Although for the most part 2004 appeared to run smoothly from the competitors’ perspective, it has been a difficult year from the organising side of the fence. As many of you will have seen around the October meeting and again on the Saturday of the November round of the state titles, it has made the threat of cancellation a very real one. The response to Hatchet’s cry for help in October was fantastic – thank you to all those who pitched in. In a bid to prevent a recurrence we’ve got some major changes to our calendar and the way events will be conducted in the 2005 season.
Most significant of these will be that we have rostered all competitors to provide an official for 1 race meeting in 2005. The actual roster will be notified once the calendar is confirmed to provide as much advance notice as possible. The race meetings will be run as two day events and to enable us to control the requirement, Closed to Club. What this means to you, as a competitor, is that you will need to either provide yourself or another volunteer to the club to assist for one Café Racer Club promoted race meeting at Mallala. You will be solely responsible for their attendance. Acceptance of your entry for Café Racer Club events in 2005 will be dependant upon this. Note that some (but limited numbers thereof) official roles can be fulfilled whilst participating as a competitor, and if numbers are sufficiently buoyed by this move, there may also be some opportunities to role share with another competitor.
This decision has not been taken lightly. In fact, I have actively campaigned against such a move through the MSA Road Race Committee for the last couple of years. Within the walls of our club, we can maintain practical control, whereas introduction of a similar arrangement at the state level would need to be across all disciplines of the sport so that it becomes a condition of license issue. In the past, riders have suggested that they are “happy” to pay more so the club can pay the volunteers. Unfortunately, the service clubs etc. who we depend upon for these personnel are faced with the same problems with procuring volunteers. Despite our offering to part with significant amounts of cash to them, they cannot guarantee numbers. Please support this move to continue to underwrite the success of our events.
Please read the “Racing changes for 2005” item on the next page for more important information.
Racing changes for 2005
Breakouts
Working from both
rider feedback and what we see in the timesheets for the racing we will be
making some further “tweaks” to Bracket Racing for the new
year. Division 2 riders are generally those who have the most potential
to drive their times down over the weekend and this is reflected in the high
percentage of breakouts. To address this there will be an increase in the breakout
time for Division 2 from
Race
Lengths 8 lap
races worked well for Division 1, but the spread of times in Division 2 saw
many riders being lapped. Our objective in this introductory class is to
minimise the amount of lapping, so Division 1 will remain at 8 laps
and Division 2 will return to 6 laps per race. This will also
serve to prepare Division 1 riders for the move into the open competition
classes.
Historic
Events Historic
classes will not be run at the club meetings, but Historic bikes will
continue to be welcome to enter Bracket Racing as a number have done over
the past year.
Reece Bancell Trophy will continue to run as a 2 race per meeting series for C & D
grade competitors. Due to the date overlap of the series, Stars of Tomorrow
entry will not form part of the prizes for 2005.
Bracket
Racing Numbers Riding
numbers for Bracket Racing have always been allocated and administered by the
Café Racer Club. In a bid to avoid conflicts with cross entries into graded
races, we are working with the Road Race Committee to standardise the issuing
of numbers. Because of the turnover of riders through the class, and to
minimise the impact on the time keepers, who find 3 digit numbers difficult in
the larger fields which they are faced with in Bracket Racing, numbers will
be reserved for a maximum of 3 meetings at which a rider does not compete.
Café
Racer Club Dates for 2005
We have
been granted the following race meeting dates for 2005. 9th &
10th April, 24th & 25th September & 26th
& 27th November. These dates have been confirmed with
Mallala and with MSA. We initially applied for 4 dates, but due to heavy
bookings at the circuit, have only been able to secure the above 3. There is
the weekend of 7th & 8th May available, but this is
Mother’s Day and we are hesitant to accept it because of anticipated issues for
both riders and officials. This will be discussed at the club meeting on
December 7th before a final decision is taken.
Military Hobbies,
Golden Triangle Restaurant,
Japanese Motorcycles Dismantlers are offering discounts to club members on a range of goods. Jason Weatherstone and Rob Vikuckis are both club members and will go the extra yard for you. Contact Rob by email at gsxr.600@optusnet.com.au, or ring JMD on (08) 8262 6335.
Know someone else who’s doing deals for members? Let
me know & we’ll give them a plug!
What’s Santa got in his
sack?
