Round 4 QLD Willow Bank
Friday Practice
The threat of rain was above us all day today with cloudy
cool conditions. Cameron was keen to get back on the R1, fresh back from
Asia where he had been testing for Sporting Motorcycles on a Yamaha R6
using the new Pirelli Diablo tyres. Having completed some development work
on the engine we keen to see if we were still lacking power anywhere. Cameron’s
first comments were “Man this thing's fast”. This was visibly noted not
just by us but also by others. Having not previously used 190 rear tyres
we spent all day work on suspension. The 190 Pirelli had more drive off
the turns but was pushing the front hard making it difficult to hold a
line. By day's end though we were getting close.
Saturday Qualifying and Race 1 of 4
Struggling in the first qualifier the best we could do
was 7th. The front end was pushing hard and Cameron was not confident to
push any harder. We made some more minor changes for the second session
and pulled a 1.12:57 putting us on the front row in 4th. Half a second
covered 2nd, 3rd and 4th, so we were confident that with our horsepower
advantage the Dynobike\Gary O’Brien\Pirelli Yamaha would be right there.
Cameron got a poor start for race one and was held up
in traffic allowing first and second to get a break on the rest. On lap
4 of seven he moved into 3rd place and proceeded to pull away, chasing
down Tony Rees in second place. The final result was a solid 3rd place.
Sunday Race 2
More changes were made to the front end overnight to
in an effort to get the bike to hold a tight line mid corner and for the
2nd race we elected to use the same tyres from race one. Cameron’s start
was an improvement placing him in 5th place as they went up the back straight.
Out-braking everyone in the corners he was in 3rd by the end of lap one.
Dicing for second for most of the race he was unable to hold on and finished
3rd.
Race 3
Determined to improve on his results Cameron got a great
start and by the end of lap one was in the lead followed by 2 Nikon Yamahas.
On lap 3 they collided with each other ending any chance of finishing and
giving Cameron a 1 second buffer. On the last lap second place was challenging
for the lead and at the last corner before the finish line slipped underneath
Cameron to take 1st place with Cameron second.
Race 4
Cameron again got a good start and was in 2nd place by
the end of lap one. Setting out after the leader it was eventually to no
avail and he settled to protect second place and take out the round win
rather than push to hard and crash trying to win.
Summary
The Yamaha R1 performed faultlessly all weekend and was
a match for everyone else in straight-line speed, making Cameron’s job
just that little bit easier. To come away with a round win is a credit
to everyone who has supported us and proves that the big budget teams can
be beaten if you put your mind to it and work hard. We could not have done
it without your support and we thank you all for this, it is your win as
much as it is ours.
Formula Extreme Racing
Formula Extreme
- Round 2
Formula Extreme
- Round 3
Formula Extreme
- Round 4
Victorian Championships 2003
- Round 1, Winton |
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