The Bel-Ray 6 Hour

Bel-Ray 6 Hour Reports --  Demolition Plus Smashes The 6 Hour Endurance Race at Oran Park Demolition Plus Racing pulled off an amazing win at Oran Park’s last ever motorcycle race, The Bel-Ray 6 Hour with Russell Holland, Gareth Jones and Craig Coxhell achieving a record 277 laps in scorching conditions. Riding a brand new bike, meticulously built by the legendary Geoff Winzer from GAS Honda, the #36 Fireblade Honda CBR 1000RR9 didn’t miss a beat, even after being ridden for three days straight in 40 degree plus heat. The bike was delivered on Thursday afternoon and was put through its paces by all three riders on Friday and Saturday, with Russell Holland qualifying second fastest on Saturday afternoon’s shootout for the Le Mans start. The #36 was chosen in honour of Winzer’s race number when he last raced The 6 Hour at Oran Park. The combination of Russell Holland, Gareth Jones and Craig Coxhell was sublime. Moving into the lead position by the end of the first hour, the team kept the pressure on to maintain their position throughout the rest of the race, and delivered a blistering victory, three laps ahead. Returning from injury following a spectacular highside during race 4 at the Phillip Island ASBK round, Craig Coxhell managed a very impressive race, capping off an excellent year as the number 1 privateer in the ASBK series. ONK Dutch Superbike Champion and New Zealand Supersport Champion for 2009, Gareth Jones delivered a remarkable race in The 6 Hour, despite never having competed in an endurance race before, coming off the back of 21 months of non-stop racing and being on a Honda for the first time. Stepping off the plane from Europe only last weekend, Russell Holland displayed fine race form throughout, and finished the race for the team taking the chequered flag at 277 laps, in a total time of 6:02:12. Demolition Plus congratulates Russell, Gareth and Craig on their fantastic race to victory. The teamwork leading up to and throughout the weekend was amazing. Demolition Plus would like to thank Geoff Winzer from GAS Honda, Rob Coxhell and CJC Racing for their logistical support, the Jones family, as well as the phenomenal effort from the entire race team and pit crew. We could not have achieved this great result without the support and dedication of our whole team. We would also like to acknowledge the support we received from Honda, Dunlop, Alpine Performance Centre, NGK, DID, Shell and Sportsbike. --  Honda congratulates winners The last ever motorcycle race at Oran Park, NSW proved to be a winner for Honda with the Demolition Plus team of Craig Coxhell, Russell Holland and Gareth Jones taking out the iconic 6 Hour on board their Honda CBR1000RR’s last weekend. Holland, who has been riding overseas in recent years, took the honours for the team after the three stalwart team mates completed 277 laps in the sweltering heat. A 4000 strong fan base cheered on the Honda riders as they finished well in front of Yamaha mounted Dan Stauffer, Grant Hay and Zac Davies. “The bike didn’t miss a beat all weekend even though we rode it for three days straight in 40-degree heat. It’s a big credit to the whole team,” said Coxhell. Whilst Holland brought his Suzuka 8 Hour experience to the table, Jones was a little more in the dark as to what to expect. “The last time I rode here was in 2003 on a 400, so to come back here and ride a bike that I’ve never ridden before and do an endurance race, which I’ve never done before, has been a real pleasure,” the young Australian Superbike rider said. Team Chief Technician Geoff Winzer of G.A.S. Honda Motorcycles said it was a wonderful feeling to take the win on a bike that was only one week old. “The only modifications to the CBR1000RR carried out included a full race exhaust system, Showa rear shock with front fork cartridges and NGK race plugs and she never missed a beat in 40 degree heat,” Winzer commented. “It was the reliability, great fuel consumption and the consistency of the three riders that allowed us to break the record of the number of laps completed in a 6 hour. Well done to Craig, Russell and Gareth. To win the 6 Hour was awesome for the whole team!” Honda Australia congratulates all three riders, Team Manager Richard Parry and Geoff Winzer on their accomplishment in very tough conditions. --  Yamaha R1 of Cudlin and Cudlin takes fourth at Belray Six Hour Seasoned international endurance motorcycle racers, Alex and Damian Cudlin have battled against the heat and a problem with their fuel cap to finish fourth in the Belray six hour race at Oran Park on the weekend. Supported by OzQuest Home Loans, the two brothers returned from international duty to compete in their first Australian race in five years and took to the track on their Dean Evans Revolution Accessories Yamaha R1 for practice on Friday with track temperatures soaring to a massive 68 degrees. Despite the heat playing havoc with the team’s Pirelli tyres, Cudlin and Cudlin recorded a number of encouraging times before experiencing an engine problem which cut their track time and placed a serious doubt as to if the pair would be able to take to the grid for Sunday’s grueling race. A mammoth overnight effort by the team saw Damien Cudlin return to the track on Saturday where he completed the fastest time for the team and represented the pairing at the Superpole session where he punched out his best time for the weekend, a 