Summary

We finally managed to book ourselves some much needed testing time on the Brands Hatch GP circuit, and I for one, was going to make the most of it and get the bike and myself ready for the upcoming round.

The first session saw us take a few laps behind a travelling marshal before they “released the hounds” so to speak. Instantly I could feel the bike moving and sliding a lot, due to the tyres still being on from the Brno round a few days prior to this test. Never the less I got stuck in and just put into practice a few of boss man Mike’s ideas and began making a catalogue of reference points in my head. I began to adjust these as the session wore on and just as I was getting into a decent rhythm of running the points further and further one of the track day heroes decided to throw his wonderful Ducati 998 down the tarmac and cause a premature end to the session.

Session two went a lot more smoothly as we began to build up the pace, and with the adjusted gearing now on the bike, it seemed a lot more ride able. I began to build up the pace and after catching and passing fellow Euro Stock 600 rider Mads Odin Hodt; I was feeling quite confident and fairly quick too. Once again the session was bought to a premature end thanks to another bike heading into the kitty litter, but I wasn’t too fussed as id began to work my references really well and they’d begun to string together nicely.

For session three we decided a new set of tyres was in order, after a fair few big front and rear end slides towards the end of the second session. They felt so much better after riding on what was effectively completely shot rubber at the start of the day. With the new Pirelli’s working well I got my head down and began to push into every turn that little bit harder and accelerate that little bit sooner and more aggressively. It was going well until I caught a whole gaggle of track day riders and rather than risk it I just picked them off one or two at a time, giving them all plenty of room. Well, didn’t want to get tangled up or scare them did I, would I do a thing like that, with my reputation? Once again the session was ended early as yet another bike lost adhesion, and yet again we trundled back to the pits passing a very unhappy rider on the edge of the circuit.

Back on track after lunch for session number four and I got in a number of decent, fast and clear laps, despite Mads trying to tail me, I was still able to get myself free, without showing him too much ion the way of lines, braking points, etc. Thanks to advice from Mike, I was well aware of what would happen if he did get on my tail. The rest of the session seemed to fly by, right until, you guessed it, another rider decided to face plant into the wonderful Kent scenery. Maybe I was missing something, were they giving away prizes for the days best dismount?

After the fourth crash in as many sessions we (and by we I mean the entire group!) got a severe talking to from the clerk of the course, who threatened to put a travelling marshal out on track with us. It seemed to work as no-one jumped ship for the rest of the day. Now why couldn’t they have said all that before lunch? Anyways the session was really uneven; I’d get a few laps clear and then get completely stuffed as I tried to get through a group of five or six riders and then I’d get a few more clear laps and then hit more traffic. I didn’t really get to string anything together and the session was kind of wasted, although I was able to test a few overtaking places thanks to catching the groups in roughly the right places.

Session number five was the fastest and smoothest session of the entire day. Everything clicked into place perfectly and when it came to traffic I was through without incident every time. I was really able to push my reference points, and began to ride the bike hard. I felt at ease as well and was really relaxed and just found myself able to get from point to point, with the bike at full speed, with no problems whatsoever. It was great to be as one with the machine. Even though the bike was out of line at various points around the circuit as I either backed it into Druids or spun it up out of Sheene curve, I never felt out of control and damn was I having fun out there! Especially memorable was doing three bikes in a row on the brakes entering Hawthorne’s, don’t think any of them saw that coming! And we got a full 20 minutes on track thanks to no-one dumping it! Bonus!

The final session was spent just bedding in some brake pads ready for the meeting, and I also used it just to make double sure of where al my reference points were. After a few laps I pulled back into the pits and called it a day. Nothing else needed to be done and I was happy with the set up. Confidence is high ready for the round in a few weeks time. Fingers crossed it’s a good one!

This was the furthest round to get to and in a country where I couldn’t tell the difference between a person speaking Czech and a person choking and, indeed, the sound of Mark’s Skoda hire car trying to go up a hill! After indulging in the spirit of hire cars in foreign countries, we had a good bit of hunt the hotel which took us on a magical mystery tour round the back of who knows where! After an impromptu night in the hotel we made our way to the track Thursday morning. Even Thursday the track was buzzing with activity and the race fans seemed to be everywhere already.

As soon as we were all settled in, Kirsty and I went for a walk of the track. Bloody hell it’s wide! The track is absolutely amazing! The elevation changes are breath-taking; the camera really doesn’t do it justice! With a track so long and so wide, I knew it was going to be a mission to learn it. Rather cunningly, I feel, Kirsty had brought her digital camcorder so we set off on the pit scooter for several laps, which I was able to watch until the track layout was firmly carved into my brain. The hardest thing about the track was its width. Brno is so wide, you could comfortably race jumbo jets round and still have room to overtake!

Friday - Free Practice

The track is great fun to ride and is good for reference points, especially compared to Misano. I was soon getting frustrated with myself at the massive amount of room on the outside of me exiting corners; the width was taking some getting used to.

