Team Winks

Racing wish we've been having a quieter year this year than last, but still been hitting the track when we can.

The ZX10R has had a rebuild, so we've been doing some testing and getting it dialed in for Simone. I've also been getting out on the Buell at the track too and trying a different brand of tyres for something different.

As it's winter here, most of the tracks are taking a break so we've also been getting out in the dirt.

Thanks again for your support and we'll keep in touch.

Cheers,
Cam

Team Winks

Team Winks

Hey Jeff and Brad,

Just a quick update on our last round of racing for 2016

Simone headed into the final round with a narrow lead in the championship points but not having ridden since the previous round, a couple of months beforehand. 

It was a tough weekend as our dog suddenly passed away on the Thursday afternoon.

We decided to forego the Friday practice which meant Simone would not be on track until qualifying on the Saturday morning.  

After getting to the track in the evening and setting up, we grabbed a couple of late night kebabs and went to our Airbnb that we'd chosen over staying in the van.

Hopes of getting a bit of a sleep in Saturday morning (as we had our pits already set up and bikes scrutineered Friday night) were dashed as the house owners were up at 5AM pacing around on the floorboards above our heads, running taps and making more noise than a construction site. We decided to get out, headed to the track early and tried to get focused for the weekend. 

Heavy rain set in for morning qualifying which meant a change to wet tyres, and bike set-up. With everything that was going on, I told Simone to just take it easy and come in if she wasn't feeling it... to which she went out and qualified on the front row :-)

The weather dried up for the afternoon races and Simone put in an awesome ride to get second in each race. 

The late afternoon began with Supermoto qualifying before moving onto racing. Simone qualified well and raced the tired old SMR spectacularly - being particularly strong on the Tarmac and having a great battle with another rider who's strength was on the dirt. After a red flag, racing resumed and Simone's times were dropping before a crash broke a lever and put her out of action.

That evening my attempts at diplomacy with the AirBNB hosts about their early morning line dancing was met with: "this is not a guest house!", but at least the philistines waited until 5:30AM before commencing their depravities the next morning.

Sunday morning's weather quickly turned with heavy rain that refused to let up. Simone had a strained arm and shoulder from the Supermoto crash, to the point of it being sore to touch, despite this she attacked race 1 in the rain and stayed consistent to bring home another second place, and secure the championship by points gap. Race two proved to be even wetter as torrential rain set in. After a near highside, and battling a completely fogged up (dark tint) visor, Simone was able to secure a third place and a successful finish to the weekend of racing.

Thanks so much for your support this year. We are still deciding on plans for 2017 and will keep you posted! 

Cheers,
Cam

Team Winks

Hey FTWCO,

2016 is starting off successfully, 2 races down with 2 podium finishes and new PB's so we are stoked with that. Got the Triumph dialled in well and will commit to the full Victorian Road Racing Championship round in the hope of placing well in BEARS (British European American Racing and Supporters), we are currently 3rd in the points so that will be the main focus. Will also complete all rounds of the Interclub Road Racing Series Victoria, racing here does not kick off again until late July after which will be flat out until nearly the end of year.

There has been an issue getting the gearbox part for the ZX10R so it is still out of action. Cam has been out on the supermoto occasionally, and is currently doing some tweaks for a track day this week. Due to my lack of patience (or skill) I am no longer interested in the supermoto, so I'm glad Cam actually likes it as it is great to watch.

Dirtbike season is coming up so I am getting the suspension sorted on my old DT175 which currently does not cope well will too much thrashing haha. Cam's XR250 needs major engine work and his DT also needs major handling issues addressed so that will also keep us busy and the decision made which one to keep.

I have attached some pics for you guys, loving your work as always and thanks for your continued support.

Cheers, Simone

Team Winks

Hey FTWCO,

Just a quick update from us.

We're in full swing getting prepped for the race season.

The ZX10R is getting a new gearbox... unfortunately I made the mistake of buying a critical upgrade part through a local distributor, so now I'm stuck in limbo waiting for them to receive their order.

Also on the to-do list is to get the Husqvarna into supermoto race trim before April, which should be fun.

