Take the money and run

[Robert Taylor]

Yeah probably right, sorry if it came across harsher than I meant it. It's just kind of like how it's nice to acknowledge sponsors. Clearly some ppl (not counting myself among them) felt they had an opportunity to be a part of something really cool and answered the call with cash. I don't think anyone is making any claims of ownership or anything, just an occasional update. Perhaps someone involved, or a caring supporter could copy/paste the facebook updates into a thread on here, out of interest?

This medium ( of several ) was used to help raise funds for the said recipients, therefore this medium ( one of too many ) should also be used to post updates. That's the decent thing to do.

At the coalface in Europe they doubtless now realise that its a lot harder than what they thought and it matters little what you did in our little pond. Sponsorship and the kindness of people providing some of their hard earned cash should never be taken for granted and I think that is perhaps what Jellywrestler was driving at. As a generalistaion if people take it for granted then it becomes ever harder for those that follow.

[steveyb]

Just to perhaps provide one viewpoint that might help, I wonder if there is a touch of the 'tail between the legs' happening and the boys are feeling quite deflated with the outcomes so far.
I know I probably would be.
This might possibly lead to the feeling that they can't or don't want to be continually telling people that they have not done as well as they wanted to for everyone who helped and who is interested in their progress.

Now, that being said, I for one think that their confidence at the outset is entirely justified. Sam is a good rider and they are confident young men. Without that they would not have even thought about going, let alone gotten there.

Our issue here is that we expect these sorts of guys to go and smash the world first time out. As has been mentioned, it is a big world out there always with someone else around the corner who is smaller, faster, more aggressive, better funded, more experienced, whatever. This sort of campaign MUST be at the very least a 2 year effort. Just look at what Jake has been able to achieve in his second year. I don't think that Jake and Sam are too different in ability, really. So, the hope must be that Sam and Drew have the ability to stay over there and save up to have another go next year (assuming Sam is still young enough??? 19 max apparently).

And also remember, these are two young guys out in a competitive world on their own. Dad is not there to help sort shit out and keep things on an even keel.

So all I wanted to offer is that maybe they are not communicating perfectly all the time because they are finding it really tough over there. Surely we can understand that?

[sinfull]

Last update i seen was an appoligy for the lack of updates as they had no internet for ages, with an improving position at the last round (then a mistake cost him dearly)

I for one had no expectations of him getting the most massive of results in this campaign, i happily dropped some cash in his account to help a young fella get over there for the experience !

I'm sure there will be a story for him to tell when it's over but, i for one don't expect to hear from him every week !

[SWERVE]

I helped both Sam & Jake financially. Albeit probably a small amount compared to some. But I have had regular updates and letters of thanks from both parties concerned.
Jake is obviously much more in the media eye due to his success and having Micheal Hill Promotions behind him.
But not complaining about the response I have had from Sam & Drew. These lads may well have had a shock to the system once they actually got there........... and as pointed out doing it in the first year doesn't happen. Also remember both the lads work for what they can get between races whether it is food / accommodation or cash through the many internet networks for travellers.
Sam has started to make a move up the field ( unlike some) and im sure is doing the best he can.
I for one am very proud to have helped him get to Europe and experience a season at that level.

[steveyb]

I helped both Sam & Jake financially. Albeit probably a small amount compared to some. But I have had regular updates and letters of thanks from both parties concerned.
Jake is obviously much more in the media eye due to his success and having Micheal Hill Promotions behind him.
But not complaining about the response I have had from Sam & Drew. These lads may well have had a shock to the system once they actually got there........... and as pointed out doing it in the first year doesn't happen. Also remember both the lads work for what they can get between races whether it is food / accommodation or cash through the many internet networks for travellers.
Sam has started to make a move up the field ( unlike some) and im sure is doing the best he can.
I for one am very proud to have helped him get to Europe and experience a season at that level.

Spot on.

10 char

[Billy]

I helped both Sam & Jake financially. Albeit probably a small amount compared to some. But I have had regular updates and letters of thanks from both parties concerned.
Jake is obviously much more in the media eye due to his success and having Micheal Hill Promotions behind him.
But not complaining about the response I have had from Sam & Drew. These lads may well have had a shock to the system once they actually got there........... and as pointed out doing it in the first year doesn't happen. Also remember both the lads work for what they can get between races whether it is food / accommodation or cash through the many internet networks for travellers.
Sam has started to make a move up the field ( unlike some) and im sure is doing the best he can.
I for one am very proud to have helped him get to Europe and experience a season at that level.

