Global Motorsports Team NewsletterTri Series round 1

Contents 01

Welcome to the second issue of the Global Motorsports Team newsletter. We’ve had a great weekend at the first round of the Suzuki Tri-Series, and you can read all about it here.

P2

P7

P11

P3

P9

P13

P5

Team manager report

Meet the team

Track info

Ken’s race report

Sponsor profile

Season calendar

Capture

02 Team manager report

The Global Motorsports team head to Hampton Downs, and find an impressive increase in speed under the guidance of K-Tech suspension expert Kerry Dukic.

After a quick flight back to Napier on Wednesday afternoon, we loaded up the Global Motorsports transporter and headed north. Ahead was round one of the Suzuki International Tri-Series at Hampton Downs; our first serious taste of racing this season after our shakedown at the Burt Munro Challenge last month.

Ken and I visited Ricky Logan of Lucas Oils (one of our new sponsors) on Thursday evening to pick up some of Lucas’ fine products and a display stand which will feature in our pits over the coming season. We arrived bright and early at the track on Friday morning, and set about unloading the bikes and setting up the garage we were sharing with Maarty van Booma’s team for the weekend.

After sign-in, Ken was on the track for his first practice, laying down some consistent fast times in the hot and humid conditions. After a chat with Kerry from Dukic Performance, we decided to make some minor gearing and suspension changes for practice and qualifying on Saturday. We saw immediate improvements, with Ken recording a new personal best time of 1.09.3 during Qualifying.

Race one saw Ken finish in sixth position with a best lap of 1.09.1 which was another step forward and a very pleasing result, but we knew that with another small change to the front suspension, Ken could improve his times further. Ken got a great start in race two, but was run wide and blocked by a slower rider, losing touch with the lead group. He put his head down, and with a string of mid to low 1.08 laps, was fast catching Avalon Biddle as the race finished. Ken leaves for round two next weekend in seventh place overall in the F2 class. We’re over the moon with the improvements in laptimes (over two seconds faster than Friday’s practice), and the confidence Ken is gaining with every lap on our fantastic Suzuki GSX-R600, running the superb K-Tech suspension. Once again, thanks to all of our sponsors and supporters for helping make this season possible. Roll on round two at Manfeild next weekend; hope to see you all there! Andrew Forward

Suzuki’s new GSX-R600 has long been regarded as the weapon of choice in the 600cc classes, making it the perfect choice for our debut season.

TitleMeet the team 03

Fresh from the showroom at Bay Motorcycles, the GSX-R600 is awesomely fast. But we’ve made the bike even better, with help from some of the best names in the business.

Brian Bernard of Bernard Racing has fitted our engine with race cams to give us more punch out of corners and a higher top speed. And with the increased power, we’ll need the stickiest and longest-lasting tyres available; Bridgestone’s highly regarded BTR-10 racing slicks.

To complement the increased grunt and grip, Kerry Dukic from Dukic Performance has upgraded our suspension with a K-Tech rear shock absorber and front fork kit that will see our already potent Suzuki handling beautifully and lapping at record pace this summer!

After a season in SuperLight, Ken Jones is back to tackle 600 Supersport with support from Andrew Forward of Global Motorsport.

Having raced in various classes over the last six years, Ken Jones is a familiar face in the paddock. He began in buckets at the age of fourteen, before making the move to 125GP in 2007 under the guidance of Maarty van Booma.

After missing the 2009/10 season, Ken moved up to the SuperLight class for 2011. Riding the No Hair Racing YZF-R450. Ken placed fifth overall, scoring a best race result of third at Hampton Downs.

Having seen Ken’s potential, Global Motorsport’s Andrew Forward has come onboard as title sponsor for the 2011/12 season. With a solid programme of pre-season testing behind them, the team are race fit and gunning for a top five finish in the 2012 New Zealand 600 Supersport Championship.

Title

New Zealand’s premier track presents every rider with a weekend filled with the best type of ups and downs

Track info 05

With the loss of iconic circuits like Baypark and the Gisborne street circuit, options for New Zealand motorsport enthusiasts seemed to be shrinking during the ‘90s. So it was a relief when substantial extensions were made to the Taupo circuit in 2006 for the A1GP series, and when plans to build an entirely new circuit near the Meremere dragstrip were announced, our prayers seemed to have been answered.

The GFC and a particularly wet winter during construction did their best to delay the opening, but when the first laps on the were completed in late 2009, they marked the birth of an impressive new facility.

Set on a hillside just south of the Bombay Hills, the Hampton Downs circuit has inherited rise and fall like no other full-size road circuit in the country. A blind entry downhil turn one leads through to a Lukey Heights style turn three, and on to a tight lefthander at Barrel 51 (turn five) that Motard riders will say is best approached sideways. After the long and fast turn six, it’s back up the hill and (almost) into orbit as riders lift off over the hump at over 200 km/h before beginning to brake at the finish line.

Turn six (Metalman): 90km/hTurn six is best taken as a double apex, before you open the gas and get the rear tyre squirming for grip on the exit.

The Leap: 210km/hA good test of nerve as the front wheel lifts off while still banked hard over to the right.

06 Hampton Downs

Lap record: Formula 2 - 1:06.155 (Jaden Hassan, November 2011)

Turn four (Austins): 50km/hOne of the slowest corners at Hampton Downs and a favourite place for overtaking. The best line through here gives a clean exit and short blast up to turn five (Barrel 51).