Friday - First Qualifying

Determined to get quicker, I went out in the first qualifying with one major goal: get all my reference points sussed and work at hitting them every lap. As I have learnt from previous rounds, once I can hit the reference points consistently, the speed comes fairly easily, but without reference points you just end up riding harder and harder but not getting any faster. It was a lesson well learned in Misano and learned the hard way. I managed to establish my reference points pretty well in the second session, so although I wasn’t as far up the grid as I needed to be; at least I wasn’t riding round like a proverbial, decapitated farmyard animal…

Friday evening, we did a track walk with Mike to compare lines and thoughts, most of which centred around the need to make optimum use of the width of the track, not only when exiting corners, but using the width to overtake or find different lines when overtaken. This would prove most helpful when the gentlemanly (ahem) racing begins!

Saturday - Second Qualifying

Second qualifying and a last chance to put myself at the sharp end of the grid. Although I managed to go faster, it wasn’t enough still and I ended up qualifying at the distinctly blunt end of the grid. I was so far back it felt like the front row was in a different country when the race came. Frustrated with myself, I disappeared for some soul searching. I knew what I needed to do and I knew how to do it, I just didn’t seem to put it into practice straight away, it always seemed to take me half a session before I got my act together.

During an afternoon nap, I was the victim of a cruel practical joke, played by my nan of all people! Fed up with me wearing baggy shorts that, in her opinion, didn’t fit me, nan decided to sew them up so they did fit, but without telling me. Amusingly, I wore them all the rest of the weekend without noticing and it was only on Monday when Kirsty asked if I had put on weight to stop my shorts falling down (she was in on the prank to) that I realised that I had been clothing violated!

Saturday - Race

Before the race I tried some of the magic hydration potion that Matt had been chugging away at since Misano, hoping it would combat the endless thirst caused by a ridiculously hot country. It didn’t. What it did do, however, was give me a killer headache and make me feel sick (although falling asleep in the sun probably didn’t help…). Despite nearly throwing up as the lights came on and forgetting to shut my visor until halfway round the first corner (hmm, bit windy…!) I managed to get a good start and haul my sorry backside up into a decent position before the race was red flagged

Getting a bit popular this red flag, still at least it gave me a chance to do the start in a slightly better state - nothing like a bit of adrenaline to clear the mind/settle the stomach! With the luck going my way at last (pass the violin!!) I made the most of the second start. From 35th on the grid, I hooked my thumbs in my belt loops and head-banged and high-sided my way through, sorry, past any poor sod who was unfortunate enough to get between me and a decent position…

With only a couple of laps to go, up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering bike. Luckily, I escaped from the next line of the song and went for one more victim. Despite getting right onto the back of him, the last five corners where I wanted to overtake were all on yellow flags, grr! The last bend held forth a green flag and a last attempt to overtake. The bike in question, was having gear change issues, but, rather cunningly, as he knew he could not be passed under yellows, he slowed to get the right gear before the green flag to stop me getting past him. It worked!

With my hands swollen and blistered (there were a lot of near high-sides, I was trying bloody hard!) I pulled into parc ferme, happy with the race but prepared to be disappointed when told my position. Turns out, I finished 19th which means I passed 16 people, which is a hell of a lot when you think about it. Result! My best lap was a good 2 seconds faster than the best I managed in qualifying, again! There is however, a lesson to be learned, why not get up to speed earlier in the weekend and then start further up the grid - less people to overtake then! This is something that I know I need to work on, getting the focus from the very first practice session.

So that’s the plan, just gotta put it into practice when I get to Brands Hatch and on a track I sort of know, bring it on!

Credits

• The hamster from creature comforts - Played by Richard
• Penelope Pitstop - Played by Kirsty Hodges
• Grandpa Simpson - Played by Grandpa Northover
• Yoda - Mike Edwards
• Mrs Doubtfire - Nanny Northover
• Road Runner - Mark
• Dick Dastardly - The mean person who penalised team mate Matt for a jump start in the first race (which was cancelled) with a ride through penalty in the second, costing him a chance in the race.

Friday - Free Practice

A few weeks on from the very disappointing round at Misano where I took an inadvertent grass tracking experience, no thanks to a fellow competitor who shall remain nameless, I was in good spirit as we rolled into a lovely sunny and chuffing warm Brno.

After walking the track with Mike “The Fountain of Racing Knowledge” Edwards, also known as Boss, we had found a few decent reference points, which were to be put to good use in the first few minutes of the opening session. It was all going to help us get through the very undulating circuit very quickly; well that was the plan anyway.

The opening few laps were just spent riding round, trying to make sure all the bike was set up fine and see what the lines were and how they came into play with the reference points we’d noted down the previous night. Within a few laps I’d got into the swing of things and began to up the pace slightly, despite many of the top guys already going balls out, I was content to speed up little by little.

A few scary moments lead to me pitting in just to discuss with the team what the bike was doing, gearing and a quick update on place, time, etc. A few words of encouragement and advice form Mike saw me get back on track on go slightly faster, although not much and I was still languishing down at the bottom of the time sheets, which was really disappointing.

