Moto Academy NZ

Diego Petrucci Racing has made such enormous progress over the past 12 months working with Moto Academy NZ. This time last year when we started working together, he was new, not really understanding what he was doing, struggling to keep up with the mid-pack at MCI events and falling down far too often. Now, after working with us, he is racing with the leaders, and beating them at least once, on both the Yamaha R3 and the new Yamaha R15 V4.
Transforming his style, methods, training, weight loss and mental approach has lead him to riding like this (in the pics) and competing with the top riders in the class at MCI.
There is still plenty to come from #75 Senore Spaghetti as we fine tune techniques and nail down the psychological side of his racing.
Thanks to # # (name to come) for the absolutely fantastic photos from Levels Raceway Timaru.
Andiamoooooooo!!!!!!

Wow! What a day at Levels Raceway Timaru for Moto Academy NZ and Diego Petrucci Racimg at Southern Race Series. The day was overall pretty cold and started wet. But thankfully the sun came out and dried things up a bit.
Diego was out on the Yamaha R3 and the R15. Qualified P3 in 300, P2 in 150.
Massive battles all day long with Hunter and Dennis Charlett, who were really flying!
Unfortunately Harry crashed in front of Diego and could not be avoided. We hope he is not too badly hurt and gets well soon.
Similarly, in the last race, Hunter did the same and Diego could not avoid his bike and they both went down.
Both quite unhurt, but it was a shame as we had worked out a few things for Diego and he was truly focused for that race.
Still, P3 and P2 podiums across the day is pretty great.
Until next time!

Send a message to learn more

Wow, what a perfect weekend of motorcycle racing and testing for the la famiglia Moto Academy NZ.

Kieran Mair Racing was out at Manfeild today, with MotoTT Trackdays, testing the new Formula 3 SV650 and the rebuilt RC390.
Everything went great! Great laptimes, smooth riding, no technical issues and smiles all round. Fantastic!

Diego Petrucci Racing was at King of Ruapuna Round 1 at Ruapuna Euromarque Raceway in Christchurch.
With the freshly rebuilt #75 Yamaha R3 and several months of training, carpark practicing and fitness training under his belt, Diego was amping to get out racing in the Motorcycling Canterbury 300 Supersport class.
So it was delightful to see him finish in (Qualifying, R1, R2, R3) in P2, P2, P1, P4!!!! (Race 1 was a bit of a shame as he was penalised for a jump start, but he finished in P2 over the line. Nevermind).
Also taking consistent 2+ seconds per lap off his previous PB times!
That is not Diegos first win as he had two victories in NZSBK 150 SS class, but his first hard fought victory in the hotly contested 300 SS class.
Moto Academy NZ warmly congratulate Kieran, Jimmy and Drew for their hard work, and Diego and Ubaldo for their hard work and dedication.
Long may it all last!
Formidabile! Forza ragazzi!!!!

Send a message to learn more

Spring is about to spring in to action. Time to dust off racebikes and gear and get everything ready for a cracking summer of racing.
Time to plan for success.
Don't leave everything to the last minute, you will be less likely to have that success you desire.
If you want to start your path towards racing, then think about finding successful people who can guide and coach you on that path.
Moto Academy NZ provides a successful programme of mentoring, education, support and coaching.
We have 150 Supersport motorcycles available for young racers to launch their racing careers.
Drop us a line or give us a call.
Let's get started and make success happen.
Moto Academy NZ, where your dreams are on track!

Send a message to learn more

Who is ready for some action?

Lock in the date in your calendar because our first MiniGP race is scheduled!

Open to all the MiniGP brands in New Zealand (Delirio, Kayo, Ohvale etc..)

We will run a free “Have a go” class for kids willing to try , there will be 10inch size and 12inch size bikes available plus some necessary protective gear, so this is a good opportunity for the youngsters to get a taste of road racing!

Click on the link below for more info and registration, a full program of the day will be uploaded in the next few days.
You can also find the MiniGp regulation for this specific event.

https://www.powercorsa.co.nz/races

This is the time that many people were waiting for, it’s our first event and many more will come!

I’ll see you at track!!!

Couple of shots of Diego Petrucci on the Yamaha R3 at Ruapuna Have a Go Day on Sunday. Nice sunny, but not very warm, day at the track. Bike looks great in new black and fluro yellow colours, Diego looks good in new Spyke leathers (a size smaller this year!!).
Cranking in the last turn, knee and elbow down, balancing the bike to get max drive out of the corner. Old and abused tyres though, so not max speed.
All the hard work over the winter learning bike balance, body position, throttle control, tyre sliding all coming together.
Time for engine rebuild now, to get ready for the hot summer of racing.
Not bad for first time out after a long break.

A lot of folks these days comment on the awesome lean angles that riders use nowadays. While in some limited cases that is true, the lean angles achieved are pretty awesome, especially in MotoGP due to the extreme grip supplied by new generations of tyres, not all is as it might seem.
A lot of what is sometimes perceived to be lean angle, is in fact body position.
Back in the day, Doohan/Schwantz era, they sat atop the bike and pushed it down into the ground. Norik Abe was one of the most proficient at that. That style produced extreme bike lean angles, but also crashes waiting to happen in every corner.
Now, riding styles have evolved in the opposite way. We now use the mass of our upper and mid-torsos to modify the centre of gravity or balance of the motorcycle, in corners and also under braking and acceleration.
So, our bodies are now close to the ground, our elbows run on the ground, and in specific situations (T5 at Barcelona) riders can run their shoulders on the ground.
The upshot of this is that the bike itself is not leaned over at such extreme angles because the CoG of the bike/rider couple is lowered by the lower position of the rider and the bike can corner faster as it has less lean angle.
Not using the modern techniques limits your performance.
This recent picture from ASBK by the wonderful Endorphin Media shows this example in fine detail.
Max and Ant have their bodies low and alongside the bikes and are running their knees and elbows on the ground, but the bikes themselves are not at extreme lean angles.
Awesome racing, awesome style, awesome photograph.
Things to think about for when you next hit the track and things that Moto Academy NZ can teach you at Aotearoa Junior Cup.

