Aus-superbikes round 4 mallala

24th April 2007

Pete and I headed out to Mallala late Thurs afternoon after getting the bike together and rolled up to what was a packed paddock and I must admit I felt a bit out of place, we unloaded the bike and a heap of gear and left the track at 7pm to go home for a think and a good sleep. Thanks to Brett and Shawn for coming out first thing Friday morning and helping with the bike before I headed out for the first practise session. The bike felt really good and although the times were not great I thought we could definetly go quicker. The afternoon qualifying session came up and I headed out to try to put in a good time, it didnt really happen and although I thought I was pushing, the times suggested I needed to pull my finger out. I was sitting 14th at the end of qualifying 1 and would need to improve if I was going to reach my goal of top 10 finishes. Saturday morning was qualifying 2 and after completing about 8 laps I had not improved and my position had slipped to 19th, I had come back into the pits and it was rightly suggested I head back out and have a real go if I wanted to be in the "race". I went out and pushed hard for 2 quick laps and managed to jump it up to 8th on the grid and my outlook for the weekend improved.  Saturday afternoon saw the start of race 1 and after a good start the red flag came out for an incident at the northern hairpin. The full restart and reduced race to 7 laps saw a clean start and I held 5th for most of the race until being taken and finishing 6th. A good result. Sunday was the main event with 2 races and the biggest crowd I have seen at mallala, race 1 saw me off to a flyer and into 3rd but the race was soon red flagged due to an issue with the starting lights, on the restart the mayhem started again not far in and another red flag saw us doing a 2 part race with a 3 lap sprint at the end where I finished 8th. I really wanted to do well in the last race and was relieved to hear the race had been reduced to 6 laps, finally we saw a complete race in one go and after holding 5th for most of the race I was shuffled back at the end and finished 7th. Overall I finished the round in 6th with 42 points. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped and supported me. Cheers.


Reece Bancell Round 2 report

27th March 2007

Warm blustery conditions greeted competitors at Mallala for Round 2 of the 2007 Sonnex Laser Reece Bancell Trophy Series at Mallala on Sunday March 18th. The prevailing wind direction was pushing riders down the start finish straight into turn 1 and side on to them in the super fast turn 4, making riding conditions tricky.

The Sonnex Laser Reece Bancell Trophy field was down in size on the previous round, but the quality was still there. Adam Christie was again in strong form on his Yamaha R1, putting it on pole with a 1:11.470 on his final lap of qualifying. Alongside him were Michael Blunden (Yamaha R1), Daniel Mutton debuting his 2007 Honda CBR1000RR and Graham Snaith (Yamaha R1). Race 1 saw Adam Christie lead from start to finish while Snaith and Blunden battled for the minor placings, finishing in that order after Snaith put in the fastest lap of the race (1:11.370) on lap 3 to make the pass on Blunden stick. Ashley Manuel held fourth until the final lap when Steve Leach, who had been working his GSXR 1000 forward throughout the race, passed to take the place. Aaron “Chocky” Denys fell victim to Leach’s progress 2 laps earlier to finish sixth. In race 2 it was Blunden who prevailed after hounding Snaith for the first 2 laps, with Christie a distant third followed by Mutton (back on his CBR 600 after a crash on the Fireblade) and Leach in close company. In the third and final race, Blunden opened with a salvo of fast laps to lead from the start, Snaith and Christie battled briefly before Snaith broke away, again putting in the fastest lap of the race, leaving Christie to defend third position against the approach of Leach, Mutton, Manuel and Denys in close company.


