Demolition Derbi Le Minz 2009 The 24 hour Scooter Race The only thing that could beat the standard Derbi GP1 50 Racing was the worked Derbi GP1 50 Racing. Brendon Le Minz 2009 24 hour Scooterthon has been run & done. Scooter HQ teams taking out first place in all classes, this year will be remembered as Derbi Demolition with the GP1 50 Racings taking out 1st & 2nd overall. Conditions were challenging with the track being soaked for three days of heavy rain & the event started in appalling conditions.
Overall line honours went to Team Global Trader Scooter HQ (http://www.globaltradertech.com.au/) riding a Derbi GP1 50 Racing specifically prepared for Le Minz 2009. Ridden by the boys from Stuntz Inc (http://www.stuntzinc.com/) it was going to need to put on one hell of a show as they are fairly big boys, to give you an idea of the weight handicap faced by mad Irishman Robbie Bolger he would have needed some of the opposing riders to strap a Vmoto Milan to their back to address the weight differential between them. We will have an article specifically about this scooter & team very soon, you'll be amazed at what went into this GP1.
Coming in second place overall & first in Class B (standard & derestricted scooters) went to the Derbi GP1 50 Racing of Team Towcam Scooter HQ (www.towcam.com.au) ridden by racing car legend John Faulkner, Jet Ski maestro Christian D'Agostin & the imported northern hemisphere motorcycle racer Zak who suffered a shoulder injury after testing the structural rigidity of the GP1. We had to pull Glyn from the Scooter HQ VA Garage Derbi Boulevard to replace the injured Zak. This was surprisingly Johns first ever ride in the wet, there is something special with the competitive spirit of professional racers, hurdles or obstacles are expected & overcome with ease. The focus & drive of these guys is extraordinary.
First in Class C was the Scooter HQ Aprilia SR50 Ridden by Team Azza. These boys punted the completely standard SR50 which was speed limited to 50km/h around on the rev limiter for 24 hours. The amazing part of this team performance was that it beat modified & derestricted scooters whilst being limited to 50km/h. It was able to out brake, out corner & out accellerate just about everything on the track until it hit the 50km/h limiter. Using its strengths allowed the Aprilia SR50 to over come the 50km/h handicap.
Our Scooter HQ Derbi Boulevard riden by Adam, Bronson & Glynn representing VA Garage (www.vagarage.com.au) was the complete opposite to the awesome GP1 50 Racing of team Global Trader Scooter HQ. Using only a couple of bolt on parts with a mild port job this was our lightweight budget rocket. Testing had proven it capable of an outright wing but was f&#ked by the fickle finger of fate from the outset. It did very well for two laps & was plagued by problems for the rest of the event until 4 hours from the end lady luck jumped on board & the problems disappeared. With one rider transferring to the Class B derbi a tired Brono & Adam released 20 hours of frustration in the last 4 hours performing some lap times that with better luck would have seen them an outright contender.
We also "acquired" a couple of extra teams. A team who were initially to be all female & ride our SR50 ended up being 2 girls & one guy and transferred to the new Mojo 50. We provided breakdown, fuelling, motivational support & every Monza brake lever we had in stock. Never in the contention for anything other than finishing the two girls eneded up crashing heavily a few times & were put out of the race with injuries. The remaining team member finished the rest of the race solo & in his stride. Mojo Scooters can take pride this little 50 took such a beating & finished the race with nothing other than brake levers, oil & fuel.
Team Flying Irish was our other adopted team having only brought a Scooter, themselves & a smile. They really needed support & were a great bunch of guys to help. Having never ridden a scooter before these guys went out, got used to it & placed it second in Class B behind our Derbi & 4th over the line. Must be the luck of the Irish.
Le Minz is like climbing Mt Everest it's not so much about doing it first it's about finishing, to those who competed for the first time, welcome to an exclusive club you effectively rode a 50cc Scooter not stop for 24 hours from Brisbane to Sydney, some even made Melbourne. To those who have done it before, we think your nuts for coming back but look forward to see you all again next year.
published 17/02/2009 |