Simone has had a couple of recent track days for testing, which brought up some weak points in the Daytona. Fortunately these were easy fixes and it's sorted in time for the first race which coming up on Sunday.

Thanks again for your support, look forward to keeping in touch over 2016.

Cheers,
Cam

Team Winks

Hi FTWco,

Thought you guys might like to hear my race report for yesterday, after doing a few handfuls of track days & testing we bit the bullet & put in a last minute entry for the last round of the Interclub Road Racing Series Victoria. It was my first race & filled with drama!

I was nervous as hell after getting to the track, & even being on the bike during qualifying found that I wasn't being as smooth as usual & making a few small mistakes. I qualified 8th for the novice race, but totally screwed up my starting position. I asked a wandering marshal to confirm but he looked at his clipboard & then walked off (WTF??), by that stage the starting lights were on & I hadn't even had time to shut my visor before everyone was off. I was 10 positions behind where I needed to be, I ended up stalling it on take off, I quickly put up my hand but another rider ran up the back of my bike & we fell in a tangled mess.. Shit but true.

The Triumph only suffered a few scratches from the whole thing but I decided to sit out the restart to get my head together & check over the bike. Next up was the Formula 1B race, this time I managed to sort out the correct starting position but when I was waiting there looking at the dash I realised I must have subconsciously reverted back to road pattern changing down gears & it was actually in 4th.. So I'm madly trying to change gears being stationary, I managed to get it into 3rd when the starting lights went out, everyone had taken off so I had to wing it & do a slow controlled start at high rpm. Everyone was going through turn one by the time I managed to get off the grid, I hunted them down & caught up to the pack on the first lap & even passed some riders which I think helped to redeem myself a bit after that first incident.

The other race starts were better but not perfect so will have to spend a bit of time out on the back roads perfecting that. I managed to pass a few riders over the day, dealt with the nerves better & become smoother on the bike which was good. Fastest time in the first race was 1:05.323 and by the last race I finished 7th with a 1:04.392 & a new PB so I was happy with that & wrapped it up on a much better note! 

Taking the Triumph to Phillip Island for some more testing this week so will keep you posted how that goes. I have cut back on work so I can get fitter (and therefore faster haha) & next years focus will be race events & testing at some tracks we haven't been yet to mix things up a bit. Cam has been doing an awesome job as race engineer & pit crew, and has decided to focus mainly on that for now but in his spare time has been out on the Supermoto, dirtbike or Buell with the odd track day here & there too. I have attached some low res samples of some recent pics, but will get some better ones from the weekend as they become available.

Thanks Jeff & Brad for your continued support, you guys are super cool & we are proud to be a part of FTWco racing team :-)

Simone Winks

Team Winks

Team Winks

Hi FTWCO,

Just a quick update from us.

We've been doing some pre-season testing on the Daytona 675 and worked our way through some teething problems. I've got the bike dialed in and Simone is already doing PB's on it, even with a failed sensor causing it to go into limp mode on WOT.

Unfortunately our last test day ended with a crash on a fast right-hander. Simone is fine, but the RACEFIT black edition took the full force of the impact.

We'll keep you up to date with progress from here.

Cheers,
Cam

Team Winks

Team Winks

Hey FTWCO,

Happy New Year!

Thanks for your support in 2014.

It's been a pretty busy start of the year for us here. Simone & I have been working right through the holiday season, but we've still managed to keep busy with bikes.

December saw the last track day for 2014, which gave us the opportunity to test fresh suspension, upgraded electronics and gearbox changes to the ZX10R. Simone also spent a large portion of the day getting coaching from a national level racer. All in all it was a successful day and we came away with some plans for the new year.

During December we organised to buy a 2013 Triumph Daytona 675 that had been crashed on the road to turn into a race bike.
I was hoping to get this before Christmas, however the usual delays with the holidays meant it didn't get delivered until well into January.

Mid January was the first time out for us this year, when I took part in a Supermoto track day - which was a blast!

We've also taken the opportunity to spend plenty of time on the road bikes while the tracks have been closed.

Here are some photos. We can't wait to do bigger & better things with you guys in 2015!

Cheers,
Cam