- Jay Lawrence wins Cliffhanger Hill Climb on a showroom demo KTM 990 RC-R
- 6.1-kilometres, 27 corners — NZ’s closest thing to the Isle of Man
- Minimal setup changes highlight both rider skill and bike capability
Jay Lawrence doesn’t need much introduction in Kiwi motorcycle racing circles. An accomplished racer in modern and classic machinery, Jay has raced locally as well as at meetings in Australia and even the Isle of Man TT. Yet it seems to be a winding road up a hill in the Wairarapa that he enjoys most, with the video below showing how he went on to win the Cliffhanger Hill Climb recently.
The Cliffhanger Hill Climb is an event held on Te Wharau Road in Gladstone, featuring a 6.1-kilometre stretch of twisting, sealed road with 27 corners as it climbs upwards. The two-day event offers riders a chance to have a go on the closed road as part of a ‘Fun Day’ on the Saturday before the King of the Cliffhanger on Sunday, where times count towards placings and trophies.
There are a number of classes that machines must fit within, although the bikes don’t need to be road legal, just up to a safe standard. The C1 Open Class is for bikes, sidecars and three-wheelers over 650cc, while C2 caters for engine sizes between 250cc and 649cc four-cylinders, 301-899cc triples, 401-895cc twins and 599cc or smaller singles. With the KTM Jay rode on the Cliffhanger being a 947cc V-twin, he was in a class featuring bigger-capacity, higher-horsepower bikes, yet that obviously didn’t faze him.
What made Jay’s win even more impressive than the fact that he was down on horsepower compared to the competition is that his bike literally came off the shop floor, with the KTM 990RC-R a demo for his employer, TSS Motorcycles in Wellington. Unsurprisingly, Jay’s message on his social post after the win expressed his sincere thanks to the TSS team for ‘trusting him’ with their demo bike. We presume he told them what he was planning to do…
With the bike essentially stock, Jay reported that he simply set the tyre pressures and adjusted the front compression settings before tackling the climb. And he also reckons it’s possibly the KTM 990 RC-R’s first competition win globally, with the model only recently making it to dealers worldwide.
Anyway, enough of the talk. Check out Jay’s video below and prepare to be marvelled by how someone can go so fast on a road this technical, which is also littered with all the hazards motorcyclists face on a daily basis, like tar bleed and changing surfaces.
Jay, you’re a legend!
