EmTek Racing News - 2005

17/03/2005 - Race report from Regional Race 2

To all the competitors of the day

It seems as if Regional racing is taking on more importance and competitiveness than ever before. We could actually consider our racing as one of the most professional and competitive forms of motorcycle racing in the Southern Hemisphere (well if the British Superbike riders and teams consider their series to be of a higher standard than World SBK then Why Not blow our own horns!)

The year has started off as it ended off last year - breaking lap records again.

Eight of the Ten classes broke their respective lap records at Midvaal. And fortunately Andy is tracking this from the transponders so that there is no confusion or disputes. Our web site is the only medium that is tracking this information on behalf of our Regional riders.

This week however with the heat turned up there were a lot more crashes and DNF's than the last race meeting. We can only speculate that the status of a Regional Championship is gaining in popularity.

EmTek Racing is proud to announce that we will be supporting and preparing the Yamaha R6 of Wilmarie Janse Van Rensburg for the rest of the Regional races. Welcome aboard the Professional team of Emtek Racing

BOTTS

For both Andy and myself we had a mixed bag of success in BOTTS.

Heat 1

After a poor qualifying on the grid (9th) Gilbert managed to get into the top 6 by lap three and was hounded constantly by a fast gaining Brian Moldenhauer on his super slick Aprilia Factory R. Unfortunately with no setup time on the spare Ducati 996 bus (the 999 ate itself up during Friday afternoon practise) as well as trying out new rubber (dumb move) Gilbert managed to throw his bike away with only two laps remaining. He did, however, at least offer a good bye wave to Brian as he pulled through turn 5. Andy on the other hand managed to get the Arilia working a lot better and managed to get into the 1:11's which is fantastic. It is only a matter of time before the Aprilia really starts to shine and Andy starts to get into the top 10.

Gilbert also broke into the psycological barrier of 1:10;8 and with all things considered was not too bad on the old bus.

Heat 2

Gilbert started stone last on the grid (due to his crash in heat 1) and managed to get into the top 10 by the second lap. This was not the way the day ended however and Gilbert had to settle for a 12th with Andy charging hard - one more lap and he would have beaten him. However Gilbert's confidence with the Metzeler RaceTech Front tyre was at an all time low and after 7 laps there was absolutely no grip. Gilbert also found the carcass of the front bending slightly under heavy breaking and the tyre gives absolutely no feedback whatsoever. The tyre just lets go when you least expect it - this is contrary to the excellent and consistant grip offered by the Pirelli fronts. The Metzeler rears are comparable to the best tyres out there and offer loads of grip for the Regional level riders. Having not done enough testing we cannot comment on durability in the heat or cold or grip levels on other tarmac - but our whole team (including Wilmarie and Andy) did not enjoy the front tyre.

Andy started off in position 12 and ended in 13th but still continued to make progress in his time - a best time of 1:11,8 (last year this would have been in the top 10). There is still plenty more to come from this combination for the future.

Wilmarie

Wilmarie also had a mixed day with her new R6. This is the first time out with the bike and she had absolutely no setup time or practising with this bike. Her determination however shone through and she managed to finish 7th and 9th respectfully. Wilmarie also posted a brilliant time of 1:12;2 which is fantastic considering that her last season was campaigned on a two stroke 250cc in the Powersport class. The 600cc class is both difficult and called the "head bangers class" and her finish is well commendable. Again the front tyre was the culprit and we wish her all the luck for the future.

Once again thanks to Terry Moss Timing for the timing of the event.

Gilbert Parsons

 

 

This page was last updated on 06-06-2008.