Turn three: 60km/hLots of crashes here as the bike goes light over the crest and the front washes out while leaning over. Roll on the gas and stand the bike up to avoid a crash.

Start/finish line: 240 km/hMany have been caught out going into turn one too hot, so we use the finish line as a marker to start braking.

Turn one: 90km/hRiders can’t see the apex of this corner on the approach, so we line up with our own unique marker points to make sure we’re on the right line through here.

Race report 07

Mid morning on Friday we made our way out to the Hampton Downs circuit, where I was delighted to see that we were not only been greeted with dry weather, but we also had a bit of temperature to play with.

After lunch we were ready for the track and I intended to have some fun with both the circuit and our new K-Tech suspension. By the end of the day I was feeling confident with the bike and worked to a lap time of 1.10.9. I sat down for a while and ran through the events of the day and decided upon a suspension change I wanted to make.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early, ready for the day ahead. By the time I went out for qualifying, I was really looking forward to seeing what difference the suspension change had made. By the end of the session I managed to improve my time down to a 1.09.3 and qualified in eighth position.

Race one was soon upon us and with a new suspension setting I was keen for a good race. As the flag dropped, I got a good start and was battling with all the lead riders into the first few corners. I settled in for a rather lonely sixth place, but managed a new personal best of 1.09.1

Race two, and with another small adjustment to the front suspension to allow me to turn the bike quicker I was eager to see what more I could do. With yet another good start I was again mixing with the front few. However I got held up by a slower rider and lost touch with the front group. I found myself in eighth spot throughout the race, slowly catching Avalon Biddle in seventh. I finished in eighth position with a new personal best of 1.08.4

I’ve now shaved almost two seconds off my best times around Hampton Downs, and am sitting seventh overall. We’re getting faster with each meeting, and I can’t wait for this weekend at Manfield!!

Ken

Tri Series round one results

Qualifying 8th

Race one 6th

Race two 8th

Overall 7th

In at the deep end: the team faces off against some stiff competition in their first serious races of the 2011-12 season.

Down and out: Ken buries himself behind the fairing as he exits turn five (Barrel 51) during race one

08 Tri Series round 1

Sponsor profile 09

Team principal and long time motorcycle enthusiast Andrew Forward is the Managing Director of Global Motorsports Ltd.

Global Motorsports Ltd organizes V.I.P. trips to several MotoGP rounds, including the U.S. Grand Prix, the Malaysian Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix, with new rounds being added each season. For the 2012 season we are adding the Indianapolis MotoGP event. The company is a one-stop shop in terms of the event package, starting with meeting our clients at the departure airport, flying them to the event, pick-up from the destinations airport, quality hotel accommodation, transfers to and from the circuit, event tickets (standard or V.I.P.) and return transfers to the departure airport.

Some goodies are included, such as team hats, ear plugs, pit shirts, meet and greet drinks, some limited sight-seeing and a generally great MotoGP experience. If you want a worry-free, relaxing trip with everything organized for you then please talk to Andrew for more details. Global Motorsports Ltd also imports race parts for street stock and bucket racers [mainly Honda CBR parts] and is proud to be involved in helping out Ken Jones on the Global Motorsports GSX-R600.

Please see our website for more information:www.globalmotorsports.co.nz

Our title sponsor Global Motorsports is the company to talk to if you’ve been bitten by the racing bug and want to see the MotoGP boys in action!

Global Motorsports are proud to be helping Ken Jones on his own journey to top level motorcycle road-racing

10 Global Motorsports

Calendar 11

We’ll be competing at 10 meetings over the summer, and would love to have you at the track to cheer us on!

Burt Munro Festival Wyndham township and Teretonga, Invercargill

26th and 27th November 2011

Suzuki International Tri Series round one

Hampton Downs, Waikato 10th December 2011

Suzuki International Tri Series round two

Manfeild Park, Fielding 17th December 2011

Suzuki International Tri Series round three

Cemetery Circuit, Wanganui 26th December 2011

New Zealand Superbike Championship round one

Ruapuna Park, Christchurch 7th and 8th January 2012

New Zealand Superbike Championship round two

Levels Raceway, Timaru 14th and 15th January 2012

New Zealand Superbike Championship round three

Teretonga Park, Invercargill 21st and 22nd January 2012

Battle of the Streets Hacksaw circuit, Paeroa 19th February 2012

New Zealand Superbike Championship round four

Hampton Downs, Waikato 17th and 18th March 2012

New Zealand Superbike Championship round five

Taupo Motorsport Park, Taupo 24th and 25th March 2012

12 Track locations

Teretonga Park, Invercargill Wyndham street circuit, Invercargill

Levels Raceway, Timaru

Cemetery Circuit, Wanganui

Hampton Downs, Waikato Hacksaw circuit, Paeroa

Manfeild Park, Fielding

Ruapuna Park, Christchurch

Taupo Motorsport Park

Capture 13

Ken leads Jeremy Holmes (8) and Nico Kobilewsky (28) over the crest and into Hampton Downs’ infamous turn one.

Thankyou again to our support partners, whose generous contributions are very much appreciated. Please click their logo to visit their website and learn more.

Next meeting: Suzuki International Tri Series round two, Manfield Autocourse, Feilding, Saturday 17th December 2011

Credits

©2011 Championship Digital. All rights reservedPublished by Championship Digital for Team Global Motorsports. Photography and design by Championship Digital, text by Team Global Motorsports.