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Dynamite Daytona
PRojEcT TRiumPH daYToNa 675
Once we had it back in the pits
we could the GB Racing (www.
carreragroup.com.au) side case
protectors and Gilles Tooling crash
knobs (www.gillestooling.com.au)
was much less than we’d imagined.
The standard footpeg bracket was
snapped but we were able to borrow
one off fellow Triumph rider Gary
Peake. Our Gilles Tooling ‘Vario’
left handlebar just moved on its
axis, so a clean up with the file and
placing it back in position had us
ready to go there. The GB Racing
side cover protectors were slightly
scuffed but did their job admirably
requiring nothing but a quick wipe
down to liberate them of infield dirt.
The Gilles Tooling crash knob saved
the Daytona’s fairing from major
damage, and the same brand axle
adjusters and rear stand mounts
were undamaged. In fact the left side
axle stand knob which screws into
the side of the swingarm was bent
and unusable. These were some I
had kicking around and we never
bothered to take
them off when we
fitted the Gilles
units. We have
seen this type rip
open a hole in the
swingarm but we
were lucky. It all
depends on the
nature of the crash.
Some duct tape,
a new standard
screen and a clean
had us ready to go
for Sunday. Our
custom screen from
Eagle Screens in WA
(www.eaglescreens.
com.au) was much
taller than standard, allowing Alex to
tuck in much better, but it was back
to the low version which does give
more buffeting.
While Saturday is the FX Nationals
series, Sunday is the Australian
Formula Extreme series, a totally
separate round. Alex was able to put
Saturday’s crash out of his mind,
qualifying on the second row with
only much bigger capacity bikes in
front of him. From there he went on
to lead home the rest of the F3 field
in each of the three races, finishing
around 5-7 outright. He didn’t have
it all his own way though, having
to battle with Gary Peake to the flag
each time. This gave Alex a three
point lead in the championship going
into round three at Eastern Creek.
With less than a month until the next
round and an overseas trip for the
team mechanic we were only able to
clean the bike up, fit a spare fairing
we had, and replace the broken
fairing mount and some other small
bits. There’s still a huge dent in the
Alex cops a post-race interview.
tank but we’ll try and overlook that
for the moment.
eastern Creek
We turned up on Saturday to race.
Qualifying was in the wet with slick
tyres, so Alex was to start down
the field in 18th place. We weren’t
worried, the progressive grid system
of the FX series allows you to start
the next race where you finished the
last. The circuit had dried up but a
poor start saw Alex in last place on
lap one. He quickly got over this and
made his way through the field to
finish 14th outright, fourth in class.
The interesting point was he set a
faster lap time than the next six riders
in front of him. The next two races
saw Alex take a win and a second,
allowing him to claw back most of
the points KTM’s Angus Reekie had
on him after the crash in Winton.
Heading into the next round Alex sits
in second place in the FX Nationals
Pro Twins F3 Championship.
On Sunday’s Australian FX
Championship Alex took class wins in the
first two races, and second in the last, taking
the overall win for the round and increasing
his lead in the championship. Alex’s best
outright result was 6th, with a fastest lap of
1m40.550s.
It’s hard to fault the Daytona 675. After
setting up the suspension late last year
we haven’t needed to touch it at all. Aside
from a lighter rear spring the suspension is
standard, even down to the fork oil. With
the increase in power and the smoothness
the Power Commander has given the power
delivery, it is fast, reliable and a pleasure to
ride according to Alex.
Round four will be held at Wakefield Park
from September 10-12. If you’re there, call
in and say hello, we might even get you to
change a tyre or two.
– Chris Pickett
Below: Damage to the tank didn’t
dampen Alex’s enthusiasm.