> 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

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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

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