DVS Has a Tough Round at Mallala
Expectations of a return to the front at the fourth round of the YMF Loan Australian Superbike Championship this weekend went unfulfilled with a frustrating series of events that held the team back.
Expectations of a return to the front at the fourth round of the YMF Loan Australian Superbike Championship this weekend went unfulfilled with a frustrating series of events that held the team back.
Adam ‘Krusty’ Fergusson
‘We struggled during qualifying with a bad tyre choice that gave us no advantage over the race tyres. Essentially we gained a tenth of a second over the race tyres instead of a full second which left us back in 10th place on the grid.’
Race one saw Krusty make a good start, something the DVS Honda rider has been working on recently and within a couple of laps was into 5th place when the wheel weights were thrown from the front wheel. The resulting vibration saw the Oleon Fireblade take an off road excursion…
‘I’d just gone past Gilesy when the front end went a bit nuts and then when I braked for the next corner I knew straight away that I had a problem. There was no way we were going to get around that corner so I had to stand it up and take to the grass. By the time I rejoined I was back to last place and pushed as hard as I could with the vibration to work my way back up to 10th position.’
The bike suffered some damage from the wheel weight as it was flung off hard enough to smash through the fairing and put a small dent in the frame!
Race two saw another good start, and the number 74 DVS Honda was again on the move forward early.
‘I’d got off the line well again and was working my way forward at the start of the race, but wasn’t able to hold the pace from mid distance and ended up drifting further back from the leaders.’
James Murray-Parkes
‘It was a frustrating weekend really but that’s racing. The bike is fast and we had the package to be competitive again this weekend. Unfortunately we had a couple of small things go wrong that cost us. I mean how often do you see a bike throw a wheel weight?! That’s racing folks, it only takes one thing to go amiss at this level to upset the result.’
The team now gets set to head to Symmonds Plains in Tasmania for round 5 and hope to exorcize some demons there.