Yip,

Couldnt agree more,I to have received regular updates from the Crofts and have done so since way before they left,I guess like many others they just don't have time to reach everybody and have prioritised.

[quickbuck]

I too have been getting regular (enough for me) e-mails and updates through other mediums/ sites.
I gave them a little hand where I could. Wasn't much as I obviously have my own racing habit to siphon out of the family budget but I must say they appreciated it a lot.
I agree Sam might have been a little ambitious to begin with, but hey what is the alternative?
Sit there with your head looking at the ground and thinking it is a pipe dream way too off??? That will not get you any experience outside of this country, and will get you naff all experience within it either!

So Spyda, you have sparked a bit of a debate and I think that the thread title is a little harsh.......
Still though there is no such thing as bad publicity, and we are putting it out there that the Crofts are overseas doing pretty well for a couple of young lads that some of us have raced against.

[jellywrestler]

So Spyda, you have sparked a bit of a debate and I think that the thread title is a little harsh.......
Still though there is no such thing as bad publicity, and we are putting it out there that the Crofts are overseas doing pretty well for a couple of young lads that some of us have raced against.

sitting in the cheap seats that's what it appeared to me, it's a sport and to me there can't be any first placings without last placings I knew that Sam's predictions of being able to win were a 'bit' ambitious and that they hit the cold hard reality when they finally hit the track.
There could be a bit of tail between the legs going on but i'm still full of admiration of the journey these people are on, and all the kiwi roadracers too and Sam's performance last weekend was certainaly one to write home about, second on the leaderboard at one stage in practice etc.
As you say, any publicity is good publicity

[SWERVE]

The latest from Sam
Hi All







We’ve had a very busy few weeks. After the last race at Silverstone GB 4 weeks ago we went to the Isle of Man for about 8 days and stayed with an old guy called Will, helping out around his property at Ballacraine corner in St Johns. We also spent some time painting the local church and doing work at his place in exchange for letting us stay. We were referred to him via his cousin Pam through a “Help X” in Liverpool. For those of you who don’t know, Help x is an organisation that matches up people who need accommodation with those who can provide it in exchange for work which could be house maintenance, clearing scrub, farm work, painting, carpentry or anything at all. As you know we don’t have the luxury of a stable base and cannot afford a house-bus or using hotels all the time. All this chopping and changing gets a bit tiring but we try to ensure Sam gets at least a couple of good sleeps by staying at reasonable accommodation a few days before and during the race meetings. For alot of the time between races, our Help Xs are in rural areas and usually have little or no internet so its a little hard to get emails out but we are doing our best.







After the Isle of Mann, we travelled to Belfast (North Ireland) to watch the Ulster Grand Prix. We had a fantastic experience at the Ulster, meeting a number of teams and got to meet Kiwi road racing legend Bruce Anstey. Bruce is really down to earth and gave us good of advice. Unfortunately Sam’s wallet was stolen from his bag while sleeping on the late night 1am ferry back from Belfast to the Isle of Man, the day after the Ulster had finished. The boat was overloaded with people sleeping on the floors.







We were at the Isle of Man to attend the Classic TT. It was an awesome experience attended by thousands of people. We saw many of rare machines from the golden ages of racing and we also got to know Kevin Grant who owns the only running Britten V1000. We stayed with Will again near Ballacraine corner in St Johns. On our last night we had dinner at a pizza restaurant with Kevin, Bruce Anstey, Ken McIntosh and a big group of around 20 other Kiwis present for the Classic TT. Very cool!







With no credit cards to get a rental car, we had to use public transport to get to the next race in Germany. We made our way down south on the train to Cologne, then via the bus on Wednesday the 28th to our accommodation. Because the bus arrived late, we missed the track walk and only had onboard videos to reference from. Although not ideal we thought it wouldn’t be a problem because Sam learns the tracks really quickly. Sam usually finishes around 10 places better than his qualifying position. Coming to this round we were excited having spent a lot of time in Germany earlier in the year and Sam had previously had his best race result so far in 16th place from qualifying in 26th. Sam’s results have been improving each race and this round would be no exception.







