team vb racing nz newsletter 2011 - issue 1
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> T E A M V B R A C I N G N E W Z E A L A N D
NZSBK 2011 round 1 Newsletter: Levels, Timaru, 29th and 30th January
> C O N T E N T S
03
04
06
08
10
12
14
CAPTAIN’S LOG
Team Manager Maarty van Booma’s update from Timaru.
TRACK PREVIEW: LEVELS
Which way does the track go, and what’s the
lap record…?
SAM BAKER
Sam discovers the highs and lows of racing at
Levels
MAKING TRACKS
The Team vb Racing calendar has more dates this summer than Paris
Hilton!
HOTSHOT
Meet the Team for 2011
KENNETH JONES
Ken steps up a class and promptly sets about
destroying his own lap records.
JOSH McGRATH
A new track to learn and an engine down on
power hasn’t deterred Josh one bit!
16 HOTSHOT
Tension on the grid for Sam and Josh as the
125GP field lines up at Timaru
> C A P T A I N ’ S L O G
Team Manager Maarty van Booma’s update from Timaru.
Welcome everyone to the 2011 New
Zealand Road Race Championships.
This year we have a whole new line up in
125GP and Ken Jones returning to
compete in the Superlite class on a
Yamaha R6 that has been stroked to
450cc. Our new 125 riders are top
Australian prospects, Josh McGrath (14)
and Sam Baker (20).
Along with the riders, new personnel in
Stu Holdaway. Stu has had 20 years
experience in top level motorsport and
brings a wealth of experience to the team.
Levels, round one, has been a baptism of
fire for the team, our new bike finished
only days before the first round and
negotiations with riders only being
completed two weeks before the opening
stanza.
With everyone assembled at the Timaru
circuit, competition commenced and it was
immediately clear that the internal
competition was going to be every bit as
fierce as the on-track stuff!
Throughout the weekend everyone
improved their times and our Aussie lads
took to Levels (which is a notoriously
difficult circuit to master) like the
proverbial 'ducks-to-water'! The weekend
certainly didn't go without a hitch with
Sam being brake checked (baulked by a
slower rider) and tasting some of Timaru's
finest terra-firma. With dirt stuck in his
teeth, Sam took it on the chin and got
back down to business straight away.
For Josh, his bike was somewhat down on
power, and with very little time to test the
new fuel we had to use we were a little
behind the eight ball, something no-one
likes to be! We worked endlessly to
improve the power of the bike but it was
not until we got to the dyno on Tuesday
that everything started to make sense and
we replaced the missing 9 horsepower!
I’m sure that Josh will be pleased to be on
a much more even footing at round 2 in
Invercargill at Teretonga Park.
Ken had a productive weekend adapting
to his new mount and put in a series of
solid laps. Every session was progress and
he too is looking forward to Teretonga.
Racing went pretty much as anticipated
with all the boys getting into points and
setting themselves a base on which to
build the rest of their championship
campaigns.
The whole weekend went in the blink of
an eye, as they usually do, plenty of
visitors to the team pit and the boys busy
fielding questions from the public.
Without the support of our fantastic
sponsors, Elf, Bridgestone, Global
Motorsports, HGS Ltd, Kiwi Rider, RK
Chains, Engineering Solutions, this
weekend would not have been possible
and we want to thank you all for your
support. SP Tools, Hunters Edge and
SellURTrailer.com also helping Josh to fulfil
his dreams and supporting him in his NZ
125 class bid.
> H O T S H O T
Meet the team for 2011: Maarty van Booma, Josh McGrath, Stu Holdaway, Sam Baker, Andrew Forward and Ken
Jones
Situated on the Levels Plain just outside of Timaru, Timaru International Motor
Raceway has hosted a variety of motorsport events in it’s 30+ year history. Well patronised by an enthusiastic Canterbury motorsport crowd, “Levels” always delivers close racing due to a mix
of fast and flowing corners. Rising Aussie star Sam Baker takes us for a lap:
“Running hard onto the start/finish straight you grab fourth and run right to
the paint. A short run before braking hard and dropping back to second gear for the right/left chicane. You must be tight on the apex on turn one then start feeding throttle for the left and dive down to turn
three. It’s slightly off-camber on the exit and the back end can get lively here. Turn three is very important for a good lap time as it gives you your drive onto the back straight. High entry speed is
important and a combination of early
throttle and a late apex will get you onto the back straight flying.
