Suzuki International Tri Series - Round 3, Taupo Raceway
2010-01-03

Suzuki International Tri Series – Round 3, Taupo Raceway

After completing the 3 hour endurance race and Wanganui Street race the previous two days I was starting to feel a little hesitant to get up in the morning but I dragged myself out of bed and had breakfast and a coffee and I was feeling as good as ever looking forward to a good day racing.

The weather was looking a little on the dodgy side for the day and I was hoping it would either stay dry or rain, as the middle ground is really difficult. For now it seemed to be just fine.

Qualifying F2

Having already done a lot of laps the previous day I felt instantly comfortable on the track and put in a quick but quite conservative qualifying time of a 1:34.6 on the 2009 Museum Hotel Suzuki GSX-R600.
I was happy with this time and was looking forward to improving it during the races. The lap record at Taupo is held by Sam Smith at 1:34.6, but due to running a different time keeping company any lap records broken at this meeting wouldn't be creditable

Qualifying F1

This was also quite a relaxed qualifying. I still had the tyres from the 3 hour endurance race on the 2006 GSX-R600 which were medium compound and don't offer quite the same amount of grip as the softs but I still managed to do a 1:35.4. Although not a bad time there were quite a few Superbikes going very fast and that put me 9th on the grid. Still a second row start so not bad, but hoping I would be able to improve on that in the races.

F2 Race One

Just as we were gearing up for this race the heavens began to open up and we were going to be in for a slightly wet track. This made me quite nervous as the slicks do not respond to a wet track at all. I got a pretty good start and was first until braking for turn one when a very aggressive Sam Love rode around the outside of me at turn one. I knew from his track position that I would be able to get a far better exit out of the corner than him and began to accelerate past him. At this point Sam and I both closed in on each other, touching ever so lightly. Unfortunately for me it applied my front brake lever and locked the front wheel leaving me sliding down the track with a mass of motorcycles heading straight for me. It was scary sitting on the track with all the bikes flying towards me, I made sure I didn't move and started waving my arms making sure that the riders would see me. Fortunately they all did I was okay apart from a few new bumps and bruises.
This put me out of the race which was a real dent in my points for the Series but I still had a good lead. The race was later red flagged as the rain cause a lot of riders to start falling. One point I need to chase up is that the race was less than 65% completed which means that points shouldn't have been awarded to any of the competitors as it was not long enough to be classes a completed race. However I may be reading the lap sheets wrong so who knows.

F1 Race One

We were still stuck with a wet track at the point that we had to decide which tyres to run and we opted to run wets as I would rather ride around on warm wets than cold slicks! Unfortunately by the time the race was begun, the track had almost become completely dry meaning my wets were far from ideal for the situation! I got a good start and tried my best to keep my position but each lap the wets got worse and worse and the riders with dry tyres on slowly came past leaving me behind. It was real experience riding the bike like that as it felt more like a motocross bike than a road racing bike! In the end I finished in 12th position.

F2 Race Two, the final of the series

The Sun was now out and the track was dry. I was prepped and ready for a great race. In the warm up lap I noticed the rear of the bike felt a little bit odd, but put it down to the fact that I had just got off a bike with wets on and they feel very different.
I got a good start and was second behind Sam Love. Not wanting a repeat of the last race I let him lead me out of turn one and decided I would follow him until a point in which I could pass. I knew I had the pace on him. About half way through the first lap it became apparent that something was not right with the bike as it was getting very very unstable and no rear grip what so ever. As the race went on it got worse and worse making the bike near on impossible to ride. I was having lock to lock stability issues down the fast back straight. I knew I had to finish as high up as possible to keep enough points to win the series. It was the hardest I have ever raced in my life to keep the bike in control and not to lose to many places. In the end I finished 6th position. It was just enough to win the Suzuki Tri Series which was very important to me to win it for Suzuki. A very consistent and smooth rider Karl Morgan on the RCM Suzuki was a mere 1 point behind me. It was a good result to have a Suzuki 1-2 finish.
The stability issue on the bike was caused by a faulty tyre valve which completely deflated the rear tyre during the race.

F1 Race Two

After such a bad run in the previous races of the day I was hoping that the final race would let me get a good run in.
I got a good start from 9th position on the grid and was 6th place exiting turn one. The bike was feeling great and everything was working as it should. Halfway through the race Paul Dobbs on the 999 Ducati came past me. He was very similar pace to me and we had a great battle for 6th place. He would pass me down the straights and I would fight back through the turns. On the final lap he was leading me coming onto the back straight, but I knew one of my strong points on him was breaking for the esses that lead us back onto the front straight. Paul took a defensive line which ruled out going up the inside under brakes, so I went around the outside. It was a hard move and I had to push very hard on the front tyre to turn the bike in put it payed off and I lead him to the finish line. It was excellent race for me and I was glad to get one good race from what had been a rather mediocre day. My best lap time was a 1:33.2 which was almost 1 second faster than any of the other 600's on the day so I was also very happy with that.

It has been a challenging series, there were some very fast riders out there. At the first round of the VMCC winter series 6 months ago a lap time of 1:38 was enough to win the race, at this meeting we were riding 5 seconds a lap faster than that!
I have learnt a lot about what is required to win a Series and I am glad that I can put that knowledge to use in the upcoming NZSBK National Series.

I would like to thank my following Sponsors and Supporters as with out their support and dedication I wouldn't be racing this season:

Museum Hotel Wellington – For their amazing support and dedication to motorcycle racing. The hotel is an amazing place so be sure to stay there if you are ever in Wellington

Suzuki NZ – For the fantastic 2009 GSX-R600. The bike showed it's capabilities winning the Suzuki Tri Series and setting lap records!

Ozzy Performance – The bikes both ran fanatic all weekend and the performance of the “F2 spec” bike really surprised a few of the superbike guys which is a testament to the engine builder and tuner Chris Osborne.



Continental Tyres – The Conti Race Attacks work so well all weekend, I had a lot of confidence in them and received a lot of grip. I rode the whole Suzuki Tri Series on one set of tyres which is a testament to how good they are!

CKT and Ohlins – For making the bike handle how it should. I feel we have a great base line for the bike now so thank you for your time and support making the bike work like It should.

Skunkworks – Andrew and Leigh, thank you for your ongoing commitment to help me in so many aspects of my racing, I am so fortunate to have such great people backing me



And a big thank you to all my other product and services sponsors:



Wynns Performance Products
Spectro Oils
HJC Helmets
Berik Leathers
Wellington Motorcycles

DID Chains

Sidi Motorcycle Gear

Vesrah Brakes
Autocycle Refinishers

Cheers,
-Glen Skachill #47