We are proud sponsors of Team Double 3 Racing in Australia and pride ourselves in supporting MV Racers who out of choice turn to the Mv Agusta brand with their racing passion. We have below a biography of a racer DONS NEL, who we are supporting and helping his passion in Motor racing stay alive.
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Team Double 3 Racing
We have come a long way since leaving South Africa in July 2000. I first saw and fell in love with the MV in 1999 when I saw it at Phakisa Raceway. Then only saw MV’s again after we had immigrated to Australia. We have now been in Australia for 10 years. I have however been following the progress made by Kevin Curtin and other racers in Europe on the MV’s in previous seasons. When the opportunity arose for us to buy our own MV in 2008 we decided on the Brutale 910 as this was all our budget would allow. After being T-boned by a fellow bike rider the Brutale was written off and the insurance payout coincided with a second hand MV F4 1000R that was for sale and within our price range. That is where it all started.
As things happen we decided to take it out on a track day. After doing a few rounds with Trakdayz (an organisation that gets you started as far as track riding goes) we decided to progress up to Racecraft (preparation for racing licence) at Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo (Perth). Whilst at Racecraft I was encouraged by my instructors to take up racing. We felt confident enough that we decided to try our hand at club racing. The MCRCWA (Motor Cycle Racing Club of Western Australia) approved my racing licence just in time to enter the first Club round this year and we have not looked back. We had never raced before and had to learn fast to make sure that both bike and rider were race ready.
I started off as a ‘D’ grade rider and have since progressed to my ‘C’ grade licence. We have taken part in 5 West Australian State Championship rounds and 2 Club rounds this year mostly in the Clubman 1000 class and a few races in the Superbike class which is where we are going to race in 2011. We are proud to say that we have already achieved 4 podium positions which have in turn given us 4 lovely trophies.
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In our preparations towards the 2011 season we have managed to purchase a second fully functioning engine and are also in the process of acquiring a spare frame (funds pending) enabling us to have a spare rolling chassis and this together with the spares and experience we have accumulated over the past year should enable us to be a bit better prepared and more consistent with our results next season.
Team Double3 Racing consists of my family with me as not only rider but also mechanic, Liesl (my wife) as team manager & pitcrew and our children Jo-Anne and Theo as pitcrew. We love being out there not only as a team but also as a family which a lot of fellow riders and spectators alike seem to enjoy. I am a self employed Electrical Contractor running a small 2 man business from home. After initial success which surprised a lot of competitors we were encouraged to change over to alternate brand motorcycle with cheaper and more readily available spares, it was suggested that we would also be going a lot faster. This encouraged us and motivated us even more to make a success, at least on our level, of racing the MV.
We have established a business that will enable us to better manage team funds and sponsors as we acquire them. To this point I have been solely responsible for the sourcing and purchase of spares. We no longer have a local MV dealer so I do all the services and repairs on my bike. If any major work on the engine is required we have to ship the motorcycle interstate to another dealer at enormous costs.
On a race weekend we travel to Perth and back (380 kilometres) on the Friday for a practice session to make sure the bike is set up correctly and make changes if needs be for Sunday’s races. We then return to Perth on the Saturday where we stay at a caravan park overnight as we need to be track side by 7.00am on Sunday. After racing & packing up we then travel back home (190km). The whole weekend and all funds are provided by our family budget (approximately $3500 per weekend) and therefore the need to try and raise funds and/or acquire sponsorship. Thus far we have had some assistance from members from Design Corse Team and MV Agusta.net forum. With no assistance forthcoming from MV Agusta, any local dealers or businesses, it is a hard fought battle to become more competitive.
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Having always been a Mike Hailwood and Agostini fan, the MV Agusta was the logical choice for me as a young boy to always want to race. We race a standard 2006 model F4 1000R with only minor modifications. Due to budget restraints we run stock suspension, stock motor with only the addition of a STM slipper clutch. We have added Power Commander and a set of slip-ons to help smooth power delivery also MWR air filter as well as converting our chain and sprocket to a lighter 520pitch with the support from Design Corse.
It has been and still is a dream come true and hoping that next year will be just as amazing on track. We are already planning and getting the bike ready for another great year ahead. As not only a team but also a family it is great spending the time trackside. It is great to have people like Al from Design Corse come to our aid and assistance in helping keep our dream alive as well as showing the world what a magnificent machine the F4 is.
Team Double 3 Racing 2011 Season
First Podium of the season, A great start.
Great work by Dons for achieving 2nd place after the start of the season testing and small tuning modifications.
After some further development and upgrades such as Ohlin rear Shock and Diffrent front fork Setup Dons has Taken 1st Place for the race weekend. This is a brillant result coming from dedication and commitment from Team double three racing. Many more upgrades to come in the following months to make sure the F4 is running as it should on the track.
More to follow soon in the following rounds...