Long time tucked in all the way to 13000 RPM in top and you’re at the turn-in point for turn four. Braking starts 100m before the apex and drop back three gears into
third. Early throttle is important to keep the bike on line and drive out hard.
Turn five will set you up for the most crucial part of the lap. High speed entry in
third gear and aim for the apex.
Running out wide and clicking back to second on exit sets you up for the decreasing radius left hander. Wide on
entry and using as much throttle as possible here works well with the aim to get back to the inside to set up the fast right hander. The bike is on the left side for a long time here and slides around a
lot and is a fun part of the track when it is done right.
Grabbing third gear around the right hander gets the bike on edge and you run wide for the entry to the hairpin. Back to first here and brake very hard into the on
camber hairpin, another late apex corner which is a good overtaking spot in a race.
This leads you into turn nine, a fast opening left where rear ends like to spin
and good drive is very important. Then there is a short straight running up to third gear and you setup for the final right/left/right chicane. A wide entry works well and full throttle from
the first apex gets you through fast.
A little wheelstand on the direction change is normal and into a full tuck and run back onto the start finish to complete a lap!
> T R A C K P R E V I E W : L E V E L S
Which way does the track go, and what’s the lap record…?
125CC GRAND PRIX LAP RECORD:
1:08.396
600CC SUPERSPORT LAP RECORD:
1:04.809
PROD. SUPERBIKE LAP RECORD:
1:03.598
TURN 4
135 km/h
TOP SPEED
202 km/h
TURN 3
108 km/h
TURN 2
109 km/h
START/FINISH
151 km/h
TURN 10
125 km/h
TURN 6
120 km/h
TURN 8
75 km/h
> K E N N E T H J O N E S
Ken steps up a class and promptly sets about destroying his own lap records.
We arrived at the track early on Friday
morning ready for the first round of the
national champs at my favourite circuit,
Levels of Timaru.
The weather was fine and the track had
awesome grip. Before too long I was up
and out for my first session of the day and
I was more than ready to go
out and see what I could do
on the Yamaha 450.
We struggled with handling
in the first session but
managed to resolve and
improve throughout the day. I managed to
set myself a benchmark lap time of 1.17.0.
With day two upon us I was eager to
improve on my times and I set a goal for
myself to get down to 1.15’s. Throughout
the day I managed to work on that
considerably with a qualifying position of
18th and a lap time of 1.15.8.
Within the first race I was keen to see
how much more I could improve. For the
first half of my race I was having a ball
and managed to get my times down to
1.13.9 before it was red flagged on the
5th lap. For part two of the race I yet
again was keen to improve on my times
and with a good start under my belt I was
further up in the field than I was before
and managed to tag on the back of a
couple of riders and got my lap times
down to 1.12.9 and a placing of 13th.
Day three was up and I was keen to see
what more I had under my belt. We lined
up for race one and we were off, but due
to cooler conditions we didn’t have the
correct suspension setup and I only
managed to get my times down to 1.13.7
and 14th. With a quick talk with Robert
from Öhlins to see what he suggested we
do for setup, we were soon back up for
race 3 of the weekend and I was feeling
confident on improvement
With an average start, I had
a bit of catching up to do,
but by the end of the race I
had managed to climb
through the field to 11th
position and a new personal
best of 1.12.5
Overall for the weekend I was rather
happy that I had made such big
improvements in both lap times as well as
suspension and I am now feeling
confident with the setup of the bike and
most definately can’t wait for round two
this weekend at Invercargill!