Race CBR600RR Superstock #9. With or without standard road gear all brand new. Bike is in
excellent shape done only 3,000 km. It has got fantastic fork internals rear
shock gold valve, 520 chain & sprockets + other sprockets Racers edge race
glass + spare sets -Olins s/damper Bike is a winner
in right hands. It was 3rd position in 2004 Shell series and only competed in 4
events. We also have a few new parts 1 Radiator; std H/Bars; master cylinder; levers;
sub frame rear; 1 new set fairings & 1 used; Tyre warmers; stands etc. If
you are looking for a super stock race bike and have no gear we can set you up
to win with an excellent bike, good gear & spares kit for around $15,500
This bike is ready to go. Ring Kym
82345722 BH; 0412 398 909 mobile
Rickman Honda 4 Worked, 1000cc 10.5:1, heavy duty motor with unused touring
fairing, tons of spares and new Rickman hubs, sprockets, alloy rims etc. Needs minor work. I am looking for $4000. Michael_Clair@lgaq.asn.au
1999
K6 Honda 750/4 836cc; Ported head; Yoshimura Daytona cam; Balanced crank and rods;
Akront alloy rims; 4 into 1; Spare 836cc engine with
balanced crank and rods; spare Akront front rim &
DID rim; Rechromed forks; new seals; spare frame,
heads, barrels, crankcases, tank, oil tank, single seat units. Lots of other bits. Contact Bear 8234-0714
mjonas@legend.com.au
Triumph TT600 x2 - urgent sale due to overseas posting!
A road bike and a 'bracket racing' race bike up for grabs, due to our imminent posting overseas -
2000 Triumph TT600 Red/Silver Fuel injected 4-cylinder 600 30,000km Extras fitted:
Triumph carbon fibre pipe; Triumph carbon fibre rear hugger; rear seat cowl; Datatool DiGi digital gear
indicator; Plenty of tread on tyres $7,000. (Peter Stevens in
Triumph TT600 race bike Engine just replaced with 2001 engine (approx 4000km on engine)
Comes with replaced engine as spares (99% of parts usable - crank would need to
be rebuilt); Full set of race glass; Crash knobs fitted; Triumph workshop manual (very
expensive to buy new..); Front and Rear
stands; Tie down straps for a trailer; Set of 1-piece leathers. *Some small
amount of work to do (eg. exhaust hanger bracket, pedal return spring on back
brake to be fitted, slight leak from fuel tank) A
super bargain at $4,000 for the lot. Contact Alison on 839334706, or A/H
on 0402 914 457
R6 2003-04 race fairings, bubble screen, Micron Race can, Afam sprockets, clutch brake levers, plus have a rear sub frame slight damage but would do for spare to still keep you racing, All fit R6 2003-04 $780 the lot Please phone Justin On 0422231696 after 4pm, or on 85569042 Adelaide 22 Nov 04
Yamaha 250 Virago offers around $4,500 Further details contact Paul Stephens 0409 542 825 padyl@bigpond.com
Used tyres 1 PAIR of Dunlop 208 street tyres, hardly used, excellent condition; 1 REAR Dunlop 208 street tyre; 1 PAIR of 208 GP tyres; 2 Michelin Pilot Power REARS; 1 PAIR of MEZ 1 Metzeler street tyres; 1 Bridgestone 002 FRONT. All tyres have at least 50% tread. Make an offer.
Ph Paul on 0401 746400
GSXR 1000
Collins Leathers, brand new, never worn. Red / Black Size Euro 56,
Ohlins Rear Shock; remote
ride height adjustment, high & low speed damping adjustment. Suit
Suzuki GSXR600 2001 Raceglass fairing tail and front guard. In perfect nick no cracks, tank as
well. $400 Roger 0413 411781
Wanted:
I am looking for an alternator cover left hand side for my 96 ZX600R F2 and some road plastics. Ray Boyle 0408-834025
More classifieds. Just email them to webmaster@caferacerclub.com post them to the PO box, or bring them along to a meeting.
Stolen:
The VFR reported stolen in the last issue has been recovered – and a couple of other Smokin’ Joes liveried biked turned up too. Thanks to all for keeping their eyes and ears open.
Attending a Café Racer Club meeting at the Velocette MCC clubrooms 74 Drayton St, Bowden (South of Hawker St) at 8:00pm, where Marty the broken barman serves
just about everything you can imagine in bottles and cans. Next meetings: 7th December, 21st December
(Sausage Sizzle and Social Night), 4th January, 18th
January
President Chris
“Mr Hattie” Peake 0401
710 607 webmaster@caferacerclub.com
Vice President
“Rotten” Ronnie Cashman 0417
809 377 RonCashman@westnet.com.au
Newsletter / Webmaster Chris
“Mr Hattie” Peake 0401
710 607 webmaster@caferacerclub.com
Steve Martin update
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Steve Martin and Garry McCoy have
both signed on to the ride the Foggy Petronas FP1 in next year’s World
Superbike Championship. Foggy says “Steve is probably the most underrated rider
on the world scene. He wants to be noticed and now it's up to him to make
people sit up and take notice. He is a gutsy competitor, with good set-up
abilities, who suffered with reliability problems last year so he was the name
that nobody mentioned - but they will now.” For his part, Steve is quoted as
saying “I am really excited by this opportunity and I am going to give it
everything I have got. I have seen the FP1 out on track and it clearly handles
really well and had good pace for only its second year of racing.”
