BEARS Australia 2023

redax5 said:
couple of reasons in relation to The Bend, each meeting we go to we have practice on Friday, Qualifying Saturday morning, one or two races Saturday afternoon and final two races on Sunday
Except Darwin where we can have the track from Monday right through to Sunday afternoon, great place to test and race

The Bend apart from being very expensive would only give us a Sunday and if we wanted Saturday it would only be a track day open to anyone with a motorcycle
So makes no sense for BEAR's to race there, is a shame though looks like a great track

2023 will most likely be the last time we do the full series of national rounds, getting too expensive and need to work towards clearing my workshop of customer bikes/engines and the race bikes take up a lot of my time
Picked up race fuel this morning, it has gone from $8.30/liter that I paid last year to $13.15/liter now, and my bikes suck fuel
Race tyres price wise are now around 30% more expensive, Diesel for the Race van is going to be 25% dearer, accommodation is up, everything is more expensive
Have to retire them one day
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So when they do ‘retire’ what plans do you have for your ‘girls’?
 
Mule tried to high side Matt in qualifying on his first flying lap so we did not set a time
Started from back of the grid in race 1, Matt passed all the BEARs bikes and lowered his lap record by 0.8 seconds
1st outright in class, best time 1 min, 43.3 seconds

Mule looking a bit worse for wear, broken fairing screen, bent right hand foot peg hanger, couple of other minor bits but she is running great
She also banged up Matt's right lower leg when she tried to throw him off so an awesome ride to lower his lap record

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just noticed the Allen head driver sticking out from under the fairing, after the high side in Qualifying we decided to transfer a little bit of weight to the rear tyre so we lifted the front of the bike by 2mm

we normally run SC1 compound front and rear but we had an SC2 rear left over from 2021 that I wanted to use up, in theory SC2 better suited for colder weather so we used it as a new rear at Mac Park with an SC1 front
Going to Eastern Creek the SC2 rear slick had 3 x 25 klm races on it from Mac Park so plan was to use it for Qualifying and then replace both front and rear tyres with new set of SC1 slicks for the 4 races, we always install new set of slicks for the races

Matt was saying rear end slide out at Turn 4, did not worry him as he slides both front and rear tyres on the Laverda's at most of the tracks we go to so nailed the throttle as he normally does to spin up the rear and bring it back into line by controlling the rear tyre spin on the edge of the tyre
Unfortunately with the SC2 rear on, being a little bit stickier, it hooked up when he nailed the throttle and high sided him
Lesson learnt, do not change tyre compounds that are working
 
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redax5 said:
Mule tried to high side Matt in qualifying on his first flying lap so we did not set a time
Started from back of the grid in race 1, Matt passed all the BEARs bikes and lowered his lap record by 0.8 seconds
1st outright in class, best time 1 min, 43.3 seconds

Mule looking a bit worse for wear but running great
She also banged up Matt's right lower leg when she tried to throw him off so an awesome ride to lower his lap record
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Bit scary that Red.. hope Matt recovers alright. Obviously not too daunted though with lap records continuing.
All the best for the rest of the weekend.
 
Sounds like a seriously brave save, Red. High-sides are no fun whatsoever so to come out of it with so little damage to bike and rider is a testament to great riding.

All the best to you, Matty and the crew for the weekend's racing. Kick on Mule and her sis.
 
2nd race, 2nd win
Matt starting to limp pretty badly now, Mule has done a real job on his leg
Having trouble with the right hand gear change now

Not game to take his race boots off, worried he may not get them back on
Looking at his right boot it looks like the rear tyre ran over his foot
 
redax5 said:
2nd race, 2nd win
Matt starting to limp pretty badly now, Mule has done a real job on his leg
Having trouble with the right hand gear change now

Not game to take his race boots off, worried he may not get them back on
Looking at his right boot it looks like the rear tyre ran over his foot
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Bloody hell. That must have been a seriously impressive save. I don't think I've ever seen anyone run over his own foot and then recover to stay on the bike. I guess the windscreen bubble got busted by his head or shoulder too, so he evidently got into some very awkward shape. Much respect for not chucking it down the road. It would be interesting to see it in slow motion.
Best wishes to Matt for a speedy recovery from the injured leg. Fingers crossed that he hasn't busted any bones or torn a ligament.
 
The energy released in a high side is impressive, he must have been close to sidesaddle to run over his own foot. Bloody hell.
 
Vince said:
The energy released in a high side is impressive, he must have been close to sidesaddle to run over his own foot. Bloody hell.
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Correct, he landed beside the bike when she threw him off

3rd race finished, 1st in Class again
Matt very sore
 
I have seen a rider run over his own foot saving a crash. Bad news is that he broke his ankle doing it.

Get ice onto that foot if you haven't already.

If he has probs shifting next time out tell him to get into a high gear and leave it there. Points for a finish at least.
 
Fantastic results considering the challenges, but I agree with Greg, if he’s able to get out tomorrow it should be just about bringing himself and the bike home In one piece. I know that’s what I’d chose to do in the same situation (and did after my last big off in 2021) but perhaps Matt is harder/more nuts than me…😉
BTW, pretty awesome save and then win in last weeks Moto 3 race.
 
just arrived home with the Race van, need to unload and service the bikes now, fix any damage etc

message from Matt this morning, he and Tina flew home from Sydney Sunday night landing in Brisbane
they decided to get an X-Ray just in case
One broken bone in his right foot, would have been when the rear tyre ran over his foot and a broken ankle which would have been caused by the footpeg hitting the back of his lower leg
we could tell that as the CNC machined footpeg hanger on the right side was badly bent and the bike had not hit the ground
had spare footpeg hangers in the race kit

astounding to be able to not only ride the Laverda's with their right hand foot change, but also win 4 x races from 4 x starts and break his own F4 Lap record by 0.8 secs
 
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