Flying quarter-mile record sought

THE New Zealand record of 4.77s for the flying quarter-mile is the target for top riders at Sunday's big motorcycle event on Dalefield Road, Carterton.
That time translates to 307.52km/h, or 191.08mph. Local hero Tony Sampson did 306.22km/h in November last year and has been unable to match or beat that since. He plans to be there on Sunday, and to put his wheelstand skills to the test in the lunchtime wheelie contest.
Sampson has said he wants to exceed 200mph (320km/h) within the next couple of years, but he hasn't had time to do the mods needed for that sort of effort. He's the local to watch, however.
To get to Dalefield Road it's best to go down Brooklyn Road until you get out of town and then turn left at the yellow sign saying Dalefield. That will bring you to the pits area halfway down the course, a great viewing spot.
There will be standing and flying ? mile sprints on Sunday and also one on the 25th November. Cliffhanger Promotions secretary Dina Albrett says another one is planned for early in February but no date has been set as yet.
The club has had interest from as far as Christchurch and Auckland and will be having some Hyabusa's there which are reputed to be able to do in excess of 300km/h!!!
"We now have our own caps and T-shirts for sale printed with our Cliffhanger logo they will be for sale on the day, also food and drink will be available at a small cost, prize-giving will be held in the Dalefield hall after the event finishes (after 4pm) and everyone is welcome to stay for this.
The club was only able to find one local sponsor, Dave Anderson Suzuki.
Meanwhile, the annual Cliffhanger Hillclimb is to be held on March 15 and 16, 2008. This event is held on the Kourarau Dam Road and this is incorporated with the mini-rally which we held for the first time this year.
There will be live music food and drink at a small charge and great fun!!
We invited three entrants in Sunday's event to share their stories. They are reprinted on this page.
By Vicki Streifler
Right from the first time I learnt to ride a road bike as a 15 year old there was an inbuilt desire to one day ride on a racetrack. My family weren't into motorcycles at all, and they worried immensely. Turning their hair greyer by the day, they saw new my passion for riding continued to grow, and many bikes later so did my dream.
My passion for Italian motorcycles begun years ago as an impressionable teenage girl. I heard a haunting sound like nothing I'd heard before, As the bike pulled in to the shop I was totally spellbound by the look and sound of a Ducati 851, Billy Idol could have jumped out in front of me naked and I wouldn't have noticed (well OK & maybe). But sure as a sure thing, one day I was going to own such a beautiful piece of machinery!
I didn't ride at my first race meeting until 2005 on a Ducati 748sp, I scared myself absolutely senseless and had not a clue what I was doing, but the feeling was absolutely addictive and I lived for more of the racing buzz. I came away that day with a smile as big as big could be. Oh yeah, and I was HOOKED.
I've since won the woman's title at that event for three years running. Earlier this year I competed at the Cliff Hanger Hill Climb event in Masterton and came away with second place in the Support class. I managed by some amazing twist of fate to pull off a win and two seconds at a Taupo race meeting earlier this year on my Aprila RSV1000.
I have competed at the Wairarapa sprints a few times and totally enjoyed it. Flying down a country road at 270+km/h is an experience even the faint-hearted should try (and we can do it legally and safely, which is a huge plus). I think the sprints give me more of an adrenalin rush than the race track as we don't get to reach that kind of pace on a track circuit. I know my hands were shaking like jelly after each run the first time. But it certainly puts a smile on your face when you can push your bike to it's absolute power limits. We are so lucky to have such an event as this. A huge thank you to all those involved and the Carterton community for making it possible.
The Sprints will be very special for me this time as I took the reins of my new fully-sponsored 749R Ducati last Friday.
So it will be giving me the smiles of my life as I run her down the Sprint straight. I just cannot thank my sponsors enough, Kerry from KTL Motorcycles , Rob and the guys from Anglo American Motorcycle Club, Kerry from Motohaus tyres, and my awesome partner in life and crimes, who helps me so much every race weekend by supporting me more than any man should have to, Drew. You guys have made this girl's dream come true. Mum and Dad & your grey hair is gorgeous! You have me to thank!! I And I thank you both for always supporting my crazy antics & it means the world to me.
See you at the Sprints!
By Dean and Maxine Van Ingen, of Nelson
We are coming to compete again at the Carterton sprints run by Cliffhanger Promotions. We thoroughly enjoyed the event last time. Everyone was so friendly, made us feel so welcome, and the event was run extremely well, which makes it a great day's racing. So when the opportunity came up again to attend the event, we just couldn't miss it.
We have been involved with racing vehicles (in one form or another) for about 16 years now. We have had various cars e.g. hot rod, rotary, Porsche to mention a few. The reason we got into motorcycles was we thought it was a cheaper option to have motorcycles than cars, as the cost of racing cars was becoming more and more expensive.
Little did we know that eventually we would build a turbo motorcycle which has most probably cost more than a car ever would have.
We do a lot of motorcycle touring normally, enjoy seeing the country and visiting all sorts of places. You meet lots of great people on your motorcycle travels. It's a fantastic hobby and pastime.
As we had always been interested in racing, we then started attending different events like open track days, drag race meetings and now flying quarter mile sprints. You need to attend these organised events where the environment is controlled and safe, as racing anywhere else is not recommended. Motorcycling can be dangerous and you should not be silly on the open road and race in an uncontrolled environment.
When we started attending these events, we got more and more hooked into the drag racing scene and sprint scene. Dean decided that he would like to build a turbo motorcycle and race it. So that's where it all started.
He bought a 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R and started to modify it.
It has been a long road and taken about 18 months to get bike finally to a stage where we are happy with it. There has been a lot of sleepless nights with worry about various things and working through all the problems that come with modifying a motorcycle. Its not a project for the faint-hearted. The bike has blown up once, and various components have broken along the way because of the high horsepower and the pressure that this puts on the engine. The bike has been dynoed at 243hp at the rear wheel. So now we have to see if the bike will handle this horsepower and run smoothly. We have no idea how the bike will run in September as this will be the first event we have raced it at since rebuilding the bike. It will be a testing day for us to try setup combinations and see what works best. So the September event might be a slow one for us and then if everything goes right, we hope to come back to the November event and really give it a good go.
In February Dean only managed to reach 294km/h because the bike was playing up. If we have it right and everything goes well, we hope that he might get over the 300km/h mark, but we are not holding our breath while we are testing.
Maxine also races her motorbike as well. She has a Suzuki GSX1200Y. She reached nearly 240km/h last time on her bike.
We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the volunteers of Cliffhanger Promotions who run the event. If it wasn't for the volunteers who give up their time, this event would not be held and none of us would have good safe controlled fun. Dean Bentley and his team do a fantastic job. Thanks.
Dean and I need to say a special thank you to Mark James (our mechanic) who helped us fix and tune the bike. Without him we would not even be going. We are totally indebted to him.