Our accommodation was 15kms away from the track and we were shocked to discover there was no internet, cell-phone reception, taxis or public transport to get us to the track. When we booked it, we assumed we would have access to a rental car to get to the track. Convenience versus budget! Even though it seemed a little daunting, we still had the “She’ll be right” Kiwi attitude and would get to the track somehow.







We got a ride to the track for Friday’s practise with one of the bar tenders who didn’t speak a word of English. Sam had a good session. We got the suspension working well and he made good progress learning the track quickly. He finished practise in 21st place, 3.5 seconds behind the leader. Later that night we got a ride back with our American friend Dave, father of Chris, one of our other competitors and his brother Nick. We were feeling good about the progress and looking forward to qualifying tomorrow, hoping to get 15th or better on the grid.







Saturday was like something out of a story book (horror story that is). Saturday morning and again we got a ride with the bar tender to the track. Our transport worries were finally solved because later that day, Sam’s German friends Malte and Andy would drive down from Dusseldorf to be with us for the weekend.







When the qualifying session started, Sam was in around 20th place at the back of a fast group and quickly worked his way through which was great to watch, he looked good. After less than 10 minutes Sam was in 16th place, then dropped to 9th, 6th, 4th and then to second place. Sam was putting in consistent times over all sectors and managed some good slip streaming in the majority of his laps.







Sam had passed everyone in the fast group and with 5 minutes left, was in a comfortable 2nd place by 0.6 seconds behind the leader. However, because Sam had passed all of the fast riders, he found himself ahead on his own with no one to slip stream off. 4 minutes to go and Sam timing dropped to 4th place as the other riders were slip streaming each other and getting a little faster. On the start of the last lap with one minute left, Sam was in 6th position. By the chequered flag Sam secured 9th position, his best grid position in qualifying so far this season.







We were absolutely over the moon. Dad told us later he was a train wreck with this result. All of our suspension trouble and technical problems were a thing of the past. We felt this was vindication and absolute justification for us to be there. Like we had always believed he could, Sam had come to a completely new circuit and showed everyone he had the potential to be one of the best in Europe. We knew that being on the third grid and with his consistent excellent starts he was at last going to be a serious challenge for the win during tomorrow’s race.







With a great day all wrapped up we decided to celebrate by going Go Karting with Malte, Andy, Dave and his two sons Chris and Nick. It was Germany Vs America Vs New Zealand. Malte and Andy had some Go Pro cameras that we strapped to Sam’s helmet and Malte’s via a backpack style mounted on his chest. Go Karting was awesome. Sam won and I came 2nd by 0.015, followed by Dave, Malte, Andy, Chris and Nick. We got some footage that we’ll include in the DVD after the seasons finished.







By the time we left it was 10pm as we started to head back to our accommodation. 9kms into the journey, the power, lights, power steering, and brakes all started to fail on the 1999 Opel Astra. We pulled into a little pub in the middle of the countryside and called the German equivalent of the AA. It was an hour and a half wait until the tow truck arrived, so we sat down and had a beer. Sam and I were wearing our Pata Honda gear and were invited over to a table of people who were there for the races. It turns out that they were the cousins of Michael Van Der Mark, a World Super-sport rider and he was also in the team that won this year’s Suzuka 8hour endurance race. They were all very nice and said they’d look out for Sam in tomorrow’s race.







The tow truck arrived and we loaded the car onto the deck and were dropped off at our accommodation. We got to bed at around 12.30am. Andy (who owns the car) called his mum asking if she could drive from Dusseldorf, about 2 hours away to pick us up at 8.45am and drop us at the track for 9am. Being an extremely nice lady and also a typically very efficient German, we got a call at 6.30am to say she was 10 minutes away and that Andy needed to meet her outside.







It actually was quite good that she arrived early, she made several trips back and forth to the car waiting to be repaired (at the garage) carting all unnecessary gear to be stored in the car while it was being fixed. She kindly offered to drive us in her hatchback with Malte, Andy, and our gear and put us up for the night in Dusseldorf while we sorted out our transport for the next day. We had to get to Berlin for our next Help X after the race. So, with hardly any sleep we cancelled our final night’s accommodation and headed to the track for 9am.