Other Approaching Events –
check your calendar and keep these dates clear
December 11th & 12th Round 3 SA Road Race Championships – The third and final round of the series will be held at Mallala, jointly promoted by Phoenix MCC and Atujara MCC.
December 12th MRA Toy Run – If a slow ride through the suburbs, followed by a blast up the freeway to Hahndorf in the biggest motorcycle convoy in the country is your style, hook up with the club members who aren’t at Mallala, for a 10:30am departure from the car park of the Highway Inn Hotel on the corner of Anzac Highway and Marion Rd.
December 21st Social Drink Night – Last chance for some Christmas cheer with your club mates. There will be a BBQ (gold coin donation) with some snags (on it, not cooking it). At the Velocette MCC clubrooms.
December 26th Boxing Day Ride
and BBQ – Our annual club ride. Blow out the
cobwebs from Christmas Day with a short ride followed by a BBQ, fun and games.
Meet out front of the Amberlight Deli at Lobethal for
a
February 5th Quiz Night and
Memorabilia Auction – We’ve set the date and are
planning to kick off at
What happens at the Quiz
Night?
The ultimate objective is to have a good time while raising some money for the club. This is the club’s only fund raising event of the year. You don’t have to be a whiz to play! It is not a motorcycle knowledge test, so your non-motorcycling friends can play too. The night runs in 10 rounds of different categories of general knowledge (e.g. current affairs; history; music; geography; puzzles) with table prizes at the end of the night for 1st, 2nd & 3rd. Each round has 10 questions and all of those at each table work together to come up with the answers. In between rounds, while the scores are being calculated, there are simple games played for a small prize. At the halfway mark in the evening we will break for a memorabilia auction. There is some great gear on offer again this year such as high quality Framed Prints of Moto GP and World Superbike riders (e.g. Rossi & Bayliss) by Damir (Focal Vision Photographics); Autographed clothing and gear from Valentino Rossi; Chris Vermulen; Karl Muggeridge; Mick Doohan; Makoto Tamada; Frankie Chili; Steve Martin; Garry McCoy; Anthony West and Johannes Stigefeldt. You’ll have to be there to bid for your bargain – don’t miss out. Some items do have reserve prices set.
What
ever happened to the Social Secretary?
The Social Sub Committee organises social events & activities in an open format. This means anyone can join in & influence future activities etc. We hold meetings every so often as well as plotting via group emails. For more info contact: Paul Stevens padyl@bigpond.com 0409 542 825; James Potter jppd@bigpond.com.au 0400 584 956; Wayne Kircher datablitz@optusnet.com.au 0417 726 801. Or speak to Marty at the bar on a meeting night. Also keep an eye out for the soon to appear Café Racer Club Notice Board in the bar area where members can organise to get together for rides, trips etc.
Mt Gambier will be running a Ride Day
at
Mt Gambier’s ride days will now feature sessions for Junior road racers (13 to 16 years of age) on 125cc machines. Juniors must be accompanied by a responsible adult and are required to provide proof of their age. Riding gear and machine preparation is as for senior competitors. For the practice sessions, junior riders are not permitted on the track at the same time as seniors. In competition, the juniors are permitted to ride only with seniors, but only on 125cc machines. There are currently 2 regular Mt Gambier junior riders, both mounted on 1991 Honda RS 125’s. If you know of any other junior looking to get a start, the time is right.
What a Drag
Can’t get a good start in your races? There are a number of safety issues which prevent practice starts on the track, so perhaps the answer is to try a few drag starts. Steve Waller is organising for a group of riders to attend a street drag meeting at Adelaide International Raceway. It won’t prepare you for the rush into turn 1, but the timing will tell its own story on your technique off the line. If you are interested, give him a call on 0412 222024 for further details.
Editorial Footnote
First of all, sorry to disappoint, but there won’t be a January edition
of Café News. I’ll be doing the family bit with Kim and the kids. All being
well, I might swing past
I look forward to catching up with many of you at the Boxing Day ride and
barbecue. It’s a special time in the year for me. The ride itself brings back
floods of memories of rides and members long past. Then at the barbecue, old
members come out of the woodwork. We mix informally with each other. The kids
run wild together. Please come along, enjoy, and be part of the scene.
Whatever else you may be doing, take care over the festive season.
Be cool.
Hattie :o)