (a 1:26.9), but the wind and the heat were big factors. Then there is the whole thing that I am a little rusty. Still, I had banked 22 points toward the Championship.
Race 2 (5 Laps):
As I got the fastest lap in the previous race, I knew that all I had to do was get a good start and reel off some more of those. So I nailed the start this time! I was at the front into turn 1 due to some awesome late braking, but as it turns out, Warwick and Zane had their own ideas and were not going to let me get away. We ended up in a 3 way battle with lead changes almost every corner! This lasted up until the end of lap 4 when Warwick dropped off the pace a little coming out of Dunlop. Zane and I went around him without too much of a problem for us, but wondered what went wrong…
I then refocused on the job at hand and followed Zane to mainly conserve my energy until the last corner of lap 5 where I knew I was faster than Zane. I drafted him down the back straight, and tried to get up beside him. He made his one move across the track and barely left me room to get past, so I held position. Then as we entered Dunlop corner I just kept the gas on as he braked, and tipped in later once I was in front. I held the lead over the line for a win by just 0.129 seconds! 25 Points to me, and also 25 to Zane, as he is in a different class, but bragging rights are everything, and it is such an awesome feeling being first across the line after a battle like that.
Race 3:
Sitting on the dummy grid Warwick comes up beside me to wish me luck…. He was not wearing his leathers… So I asked if everything was alright. He admitted that this weekend had been pretty big, as he did 6 sessions of practice on Saturday, and was feeling very tired. So rather than crash the bike, and be a danger to us all he decided to sit out the last race. It was a fair enough call, as it was a hot day, and we were racing pretty hard! So with Pole position empty all I to really think about was Zane, who happened to be riding faster around Manfeild than he had ever done in the past. As the lights went out we both got a very good start. The race was EPIC! We swapped positions for the lead about 20 times! Both of us were trying different lines and trying to out wit each other. Each lap I would get past Zane in Dunlop and cross the line ahead of him. This worked right up until the last lap when Zane worked out 2 things. He worked out how to take Dunlop faster, and also how to defend the corner while doing so! All credit to him, as a 14 year old, he is riding extremely well and crossed the line ahead of me by 0.046 seconds. Due to the battles/ heat/ and wind, our lap times were mainly in the 1:31’s, with my fastest lap of the weekend being on the last lap with a 1:30.865. It was a successful round 1, with 72 points banked into my championship defence.
Next round is at Taupo on February 10th. Zane and I always have huge battles there too. Some of the 250 Production Riders who are currently competing at the Superbike Nationals in the South Island might also be there. Round 5 of the Nationals is also going to be at Taupo in March. So this will make the competition pretty intense.
Thanks go to:
Forbes and Davies: for awesome Dunlop tyres and gear.
RNZAF: Especially Paul Martin for all his hard work over his holidays to make the bike look great.
ProRider: For providing me with the funding to enter the Bike Rider Magazine Summer Series
City Honda
Celtic Leathers
Race Fairings
Helpers on the Day (in order of appearance): Neil Chappell, Lauren Chappell, Volunteers of the Pacific Motorcycle Club, Matt Meads, Martin Billing and Nigel Graham.
Finally huge thanks go to Zane Burrell and Warwick Torr for all the close racing throughout the day.
Round 1 of the Bike Rider Magazine PMCC Summer Series was held at Manfeild. As I had some off from racing due to our class in the Suzuki Tri-Series being cancelled I decided to give the bike a bit of a make-over.
I got the damage in the fairings that I put there back in June fixed thanks to Mike W in the Composites Bay at Ohakea. Paulie M, in the Aircraft Finishing Section, also fixed the dent and scratches in the tank that I put there a couple of years ago, and the painted everything. Thanks guys, you both have done a fantastic job. The bike is white at the moment, and Paulie needs more time to put the Black paint on it, but it looks awesome so far.
I also found some time to replace my stock handle bars with some after market aluminium “Clip-On’s”. This involved some changes to the front end geometry that I was unsure about. I also replaced the rear Dunlop Sportmax A12H that had seen many great sessions of racing with a brand new one. I also changed the Oil, Brake Fluid, and put on my taller 44 tooth rear Sprocket, as I wanted to test that out. I then gave the bike a general tidy up to make the Team Air Force Racing Ninja 250 Production Racer look pristine for the up and coming Summer Series.