1.10.8 and secured a start from the third position of the grid. Damien Cudlin then started the race and after getting a good start led the opening lap of the race before noticing fuel was spraying from the fuel tank. The problem persisted throughout his opening stint of the race before he handed over to Alex Cudlin who brought the bike in to be looked at. After examining the bike the team decided to replace the fuel cap at the four hour mark of the race with the brothers returning to the track and clawing their way through the field to finish in fourth position. Despite the problems experienced during the race the team turned heads across pit lane, with their rear tyre changes taking just 21.78 seconds and 18 litres of fuel placed into the bike in 16.8 seconds. The team also had a specially designed cooling technique for the event, which saw cool air and water sprayed on the radiator to reduce the heat generated by the bike. Damien Cudlin said he enjoyed the event and thought the team performed well given the problems that they had experienced. “At the end of the day, our entry into the event was something which was put together at the last minute when Dean Evans gave us a call up. I though it was going to be a fun race and wanted to be part of history with the event the last motorbike race at Oran Park,” Damien Cudlin said. “We assembled the best crew we could and everybody put in a good effort and things just didn’t go our way but that is endurance racing sometimes you need lady luck on your side.” Alex Cudlin said he too enjoyed the event and despite being one of the only teams in the race with two riders, felt that the fuel cap cost the team a potential podium finish. “After we had the fuel cap fixed up it was then just trying to claw our way back up on the leaders and see where we ended up. I did two more stints on the day and the heat made it pretty hard as it was around 40 degrees, however Damien [Cudlin] and I have raced in similar conditions before and are used to it and we just kept pushing hard,” Alex Cudlin said. “I guess that’s part of endurance racing, some times things fall in your favour and but on the weekend we were just unlucky and everything seemed to work against us.” Dave Caprice of OzQuest Home Loans said the brothers put on a strong performance despite the tough circumstances. “Damien [Cudlin] and Alex [Cudlin] did a great job to finish in fourth position given the circumstances. They were also one of the few teams in the event to have just two riders competing in the race and given the heat wave experienced on the weekend they both did extremely well on track,” Dave Caprice said. “On behalf of the team I would like to say a special thank you to John Redding from the Yamaha Racing Team, Ian Irving the engine builder and Frank Pons from Biketek. It was because of John’s effort late on Friday night that we were able to get the genuine Yamaha parts required so that the problems with the bike could be fixed that night in order for Damien and Alex [Cudlin] to take to the grid for the race.” --  Warwick Nowland Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway has conducted its final motorcycle event after 47 years. The inaugural running of the Bel-Ray 6 Hour successfully marked a return for long distance motorcycle racing in Australia whilst celebrating the closing chapter of two-wheeled racing at the much loved 2.6 kilometre circuit. With an introduction and a farewell, Sydney’s blistering heat wave ensured ‘endurance’ conditions at Oran Park not only for the riders but officials, spectators and the events special guests. The temperature went as high as 45 degrees and the 80km/h winds placed the circuit in extreme conditions throughout the day. None of the above detracted from what the day would bring and with a strong crowd in attendance, singer Brielle Davis made everyone stand to attention with the national anthem just minutes before the start. The LeMans style start procedure for Endurance racing is rarely seen in Australia and created a lot of excitement as the start time of 10.30am drew closer. The start, which was signaled by the national flag being dropped, was in the almighty hands of former factory Yamaha and Suzuki 500cc Grand Prix star, and past 6 Hour winner, Kevin Magee. At 10.30am, the flag dropped and the 31 bike field stormed away for the 6 hour marathon. My former team mate Damian Cudlin took charge blasting past pole position man Zac Davies and leading the first lap. For me, the start was terrible! I just didn’t anticipate Kevin Magee’s arm movement well enough! I had a little bit of catching up to do and after a few laps I settled down and started to move forward. By the time I was up to 4th place, I started to lose the front 3 guys in the traffic even though my lap times were very similar. I decided to conserve a little and let the race unfold... I knew it was going to be a strange race because of the weather. My team mate Dave Johnson did a great job but our other rider, and the man who did far too many things all weekend, James Spence struggled and made an early pit stop. This slowed us down a little and James decided he couldn’t help us so he wouldn’t ride anymore. It was good of James to admit that and we all understood. Hey, there was only 4 hours to go, it should be ok I thought! Normally it would have been ok but I have never raced in such hot and windy conditions. I have been in a position (whilst