Global Motorsports Team NewsletterTri Series round 2

Contents 01

The Suzuki International Tri-Series hits middle distance with a visit to “Mighty Manfeild” for round two, and things are going well for the team. Catch all the details right 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

With the team starting to gel, team manager Andrew Forward is getting used to seeing solid improvements in bike setup and race pace each weekend.

My Thursday began with a short flight from Blenheim to Wellington, and a 2 hour drive in the rain with Kerry Dukic up to Manfeild where we met Ken and my son David, who were transporting the team bikes from our base in Napier. Friday morning dawned overcast, but with warm conditions, which improved to a fine and very humid Manawatu summer’s day.

After setup and an issue with my Ducati 1098Rs fuel lines (which sidelined the bike from the weekends B.E.A.R.S. races) we fired up Ken’s GSXR and completed the first of our practice laps. Ken’s mid 1:13’s were initially not earth-shattering, but after fitting heavier front springs to suit the stop-and-go nature of the circuit, Ken registered a personal best time that was almost a full second faster than he had ever done at this circuit before. Race day dawned overcast with occasional showers, and a cold south-easterly wind, making the track conditions totally different to Friday’s practice. However, Qualifying went very well with Ken posting a 1:11.0 and putting him eighth on the grid.

Race one saw a great tussle, with Ken charging through the field and finishing in a strong seventh position, and again setting a new personal best time of 1:10.9 during the race. Race two saw Ken get an awful start, exiting turn one in almost last position, but he put his head down and had worked his way up into 10th position when race two was red flagged due to another accident. Ken was credited with 11th place (due to countback to the previous lap) which was disappointing as it didn’t really reflect the improvements he had made over the weekend. All-in-all not a bad weekend, and the team takes away further improvements in bike setup, Ken’s pace, plus we’ve gained further valuable points. We’d like to wish a Merry Christmas to all our supporters and sponsors, and we hope to see you at Wanganui where we will be in our new red big-rig semi transporter (you wont be able to miss us!).

Cheers,

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

A rich history and challenging circuit make Manfeild an essential part of the New Zealand road racing calendar.

Track info 05

Constructed by the local car club, home to the New Zealand Grand Prix, and a home track for Palmerston North based Toyota New Zealand/Toyota Racing Series, you could say that Manfield has a fairly dominant four wheeled history.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll find motorcycle racing is also well represented. From hosting the illustrious Castrol 6-Hour endurance meetings in the 80’s, through the two rounds of the World Superbike Championship in the early 90’s, and on to the Winter Series events that have been run at times by Tim Gibbes and the Victoria Motorcycle Club, Manfeild has delivered its fair share of great bike racing.

Great viewing from the spectator banks alongside the start/finish straight ensures an enthusiastic crowd of locals and fans, while riders will often travel from Wellington and Auckland to compete, drawn by the challenge of a track that requires an equal mix of horespower, brakes, drive and front-end feel.

A scene of many great battles over the years, Manfeild’s facilities continue to improve and is sure to retain a special place in New Zealand road racing for years to come.

Turn one (Toyota): 75 km/hBrake as late as you dare for turn one. It doesn’t look like much, but getting a clean line through here can make or break an otherwise fast lap.

Top speed: 190 km/h

Turn six (Higgins): 90 km/hOne of the most important corners at this circuit as the right line and good drive can gain a really useful advantage. Heavy banking means you can rail through here fast!

Top speed: 190 km/h

06 Manfeild

Lap record: 600 Supersport - 1:07.817 (Glen Skachill, April 2011)

Turn three (Splash): 85 km/hThis corner takes a lot of prisoners as it’s the first of only two left-hand corners, meaning your tyres could still be cold and let go unexpectedly.

Turn seven (Dunlop): 130 km/hA real hair-raiser! Brake as late as possible and run in deep for the best possible drive onto the straight and owards the chequered flag.

Turn five (Hairpin): 90 km/hThe slowest corner on the circuit. There are many different lines through here, but no major gains to be made

Race report 07

We rocked out to the track early on Friday morning ready to take on the weekend. Much to our surprise the weather was not only warm, but dry as well (not what was forecast), so I was really keen to get out on the bike and continue improving our bike setup.

Throughout Friday we spent a fair bit of time tuning the front suspension, and we definitely saw the results in the laptimes I posted. I managed to improve from mid 1 minute 13’s in my first session, down to a new personal best of mid 1:11’s.

Raceday was soon upon us, and it was looking as if the weather was taking a turn for the worse. But the track was completely dry by the time qualifying came around, and I managed to improve my time to a 1.11.0; enough to qualify in eighth position.

It was soon time to head out for the first race, and I was ready to give it everything. As the starter’s flag dropped, I got a great launch and spent the race tailing the riders in front, trying to learn what I could from them to improve further. When the race was red-flagged (stopped) after five laps due to an accident, I finished in seventh position.

For race two we made a small gearing change to try and improve drive out of the two faster corners at Manfeild. A couple of small errors at the start saw me swamped into turn one and shuffled back to almost last position, but I fought my way back and was challenging for ninth when the race was red-flagged (again).

It’s been another good weekend for us; I’m continuing to set personal best laptimes at each circuit and am holding seventh spot overall in F2.

Look out for us at the final round of the Tri Series at the Cemetery Circuit in Wanganui next weekend!

Ken.

Tri Series round two results

Qualifying 8th

Race one 7th

Race two 11th

Overall 9th

The second round of the Tri Series turns on some great racing, and sees Ken sitting comfortably in the F2 class as the team looks to round three in Wanganui

Ken fights his way through traffic during race two

08 Tri Series round 2

Sponsor profile 09

Global Motorsports team manager Andrew Forward is also the Managing Director of Havenleigh Global Services Ltd.

HGS is one of New Zealand’s largest horticultural labour supply and contracting companies, employing over 200 staff, and supplying high quality services to the wine, pip fruit, stone fruit and export vegetable industries, covering regions from Hawkes Bay in the north to Otago in the south, and all points in between. The company has also been involved with the table grape and citrus industries in NSW, Australia, and has some close ties with F.M.M.A. (Malaysia) in the export of mangos and star fruit from both Malaysia and India.

The company also have their own orchards based in Hawkes Bay, producing export apples, sweet cherries and processing peaches.

HGS is proud to be involved with Ken Jones this season as one of his major sponsors for the 2011/12 summer.

HGS has been associated with motorcycle road racing as a sponsor for the past three seasons and is intending to expand this involvement in years to come.

For more information, please visit our website at www.hgs.co.nz

While not a name normally associated with motorsport, Havenleigh Global Services Ltd. are providing essential support to the Global Motorsports team this season.

HGS were a big part of Ken’s Superlight campaign during the 2011 New Zealand Superbike Championship

10 HGS

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 demonstrates how Bridgestone’s R-10 racing tyres and K-Tech Suspension components have made the Global Motorsports GSX-R600 a razor sharp racebike this season.

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 three, Cemetery Circuit, Wanganui town centre, Monday 26th 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.