Café Racer Club of S.A. 2007 Sonnex Laser Reece Bancell Trophy – Round 1 2007 Race Bike Services Steve Martin Cup – Round 1 Race Report

25th February 2007
The 2007 Sonnex Laser Reece Bancell Trophy Series commenced in glorious conditions at Mallala on Sunday February 25th. The fine clear weather was a welcome relief after the oppressive humidity encountered during practice on Saturday. A workshop session on track lines presented by Michael Brenton to the newer riders on the Saturday afternoon proved invaluable, with many of the novices producing significant improvement, resulting in some excellent racing displays throughout the well subscribed fields.
The Sonnex Laser Reece Bancell Trophy picked up from where it left off in 2006 with a fully subscribed entry comprising 18 C Grade and 22 D Grade riders. Adam Christie mounted on his Yamaha R1 took the C Grade honours, along with outright victory, from two wins and a second place. He was hounded by Michael Blunden, and Graham Snaith also riding Yamaha R1’s. Blunden took a win, a second and a third for second place and Snaith a second, a fifth and a third for third. All three riders dipped into the 1’ 11” laps in the chase, Blunden putting in a pair of 1’ 10”s in the second race, providing some exciting racing. D Grade was won by Suzuki GSXR 1000 mounted Steve Leach with 3 grade wins, from Jarrod Barker (R1 Yamaha), two thirds and a fourth and Matthew Cooper (Suzuki GSXR 1000) with a second and two thirds.
The combined Race Bike Services Steve Martin Cup and Unlimited Solo was certain to deliver further excitement when Ian “Easy” Andrews put in a 1’ 9.82” lap on his not yet fully developed Suzuki GSXR 600 Supersport bike in qualifying to take pole. Behind him were Matt Childs (Yamaha R6), Stephen Liddicoat (Suzuki GSXR 600), Michael Blunden (Yamaha R1), Adam Christie (Yamaha R1), Graham Snaith (Yamaha R1), Andy Denman (Yamaha R1) and Sean McKay (Suzuki GSXR 1000), making a welcome return to the track, all covered by less than a second. The day belonged to Andrews, carrying his dominant form into the new season with 3 wins. The Race Bike Services Steve Martin Cup round was won by Stephen Liddicoat, with two race wins and a sixth, on a count back from Andy Denman with a win and two seconds. Third was Joel Tozer, back after some time out last season, with two sevenths and a fourth – remarkable after a crash at turn 8 in the second heat of the Reece Bancell which saw he and his machine under the air fence. A DNF for Snaith, and a missed race for Christie cost them dearly in the points chase.
The Limited events were a clean sweep for Yamaha TZ 250 mounted David Healey, from Brett Withy on his aging Suzuki RGV250 (still managing to lap in 1’ 20”) with 2 seconds and a fifth and Joe Ahern (Honda RS 125) with three thirds, one point ahead of similarly mounted Chris Rowen and a further 3 points back to Ryan Seaman, also on a Honda RS 125.
Historic Group 1 was dominated by Danny Ahern (Matchless G50) with 3 wins, from Richard Rake (Norton Domi-racer) and Mick Sandley (Honda H100). Group2 were led home by Chris Hudson (Honda CB750), from Adrian Coles (Yamaha LC 250) and Brian Peak (Ducati 900 GTS).
Bracket racing saw a 3 way tie for division 1, row 1 with novice Ben North (Honda Fireblade) taking a win at his first race meeting, on count back from Fernando Vatagiato (Suzuki GSXR 600) and Shaun Casey (Yamaha Thunderace 1000) – each rider having a first, a second and a third to his credit. Other division 1 winners were Paul Saade (Yamaha R6), Kym Davey (Honda CBR 600), Darren West (Honda CBR 1000) and Ben Vanderline (Suzuki GSXR 1000).
Division 2 bracket winners were Richard Carter (Yamaha WR 450F), Tim Lindsay, Chris Hudson (Honda CB750), Bazz Warren (Ducati Pantah 500) and Leonard Rowe (Yamaha LC 250).
The Café Racer Club thanks its series sponsors, Bridgeland Motorcycles; Ducati Adelaide; Hood Sweeney Technology; Race Bike Services; Show & Go Motorcycles; Sonnex Laser; Steve Cramer Products and club supporters Brit Bikes; Neville Lush Racing; Red Knot Wines; SA Dirt Bikes for their continuing support of this exciting series.
We also thank Bills Motorcycles; Bridgeland Motorcycles; Coast Yamaha; Docteur Desmo; Ducati Adelaide; GC Motorcycles; Japanese Motorcycles and Dismantlers; Yamaha World for their combined efforts to provide partial tyre sponsorship to all of the competitors. This assistance to the riders helps us to help them keep on racing.