on the bike) and had to ask the safety car to stop the race, but that was because of torrential rain and lightning (Oschersleben 24 hour, Germany 2002). I’ve raced at 3am with sleet falling and an ambient temperature of -3 degrees (LeMans 24 hour, France 2004). And of course Suzuka’s heat is always difficult. But yesterday was sickening. The organisers were keeping an eye on everyone as they moved around the pit garages. Even the younger riders, who are very fit, looked pale. The front 2 teams of Daniel Stauffer (Yamaha) and Craig Coxhell (Honda) did a fantastic job and we were unable to catch them. We did close the gap at one point but our re-fuelling was quite long during one stop and we also made the additional pit stop when James came in early. The final step on the podium would be between the number 1 bike of Damian and Alex Cudlin and our number 6 Yamaha of Dave Johnson and myself. We swapped places with those guys during the pit stops and it was a nervous time for us. No one in my team wanted to finish off the podium. I had great support from Dunlop for this race and we had to ensure it was a 1-2-3 for Dunlop on the podium. Marty Dowd, our crew chief from Yamaha Australia, did a fantastic job along with our mechanics. Our team of 4 mechanics only met each other on Saturday morning but enjoyed what they were doing and wanted to be on the podium. We were fortunate to have the Factory Yamaha transporter at the back of our garage so when I wasn’t on the bike, I could lay down in the air conditioned room in the truck. For me it was a case of doing what I do. I try and lie as still as possible on my back and let everything rest and recover. I think about letting all the aches go and sort of shut down. I knew the last 2 hours would be the time to race. I preserved myself as much as possible at the start and when the guys told me the situation on the track, I knew it was time to race. At 3pm I came out swinging! I rode like it was a 20 lap race, even though I knew I had to complete 40 laps. I just broke it down into 4 parts, 4 lots of 10 laps. My lapboard showed how many laps I was doing and our position. I had a lap timer on the bike and I was surprised, I was able to lap at qualifying pace and even in traffic I was no more than one second a lap slower. It was a great feeling. I haven’t felt strong like that since 2007. The guys did a great job with the bike and I just hit my marks every lap and the lap timer stayed the same. To do that in those conditions was really satisfying. I did feel sick for about 5 minutes when I got off the bike though! That session put us in a good position so Dave could control the race. It was very close at the end with our fuel light on for the final 5 laps but Dave knew he could use less throttle and still have enough time over 4th place. It was just what I wanted for the team. Our mechanics were thrown in at the last minute and they went about the task of each pit stop in a calm and common sense manor. It was a great way to end the year. Craig Coxhell, Russell Holland and Gareth Jones took victory with Daniel Stauffer, Zac Davies and Grant Hay finishing in second position. It was fantastic to see so many people at Oran Park. People from the past and present. Multiple Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles was in the paddock along with current Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton. The television interviews were carried out by former racer and team manager Craig Trinder. Craig and his camera crew covered all the action in pit lane. I have already spoken to James Spence about 2010 along with some other people. There is a lot of work to do but I hope this will grow into more than just an annual event. -- Rock Solid Security #47 All 3 riders (Jim Masri, Roy Gay and Robbie Slaytor) were born in 1962, making them all 47 years old. The track is also 47 years old as it opened in 1962, hence race No. 47….. None of the riders have raced for 10 years or so and all got together to do this one off historic race to end a great era of motorcycle racing at Oran Park. Well, #47 qualified 16th on the grid, with Jim’s 7 year old 2002 R1 track bike. Jim was the first rider of the race on the bike and got a great start and was in 13th place going into turn 1. As the race progressed he battled thru to be in 10th place and was then fighting for 9th place in the 30th minute, with his best time of the whole weekend being a 1’16.457. Then, all of a sudden, the water pump seized and boiling water sprayed all over Jim, while going thru the kink at the end of the straight…… (He did well to keep it upright). As if the hot conditions weren’t bad enough, without boiling water being sprayed all over you. Unfortunately that was the end of the race for the Rock Solid Security Team, who were all heartbroken not to progress further. Anyway that’s racing, but the worst thing about it, and what really upset Jim, was the fact that his 2 other riders didn’t even throw a leg over the bike during the race. Jim would like to thank all his pit crew (John Mc Cathy, Murray Woods, Richard Emms, Ben Hallam and Kevin Burns) who worked very hard all weekend, Paul Aitken from Aitkens Motorcycle World for all his support and inspiration, head mechanic John Harding from Mototech, who worked many nights preparing the engine for the event, and Jim’s other 2 riders Roy Gay and Robbie Slaytor who could not be faulted.

- LATE BRAKING NEWS -