Motorcycle Racing news | Allann Jon Venter |Wet Weather, High Speed
Back to Back Racing Action, Wet Weather,
High Speed Winds & Championship Points Contention
After a mid-season break, the last 4 races of the 2011 BSB Season are virtually held back to back with one weekend in between each race. With Cadwell Park and Donington Park raced, only Silverstone and Brands Hatch remain to bring to a close the 12 Round Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship.
South African MAP Triumph UK Rider – Allann Jon Venter – recounts his experiences at Cadwell and Donington:
Cadwell Park is in Lincolnshire, as we are nearing the winter season in the UK, the weather is becoming hugely unpredictable and tyre choice for each session plays a key role for the weekend.
Free Practice 1started off with a half wet, half dry track, but there was a dry line forming so we opted to sit out for the first 5 minutes of the session while the track dried out a bit. The session went really well for our MAP Triumph Team and I ended up 3rd quickest.
Free Practice 2 and the weather began to take its toll, the entire track was wet. My team mate – Jimmy Hill – and I are both prone to stupid crashes in the wet in sessions that do not count. We chose to sit the session out as we knew that the following day was forecast to be dry. We used our data from FP 1 to build on a plan for Qualifying the following day which we were confident was going to be dry. Qualifying went well and I was able to put my MAP Triumph 8th on the grid – within striking distance of pole man Ben Wilson.
In the Qualifying Race, I got an average start which put me in a pack of 8 riders, fighting for 4th place for the duration of the race, I eventually achieved a strong 6th place finish.
For the Main race I started 9th on the grid, and once again we had a big scrap between 8 riders, this time my MAP Triumph Team Mate was also involved and we fought all the way to the flag – he finished 6th and I finished 8th.
Overall it was a really positive weekend with both MAP Triumph Riders in the top ten – I moved to 9th in the Championship.
On a sad note, in the Superstock 600 race which race before our race, there was an 18 year old youngster – Ben Gautry who crashed and was fatally injured. His tragic death put a damper on the weekend for everyone. Racing is one big family and as hard as what the riders push each other and know that there is always the risk of serious injury, losing one of our own is very difficult. The entire MAP Triumph Team send their condolences to the Gautry family.
For Round 10 we headed off to Donington Park where once again the weather decided to play games. The UK was experiencing high winds as a result of Hurricane Katia that had hit the States.
Free Practice 1 was once again half wet and half dry, my Crew Chief and I decided that it was pointless to go out as there was little that we could achieve. Free Practice 2 was a dry session and straight away we were in the Top 8, eventually ending up in 7th – only a second off pole.
Our next session was Qualifying and although we had made changes to the bike and went 0.3seconds faster, we dropped down to 14th place on the grid – still 1 second off pole.
In the Qualifying Race, a miscommunication between the mechanics resulted in me getting to the grid late. I achieved a great start and was moving up the field but the Organizers issued me with a ride through penalty for my late arrival on the grid. I returned to the race in 21st position, put my head down and managed to work my way back up to 14th – I was only able to score 2 Championship points.
For the Main Race, dark clouds were looming. The race started dry but 7 laps in the rain came down and the Organizers were forced to bring out the red flag. The second race was scheduled as a 7 lap sprint race, I had a great start before the rain and for the re start moved forward a row to 10th on the grid. I had an excellent start and rode around the outside of everyone in the first turn – almost up to 4th place, being too hyperactive about the situation, I ran onto the curb forcing me to close the throttle and lose 3 place. After 4 laps , one of the rider’s bikes blew and lay oil on the track forcing the Organizers to once again, stop the race. This time, they called it a complete race. I was disappointed with the weekend, the ride through penalty and 9th place meant that I didn’t score as many points as I had set out to and I dropped to 10th in the Championship.
Our next race is at Silverstone where I will be aiming to make up some valuable points. A big thank-you to all of my sponsors – Map Group UK, Spada Leathers, Shoei Helmets, North Yorkshire Road Race Supporters Club, Red Star Raceway and my rider coach – Mike from www.get-faster.co.uk
MotoGP News | Brad Binder makes his 125 MotoGP Debut at Indianapolis
Brad Binder makes his 125 MotoGP Debut at Indianapolis
Press Release supplied by RW Racing GP – press@rwracinggp.com
16 year old Brad Binder has made a very promising start of his 125cc GP career. The young South African finished his first ever race in seventeenth position at the Indianapolis track.