Our EJC race was delayed 2 hours until 4.30pm after the second Superbike race. The transition time between having the bikes in the pits and on the track was too long and just not good enough, with tyre temps dropping fast. They ordered the bikes to be released from the pits but were held up at the beginning of pit lane for over 10 minutes. The Superbike presentation was still going on and there was a large crowd blocking a clear path for the bikes to get through. There was no way to get warmers to the bikes and they just had to sit there while the tyres cooled. We had to wait for the presentation to finish and the crowd to disperse before the bikes were allowed to ride up to pit lane before being released on to the track for the warm up laps.







Sam did one lap around the track and lined up at his start position in 9th place. We did get warmers on the bike for 5 minutes but it wasn’t really much help as there are no generators to provide power on the grid for our class. Sam did say before he did the warm up lap that he lacked any feeling of grip. With two minutes to go before the official warm up lap before the race start, I got the stands off and went back to the pits to wait for the start. The bikes set off for warm up. On the second corner Sam felt the front tyre slide so he eased off. On the fourth corner, the front lost grip completely and Sam came down. Gutted!







Nobody expected this kind of problem at an international motorsport event. Consequently, on the second corner of the race first lap, six riders came down in one go. There is nothing we can do to change what happened. We hope that for safety’s sake that it doesn’t happen again at the next two races. Although we don’t blame the organisers for 100% of the crash, we think the chances of his and the others not happening would be much lower, had there be no timing issue.







Despite all the problems and frustrations we’ve had over the season including a mechanical failure and especially the challenging chain of events the last few weeks, Sam has shown that regardless of circumstances, he is absolutely capable being at the top of Europe in motorcycle racing. Having come so close and falling so hard has only strengthened his determination and desire to finish off the championship by getting good results in the last 2 races at Magny Cours and Jerez.







We believe there is absolutely no reason why he can’t win and Sam has the confidence and ability to make it happen. The races take place on October 6th and 20th. We are coming home on October 21st in just 6 and ½ weeks!







At the moment we are in Berlin at our Help X. We have been busy restoring a Puch pushbike from 1981, mowing lawns, trimming hedges and cutting some firewood. The work seems relatively ok and the family are really nice. We have been doing a bit of push bike riding for exercise too. We are making them a Pavlova this weekend which they are taking to a family birthday party. Apparently not many of them have tried Pavlova so it will be interesting to hear their reaction. We are here until the 16th and then we have to make our way back over to Dusseldorf to pick up the gear before the next race.







We would like to thank all of our sponsors, big and small. From the start of the championship, it has been an uphill battle and finally now, we are starting to get some good results. Sam has been improving consistently throughout this year and we sincerely thank you for believing in him and giving us the chance to be here.







Croft Racing would like to thank our sponsors:




White Ribbon New Zealand and Rex Mincher http://whiteribbon.org.nz/,

Ian Stronach and the team from MTA http://www.mta.org.nz/,

Motorcycling New Zealand http://www.mnz.co.nz/ ,

Alex Hockley from Ridelife http://www.ridelife.co.nz/,

Merv Orford from Kiwistars http://www.kiwistars.co.nz,

Graeme Billington from Autocycle Refinishers http://www.racefairings.co.nz/,

Mum and dad




And thanks you to all of our individual supporters as well. It is a massive privilege to be here. Without you or our sponsors, this campaign would not be possible




We will send through a few photos of the last few weeks later this evening after we have finished our work for the day :-)




Andrew & Sam - Croft Racing

[quallman1234]

I think Sam has just focused on updating his Facebook account rather than his website.
A wee bit slack, but i dont think any foul play is there. Unlike a few years ago with someone else.

[steveyb]

Fantastic!
No heads down there then. Just plain old hard work and stick to it-iveness.
Great stuff.

[CHOPPA]

One of the best in europe? Glad to see the experience hasnt knocked the confidence

[roogazza]

After reading all that, I get that the boys have two Rds left to better their best finishing place of 16th.
One in France and the other Spain.

[quickbuck]

After reading all that, I get that the boys have two Rds left to better their best finishing place of 16th.
One in France and the other Spain.

Yup...... To score championship points in either/ both of those locations will be pretty awesome for Sam/ Drew/ Dad/ all the supporters......

[jellywrestler]

that's a great report and is exactly what i'd like to see,. whether he's second or 22nd, so hopefully they can incorparate these sort of tales into the website and even failbook.