Huge congratulations to Cormac Racing and his family for a wonderful podium finish in Junior GP Race 2 over the weekend. What a warrior!!

The 2023/24 NZSBK racing season came to an end last weekend at Hampton Downs Raceway.
What an exciting weekend, to match all the weekends of 150Supersport racing we have had over the past couple of months. To think we embarked on this journey in November (preparing two racebikes) and December for racing, it has been a whirl of excitement.
The two young racers on board the Moto Academy NZ/TSS Motorcycles/AJC Yamaha R15 racebikes, Keiran Mair and Diego Petrucci were amping to get into it, Keiran for his second NZSBK season, Diego for his first.
Starting out with a double podium at Taupo Circuit ( #1 Diego, #2 Keiran) through to an overall result of Diego taking #2 NZ and Keiran coming home in 4th, the season has been extremely rewarding. Diego had one sole goal this season, to finish every session. But for one DNF, he did just that, but also won races, made podiums and took home a swag of trophies and great memories! Keiran sadly had a couple too many falls from the bike, which affected his final result.
For Diego to take out 2nd in the championship in his first go at this racing lark, was extremely rewarding for Moto Academy NZ and AJC. It was a shame Keiran had those crashes, but sadly there is a cliche about that being racing, or something like that.
But, the racing in 150SS this season was close, it was hot and it was exciting. It was fantastic to see two of our young Kiwi international racers, Haydn and Hunter, battle in the class, it was great to see the progress across the summer made by Deegan, great to see Megx mix it with the other racers and great to see a couple more young racers give 150SS a go, Sam and Ryder. Hopefully we can find more young racers to make the pace even hotter next season.
For our young racers from about 13 or 14 and up, wanting to step into the Senior classes, 150SS on the Yamaha R15 represents the best way to learn good skills on a great bike while having close . Aotearoa Junior Cup hopes to be able to provide this pathway in the same way as Oceania Junior Cup does in Australia (where Haydn and Hunter and Nixon all raced in 2023). Riders younger than that can look to the MiniGP classes being developed by PowerCorsa Motorsports as their introduction, before stepping up to AJC.
Moto Academy NZ and AJC want to shout out a huge thanks to Jimmy Mair, TSS Motorcycles and Bridgestone Tyres and Got Speed Media in particular for their stupendous support this summer!
If you want a piece of the action either as a rider, supporter, supplier or sponsor, don't hesitate to get in touch with Aotearoa Junior Cup.

The NZSBK 2023/24 season came to a close at Hampton Downs Raceway last weekend (1-3 March). Moto Academy NZ would like to take this opportunity to offer our huge congratulations to our alumnus Cormac Buchanan for defending his NZ 600 Supersport title. He now owns 6 New Zealand titles (2 x 150SS, 2 x 300SS and 2 x 600SS). Where will he stop?? 10 x NZ SBK titles perhaps? You never know. The 600SS racing was tight and close between Cormac, Shane Richardson and Rogan Chandler among the main protagonists. But Cormac was good enough to win out in the end. So huge congratulations. He and his Mum Kate are now winging their way to Spain for his tilt at the 2024 JuniorGP Moto3 championship. Wish we were there!! Via con dios! Kia kaha, Tuuuuuu meke and Ruido completo!!!!!!!!

Head on over to Aotearoa Junior Cup page to see what's the haps for our newest initiative in NZ road racing.

I'm here. Can't wait for me and Tyler to get amongst it.

Kiwi Junior To Rookies - Bike Rider Magazine Wellington's Keiran Mair is about to pack up his leathers and head to Spain for the Red Bull Rookies Cup selection process.

Keiran Mair Racing A junior motorcycle racer in New Zealand, working hard to improve my racing and be a great ambassador

15 Aussie youngsters invited to 2024 Asia Talent Cup selection event | MCNews 89 riders short-listed for the Asia Talent Cup selection event in Sepang this November, with 15 youngsters from Australia aiming to make the grade.

Does this presage changes coming to the WSS300 rules at WSBK in the works? 500cc twin cylinder bikes perhaps?

Sexy new 450 twin-cylinder sportsbike from Aprilia | MCNews Sexy new 450 twin-cylinder sportsbike from Aprilia unveiled at Misano overnight

A fantastic weekend at Ruapuna circuit, Christchurch, working with Diego Petrucci. Albeit changing from Ninja 250 to R3, improvements of 10s per lap, into the 1m 40's, in cool but sunny Have A Go Day conditions. Fantastico!

Somehow NZ is not really interested in having our own.......

Day 2 - Here we come 🙌

Let’s Go!!!!!! 🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️

Due to the incredible generosity of the last LS2 Europe raffle winner, Todd Russell, donating the helmet prize back to re-raffle and further raise funds for my Europe racing trip.

We're doing it again!

Same deal as last time, 100 tickets, $10 each. Prize is an LS2 Thunder Carbon racing helmet (same as I wear) valued at $849 in the size of the winners choosing. Prize drawn by random number generator in a FB live video at 7:00pm July 25

Send us a message to buy your tickets and we'll get you on the list.

Thanks to Todd for being such a staunch supporter and of course Whites Powersports and TSS Motorcycles for hooking us up with the best gear!

Says it all. On ya mate!

Get amongst it!

Check it out!

Amy rules at Southland Sports Awards World Cup-winning Black Ferns prop Amy Rule is the 2023 ILT Southland senior sportsperson of the year.