The result was beyond expectations of the RW Racing GP team as well as Binder himself. With a brilliant start Binder immediately nailed five riders and got to the first corner in 22th position. Early in the race he got himself into a group of riders with Jasper Iwema and Taylor MacKenzie amongst others. Due to a mistake of MacKenzie Binder lost contact with the group but managed to overcome a gap of more than three seconds by himself.
Looking at the wear off of the rear tyre and the constant faster lap times during the race, chief mechanic Hans Spaan was pleasantly surprised Binder didn’t crash, “It is truly amazing what the kid has shown here. He was constantly two seconds per lap faster in the race than in qualifying. Everything he did was good. You can tell he’s a real racer: he is at his best when there is something at stake. That says a lot about his mental strength and his physical condition. He is really a talented rider.”
For the rear tyre this track is really hard but for Brad Binder it could have went on for at least another hour. “I have really enjoyed myself”, he says. “I wasn’t tired at all. It’s hot, but I’m used to that in South Africa. The 125 race lasts longer than I’m used to in Red Bull Rookies Cup, but I had so much fun I was a bit disappointed when I saw there were only five more laps to go. It’s a pity it was over so soon.”
Brad Binder will take to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies stage for the final time on Saturday 3rd September 2011 at Misano in Italy. This brings to a close his 3 year journey as a Red Bull Rookie. Said Brad in preparation for Misano, “my 2011 Red Bull Rookie Season has been the most difficult for me, I started the year as the favourite to win and things have not worked in my favour. I have made mistakes and I have had to learn to ride better in the wet weather. I have been told that you learn more when times are tough. Rather than all that learning I would far rather be fighting for the 2011 Championship, but that’s just the way things turn out! Arthur and Lorenzo have ridden well all year and they have worked really hard – it is going to be a great race, a hard race – good luck to both of them. I would just like to thank Red Bull Rookies, Red Bull, KTM, Alpine Star and especially Peter Clifford and Michaela and the admin team, special thanks to Alex and his mechanics for preparing my bike, Carlos and Rob for the suspension set up and Gustle and Raul for teaching me so much. To everyone in the Rookies Energy Station for preparing great meals and creating a home away from home – thanks! Saturday 3 September will really be a sad day, as I know it will be the last time I will get to ride a Red Bull Rookie bike. The past 3 years Red Bull Rookie Racing has been the highlight and the best thing that has happened to me so far in my life. It has really been great to be part of the Red Bull Rookie Team. It was a real honour to be selected and to be give the opportunity to take part in the Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup. If it weren’t for my time as a Rookie, I would never have been given the opportunities that I have been given in the 125s.
I would also like to thank my sponsors: Gordon and the team from Pole Position Travel, Arai, Web Key, MCSA, Superga and to Ella and Denis for all of their help”.
British Super-sport Racing | Allann Jon Venter Talks Motorcycle Racing
Safety Car, Red Flags, Air Ambulance and all of the drama at Brands
Round 8 of the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship took place at the Brand’s Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent, just outside London. South African Map Group UK Triumph Rider – Allann Jon Venter – finished at Snetterton on a very positive note in 5th position, was washed out at Oulton Park, and was very eager to get back out on track and keep the momentum of getting closer to the front of the pack.
Saturday morning Free Practice went well for Allann Jon Venter, he managed to get to grips with the demanding GP Circuit and ended the session in P6 – just 1 second off pole. In the short time between Free Practice and Qualifying the Map Triumph Team worked hard to make the necessary changes to the bike to bridge the gap to the front runners. AJ managed to equal his FP time but most of the field had found pace too. Allann Jon ended the session in P15 – only 0.7 seconds off the front row! The top 17 riders were all covered by the same second.
For Sunday morning warm up, The Map Group UK Triumph Team decided to do a simulation for the Main Race – using a full tank of fuel and an 8 lap old tyre. The results were good with Allann Jon back up near the front in 7th place. Allann Jon was feeling “really good”, 10 minutes before the Main Race, it started to rain. Due to the fact that there had been no wet session all weekend, the Organizers arranged a 7 minute free practice.