I got to Manfeild nice and early, and set up my bike with Neil Chappell on his ZX650R under Neil’s “Ezy-Up” out in the open. It was a nice sunny day, and the wind was a very strong warm westerly. This meant that there is a head wind through the esses, and down the back straight. It also meant engines are less likely to perform at their best…
Qualifying:
Our call came up immediately after Neil’s F2 Qualifying. I head out on the track with a few things in the back of my mind. Firstly, being brand new the rear tyre has release compound all over it, so I have to be careful on that. Also the Triple Clamps have been lowered 10mm down the forks to get the “Clip-On’s” on to them, and also the handle bars themselves are further forward to clear the fairings. Another consequence of lowering the triple clamps is reduction in ground clearance! All these things meant as I ventured out onto Manfeild, I was in effect on a different bike! I took it very easy at first and slowly got faster. I managed a 1:33.686, which was a little slow compared to my previous best, but the wind was very strong, and couldn’t actually use much of top gear into it.
I was happy though, as I was 3rd on the grid, and the Pole Sitter was Warwick Torr (#13) who managed to get pole on his 250 and between us was Zane Burrell who was on a Suzuki RG150 Street Stock (#103). In 4th was a new comer to the sport, Daniel Phillipson on a KRR150 (#50). I had never raced against him before, so was unsure of how he would fit into the mix.
Race 1 (5 Laps):
I lined up on my 3rd spot, and waited for the 5 lights to come on one by one and then go out. I got a shocker of a start. It has been a while, and I had never started the bike with the gearing so tall! Warwick and Zane left me for dust. Over the course of the race I was reeling them in lap by lap, and finally got past Zane in the last corner of the last lap. The corner is now called Pepsi Max, but I always call it Dunlop (as it used to be, and is on the map above). Warwick crossed the line 3.0 seconds ahead of me. I did get the fastest lap of the race out of everybody with a 1:30.916. This is some way off the 250 Production Lap Record (a 1:26.9), but the wind and the heat were big factors. Then there is the whole thing that I am a little rusty. Still, I had banked 22 points toward the Championship.
Race 2 (5 Laps):
As I got the fastest lap in the previous race, I knew that all I had to do was get a good start and reel off some more of those. So I nailed the start this time! I was at the front into turn 1 due to some awesome late braking, but as it turns out, Warwick and Zane had their own ideas and were not going to let me get away. We ended up in a 3 way battle with lead changes almost every corner! This lasted up until the end of lap 4 when Warwick dropped off the pace a little coming out of Dunlop. Zane and I went around him without too much of a problem for us, but wondered what went wrong…
I then refocused on the job at hand and followed Zane to mainly conserve my energy until the last corner of lap 5 where I knew I was faster than Zane. I drafted him down the back straight, and tried to get up beside him. He made his one move across the track and barely left me room to get past, so I held position. Then as we entered Dunlop corner I just kept the gas on as he braked, and tipped in later once I was in front. I held the lead over the line for a win by just 0.129 seconds! 25 Points to me, and also 25 to Zane, as he is in a different class, but bragging rights are everything, and it is such an awesome feeling being first across the line after a battle like that.
Race 3:
Sitting on the dummy grid Warwick comes up beside me to wish me luck…. He was not wearing his leathers… So I asked if everything was alright. He admitted that this weekend had been pretty big, as he did 6 sessions of practice on Saturday, and was feeling very tired. So rather than crash the bike, and be a danger to us all he decided to sit out the last race. It was a fair enough call, as it was a hot day, and we were racing pretty hard! So with Pole position empty all I to really think about was Zane, who happened to be riding faster around Manfeild than he had ever done in the past. As the lights went out we both got a very good start. The race was EPIC! We swapped positions for the lead about 20 times! Both of us were trying different lines and trying to out wit each other. Each lap I would get past Zane in Dunlop and cross the line ahead of him. This worked right up until the last lap when Zane worked out 2 things. He worked out how to take Dunlop faster, and also how to defend the corner while doing so! All credit to him, as a 14 year old, he is riding extremely well and crossed the line ahead of me by 0.046 seconds. Due to the battles/ heat/ and wind, our lap times were mainly in the 1:31’s, with my fastest lap of the weekend being on the last lap with a 1:30.865. It was a successful round 1, with 72 points banked into my championship defence.
Next round is at Taupo on February 10th. Zane and I always have huge battles there too. Some of the 250 Production Riders who are currently competing at the Superbike Nationals in the South Island might also be there. Round 5 of the Nationals is also going to be at Taupo in March. So this will make the competition pretty intense.
Thanks go to:
Forbes and Davies: for awesome Dunlop tyres and gear.
RNZAF: Especially Paul Martin for all his hard work over his holidays to make the bike look great.
ProRider: For providing me with the funding to enter the Bike Rider Magazine Summer Series
City Honda
Celtic Leathers
Race Fairings
Helpers on the Day (in order of appearance): Neil Chappell, Lauren Chappell, Volunteers of the Pacific Motorcycle Club, Matt Meads, Martin Billing and Nigel Graham.
Finally huge thanks go to Zane Burrell and Warwick Torr for all the close racing throughout the day.