“I am now feeling confident with the setup of the bike
and most definately can’t wait for round two this
weekend at Invercargill!”
Ken’s graduation to the SuperLite class has been nothing short of impressive, and after some enforced time off from riding over the last year we feel he deserves nothing more than a class win!
> S A M B A K E R
Sam discovers the highs and lows of racing at Levels
The Monday before my first New Zealand
National road race I flew into Christchurch
after being back home for a month for
Christmas and New Years. The month
before that I had been over here testing
with Maarty and the team.
We tested at all the national
circuits and I was really
keen to get back and get
stuck into the National
Championship.
I also found out that I had
a new team mate, Josh
McGrath who is also from
Australia on the 125’s as
Kenneth had moved to the
Superlite class (girls class).
We had a few days leading
up to the weekend in
Christchurch just doing some training and
waiting to meet up with Maarty on the
Thursday so we could head to Timaru and
get ready for the weekend.
The weather forecast said there was a
chance of rain over the weekend and
could make the tricky Timaru circuit even
more of a challenge. I got to see my new
bike Thursday night which is more suited
to my size and the new colours look
awesome. I was pumped to get back out
there and do some good laps.
Friday morning was overcast but rain held
out and all our sessions for
the day were dry. Having
been there for a test day
last year was very valuable
as the track can take some
getting used to. I was able
to do some good laps
Friday and Stu and I made
some good changes to the
setup to make the bike
work best for me. I was
feeling confident for
qualifying and looking for a
front row start.
Saturday looked much the
same as Friday but once again rain held
out and we set out for qualifying. Slightly
colder air temp meant the bike was
Sam powers down Timaru’s back straight to an eventual third place, delivering him fourth place overall heading to round 2 at Teretonga.
running leaner and was faster than on
Friday and I knew I had some good laps
in me. Timaru is one of the trickier tracks
to learn but with good local knowledge
and advice from Maarty and Stu I was
starting to get a feel for it.
After warming up I set out to do my
fastest lap but was slipstreamed down the
back straight and brake
checked into the fastest
corner on the track. I had to
run off the track, but kept it
upright on the grass. The
tyre wall was coming up
pretty quick and I had to lay
it down in the gravel. Luckily
the bike came out unscathed and Stu and
Maarty went flat out getting it ready to
race, and before too long it was looking
perfect again!
That had only let me get the fifth fastest
time; not the best start but I knew myself
and the bike had plenty more in the tank.
My first race was that afternoon and was
real keen to get out there. I got an
average start and slipped into sixth
position after the first chicane. I had a
four lap battle with two riders, then pulled
away but was too far off the front and had
to settle for fourth. An O.K. start but I was
aiming for better on Sunday.
Sunday was another overcast day but rain
held out and we got into the first race of
the day. A better start meant I got onto
the back of the front runners and stayed
there for a few laps but inconsistent grip
on the technical Levels circuit was hurting
my race time and settled for another
fourth.
I went into the last of the weekend
looking for a top three result. My laps had
come down a lot and I knew I just needed
to put a whole ten laps together. I got the
best start I had all weekend and on the
first three laps was battling for third. I was
pushing hard but had slightly dropped
with two laps to go. Then Avalon Biddle
pushed too hard and ran off track, so I
then slipped into third place
and got over the line.
My laps had come down
within a second off the
winner and it was a good
result for me considering the
lack of track time we had to
get it all together.
I ended up fourth for the weekend on
points and have a lot of confidence for the
rest of the series. Big thanks to Maarty
and Stu for their massive efforts over the
whole weekend.
“The tyre wall was coming up pretty quick and I had to
lay it down in the gravel. Luckily the bike came out
unscathed and Stu and Maarty went flat out getting it
ready to race, before long it was looking perfect again!”
> J O S H M c G R A T H
A new track to learn and an engine down on power hasn’t deterred Josh one bit!
I flew into Christchurch on Tuesday 25th
of January, and Stu and Sam picked Mum,
Dad and I up from the I airport.