Motorcycle Racing News | AJ Venter talks about round one in Brand’s Hatch
Following a big crash a week and a half before the first race of the year South African – Allann Jon Venter – not only managed to injure himself but to absolutely wreck his bike to such a degree that all that could be saved were the two rear foot-pegs and the front brake callipers. Instead of spending his time following his usual gruelling physical fitness regime, AJ spent the build up to the race weekend with Body to Fit physiotherapist – Rob – to get his ankle and shoulder race fit for the season opener of the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport Championship at Brand’s Hatch on the 24th and 25th April 2011.
Being the first race of the season, all of the classes competing in the British Superbike Championship were given an extra day of practise, making it a 5 day Race Weekend. This counted in MAP Group UK rider AJ’s favour, said AJ, “I had missed out on the testing that my two team mates had done at Brand’s Hatch earlier in the year so the more track time I could get, the better.”
Allann Jon went on to explain the changes to the Race Schedule for 2011, “Our Race Schedule for this year is different to previous years. We now have two 30 minute free practise sessions, one qualifying session, one qualifying race at 75% distance of the main race where everyone scores championship points. Your fastest lap from the qualifying race will determine your grid position for the main race.”
The nature of the Brand’s Hatch Indy Circuit is such that it makes for really close racing, the short track with four corners clocks lap times under a minute. There is not much place for passing and even less opportunity to make up time.
AJ used free practise 1 to settle down, feeling the newly built race bike – the MAP Triumph 675, new Shoei helmet, new Spada suit and to test how his injuries would hold up under pressure and at speed. He ended the 30 minute session in P12 just 0,811 seconds off the quickest time of fastest rider Ben Wilson.
Drastic changes were made to the Triumph’s suspension for free practise 2, the changes worked well and AJ dropped down four places on the time sheet. At the end of free practise 2 the top 19 riders were all within the same second!
After the two free practise sessions and after the qualifying session AJ shared his thoughts, “throughout the two free practise sessions and even the qualifying session, I knew by looking at my lap times that I was not a million miles away, and that throughout these sessions, myself and my crew-chief – Jezz – were working on “race” set up more than trying to put a flying lap in. By the end of qualifying, I managed to keep improving my time and eventually I ended up 0.30 seconds off second place on the grid……….in 15th place!!!! The top 22 riders were all covered within the same second. Where in the world will you find racing so close and so competitive?”
AJ reflects that the build up to the qualifying race was more intense than the main race the following day. He knew that he had the pace to run with the front runners, but a really good start was essential and he would need to get his elbows out and make gaps in any free space possible. His strategy worked well, AJ had an excellent start and within the first lap he moved from 15th to 11th position, this got him into a tussle with 5 other riders, AJ managed to get out on top and beat Luke Mossey to the line by 0.008 seconds to take 6th place. This is the best result that Map Group UK’s Allann Jon Venter has achieved on his Triumph in the Supersport Class.
AJ’s time from the qualifying race was good enough to move him forward a row on the grid to 10th position. AJ “bogged” the start (as he describes it) but still managed to slot into 9th position on the first lap. A few set up changes had been made to the Triumph, this coupled with a few errors on the part of AJ resulted in him not being able to run at the same pace as he had the day before. AJ achieved a 12th position overall.
“All in all a good weekend, great to be back racing again, now it’s off to Round Two at Oulton Park this weekend”.
X-Games Gold for Sampie Erasmus | Sa paraplegic rider
Sa paraplegic Motocross rider Sampie Erasmus sold his Golf 5 GTI to raise the money to go and compete in the 2010 X-Games limb Difference class.
Sampie stated->”The X Games are the Olympics of action sport and it was worth selling that car. I can always get another. I’ve been working towards this for so long.”
He had to sell his set of wheels after no SA based company wanted to help with sponsorships. With his massive will to Win Sampie Erasmus won the X Games GOLD Medal.
Well done to Sampie Erasmus.
Keep posted to Racer Zone. We might just get a full one on one interview soon.
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