Marc-Antoine Jacquet: King of Ruapuna Round 1, 31 Aug 2013

[steveyb]

Marc-Antoine Jacquet Race Report. KOR Rd 1 Ruapuna 31 Aug 2013.

Arriving in Christchurch on a Friday afternoon I got my first look at the Ruapuna circuit. Never have I seen so many corners on a New-Zealand track! It looked exciting and challenging and I was eager to get out there to try my best and really get something out of the weekend.

Come Saturday, the sun was shining, temperatures expected to get up to 13 degrees, a really perfect start to what was a great day of racing for the Moto Academy IMD 250. Qualifying/Practice I had the pleasure of taking my firsts lap onboard the IMD at Ruapuna. My first impressions were all very positive the IMD was really humming! Easily finding its way through the 12 or 13 corners of Ruapuna. I managed sub two minutes and plonked the IMD 250 on pole for the class.

Race one saw me get a ‘rushed’ start, taken by surprise by the lights, however by the time I reached turn one it was very condensed in the 25-plus bike field. Finding my way around the circuit the IMD was just incredible to ride, coming from a four stroke background it was easier for me to start to push early than on the 125GP 2-stroke and just enjoy racing on what is the best circuit I’ve raced on so far. I managed to drop my lap times consistently while learning the circuit as much as I could. Race 1 was the first class win for the IMD250 and you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face from that point onwards.

Race two saw us play with the gearing, switching to a slightly lower gearing in order to aid me around the circuit. Indeed did it help, I was again faster in this race. Using its torque I tried to just steer the bike through with as little effort as possible, trying different lines, finding my braking points it all made me feel like I was riding Moto 3! On a new circuit, involved in constant battles with SV650’s the IMD really began to show its metal, although I could have been faster the bike was turning and handling like a gem, no problems, and on the straights it does the job also sometimes pulling out a gap. A second class race win for the IMD250!
Race three saw us keep the settings we changed previously. I made a good start and began my charge through the field. Growing in confidence in every turn I made one mistake and out-braked myself and ran through a corner. I managed to rejoin and complete the race in a very close second. I did not improve my times in this race but was still loving every second.

I am confident that the IMD has plenty more to give around this circuit and finding its limits will be very exciting to see how fast this thing can really go. I want to first thank my parents and Greerton Furnishings Tauranga for the on-going support on and off the track, also a big thank you to Mel and Tracy who gave up their weekend to accommodate and help us in the pits, Interislander and Jamie from Wolfpack Racing for getting the bikes down and lastly, a huge thank you to Steve Bagshaw and Moto Academy NZ for making this all possible, providing a great bike and mentoring throughout the entire weekend.

Hope we can do it again!

[Bert]

Great write up Marc.
Good to see you making headway and having fun doing it.
Roll on summer and nationals; it will be interesting to see the IMD and its new motor in action.