Wednesday was of course Australia Day so
Sam and I got our Aussie thongs(jandels),
Aussie T-shirt's and tattoo's
on and went down the local
pub and got kicked out(for
being under aged)….at
home they don’t seem to
care.
For the rest of the day Sam
and I did some training,
was pretty full on.
On Thursday we drove
down to Timaru and had a
look at the track. It looked
good and I was keen to get
out there.
Friday morning came and it was overcast;
not to worry though, I was just
keen to ride. It was dry for the first
session and I was going good. Getting
used to the bike and track at the same
time was a bit difficult but I coped and got
down some solid lap times.
Saturday was similar to Friday but the
weather held off and it was time for
qualifying. From the first lap I was hard
out because it was only ten minutes long,
so not so much time. Just as I was getting
into it, the petrol tank clip came off and
and the petrol tank was starting to move
around so I had to come in.
As I went out again I only
had time for one fast lap
which was also the last lap
of the session. A slower
rider got in my way in one
of the corners and that was
my fast lap out the window.
I qualified eighth; not very
happy about the outcome
but that’s racing.
We were quite down on
bike speed and I also had
to wear a yellow vest which
was also slowing me down quite a bit, so
that meant I had to ride the bike even
harder.
Battle of Hastings: Josh leads Colin Hastings during race two
In the first race on Saturday afternoon I
got a poor start but by turn three on to
the straight I was up to fifth. Along the
straight I was passed by four faster bikes,
but when the field got more spread out I
was dicing with the rider in eighth place,
and it came all the way down to the last
corner. I’m faster through the corners than
most so I got good drive out of the last
chicane, made the pass and
got eighth for race one.
Maarty wasn’t too happy
with the yellow vest so he
asked the officials if I still had to wear it,
and they said I didn’t, which was great.
Sunday came and it was overcast again.
In the first race I was more
aggressive off the start, and was up to
fourth heading on to the back straight.
Once again the faster bikes passed me,
but I stuck to the rider in eighth place and
snuck by him under brakes. I started
hunting down seventh, and got him under
brakes too into turn 3. I had to push him
wide so he wouldn’t pass me back down
the straight.
Sixth was a fair way away but I chased
and chased and I passed him into turn
three again. I got good drive but it wasn’t
enough to keep in front of him, but I was
close enough to get him at the end of the
straight.
I pulled away through the corners and
kept gapping him, ending up sixth which
is an improvement.
In the third race I got a ripper of a start.
The riders ahead gapped me down the
straight, but I was on the back of the
front group. I got up into fifth and I could
see Sam ahead so I pushed and pushed
but wasn’t getting any closer. I was on the
limit, it was just that just the bike speed
was down.
Avalon Biddle crashed on the second to
last lap which put me up into fourth and
that’s where I finished.
I’m currently in fifth place in
the Championship and I’m
happy with that. We dyno
tested the bike on Monday
and got an extra 9hp out of it, so I’m
looking for a podium finish this weekend
at Teretonga in Invercargill.
I’d like to say a big thanks to Maarty and
Stu for helping me out and getting me
settled into the team, and I’m looking
forward to the rest of the season.
“...I’m looking for a podium finish this weekend at
Teretonga in Invercargill.”
> M A K I N G T R A C K S
The Team vb Racing calendar has more dates this summer than Paris Hilton! Catch us in action soon!
Teretonga
5-6 February
ROUND TWO
Levels
29-30 January
ROUND ONE
Ruapuna
12-13 February
ROUND THREE
Manfeild
2-3 April
ROUND FIVE
Hampton Downs
26-27 March
ROUND FOUR
> H O T S H O T
Tension on the starting grid for Sam #B and Josh #M as the 125GP field lines up for race 3 at Timaru
T E A M V B R A C I N G N E W Z E A L A N D
P R O D U C E D B Y C H A M P I O N S H I P D I G I T A L . C O M © 2 0 1 1 A L L R I G H T S R E S E R V E D
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