Friday - First Qualifying

The plan for qualifying was really quite simple; get a few laps done on my own then get a tow and do not let them getaway. Sounds simple right? Wrong! I completely stuffed it all up. As soon as a tow came along they were either far too fast or I was trying to follow from too far back or I made a mistake. It just all seemed to be going wrong.

I flew back into the pits just to try and sort my head out mainly, and try and get some advice from Mike. I just couldn’t get it right it seemed and it was being reflected in the times, they were, to put it bluntly, crap.

I’m guessing the words worked as straight back onto circuit and the times began to improve once again and it all became a little bit faster and a little bit smoother everywhere. I began to hold onto the tows a little bit better and was able to stick to them long enough to see and try some new lines. A little bit more work on the bars and counter-steering seemed to work a treat, although there was still more to come. Despite this though the times did improve form the morning session, and despite not many changes in the place I was running in, the pace itself had got a second and a bit faster, so we were heading in the right direction.

Saturday - Second Qualifying

With a relatively poor first session I was determined to improve, and with a few more laps of walking round the track and with more reference points in the forms of crash and tyre marks, I was sure I could go forward rapidly, and hopefully be close to the top 15 or 20 by the end of the session.

But once again nothing went right, even though I did make a marginal improvement in my lap time. The only problem being so did everyone else around me, and some of them made big leaps, thus making my improvement negligible. The efforts were seemingly going to waste and as the temperature was rising it began to take its toll.

Loss of concentration at points left me making mistakes for a few laps but then I again improved in time, but when the flag came out I was really no higher up the grid than where I started, even a local wildcard had got a better time than me, which was really frustrating.

Looking at the sector times it was clear that I was losing lots of little bits of time and would really have to push come the race.

Saturday - Race

It was hot sitting on that grid, really hot, but it didn’t seem to be on my mind. All I was focusing on was the start and getting into the first turn fast, hard and in a better position than where I was sitting at the very moment in time.

I flew off the line, perhaps a little too well, and made an excellent first lap, ending it inside the top 20, and I managed to avoid all the carnage at the second turn, which looked like it hurt! Then the red flags came out. Doh! I was well away and into my stride and rhythm. Never mind, I’d been in this situation before, so I wasn’t too worried or bothered. I just knew I had to do it again.

Now the second start was good, better than the first, and the first lap was really good to, only problem was a great big yellow board with my number on it. I’d jumped the first start! I stayed out for all three of my allotted laps, whilst battling for 16th, and then shot off into the pits for my ride through. I was gutted and annoyed and really pushed hard as soon as I got back on circuit, but I began over riding and pushed just too hard. It knackered not only myself, but the tyres too, and the times just slipped away.

End of the race and I was gutted and really disappointed. I knew I’d have had a good result, as the guys I was battling with ended 13th, so I’d have easily grabbed some points! It was an awful weekend really and I was just so disheartened by it all, worst thing was, I’m sure I didn’t jump that start! But you can’t argue, so I got to accept it, I’ll be right next time though!

Well next round is Brands, the homecoming so to speak. This time I got no excuses! I know the track and like it, the bikes are working great and I’m gonna clear my mind before we get there. Fingers crossed it’s a good one. Top 10 here I come (although I really want a top 5!)

Wish me luck; I need it after these last two rounds!

Photos copyright @ MIST Suzuki Racing 2006

Summary

The thousand mile outward journey was always going to be a trial but not as much as the thirty eight degree heat once we had got there. Managed to arrive fairly early in the van with one bike but had to wait another six hours for the truck with to arrive before I could go to bed. Shame they had to park outside as security wouldn’t let them in to the circuit in the middle of the night.

Brno proved to be a fantastic circuit, rather like Cadwell Park meets Brands Hatch GP circuit but with even bigger descents and steep climbs. Just walking around it was hard work yet alone having to learn how to ride it whilst trying to keep up with all the guys who had raced here the year before. Having discussed the necessary reference points and suggested lines on the walk round there was nothing to do but wait for free practice to see if it would all come together.

Gearing was going to be pure guesswork so we opted to stick with what we had on for Misano and see if the riders could get a tow from someone who knew the place to help put the theory in to practice. Both riders struggled with gearing and were losing a lot of time in the first sector of the circuit due to it’s complex nature. Matt ended the session in 32nd position with a best of 2’19.743 with Chris back in 36th with 2’23.990, almost 1.914 seconds behind the next rider. Pole man, Xavier Simeon, managed to put in a 2’13.569 lap suggesting that he had been here a few times before.

A couple of extra teeth on the rear sprocket sorted the gearing and after some analysis of the sector time breakdown and discussion about lines for a couple of the more unusual turns left both riders feeling more confident. The sudden downpour of rain unsettled everyone although it felt just like home to us Brits! As usual we split the first qualifying session in to two after giving each rider specific tasks to concentrate on for each outing. Matt and Chris made some good progress, with particular improvements in the first sector of the track, despite there being some very wet sections left on the final up hill sector of the track. Matt completed the first qualifying session in 30th place with 2’18.590 and Chris in 33rd with 2’21.026, a good improvement all round, especially as the pole time was now 2’14.389.

Another opportunity to walk the five kilometre track allowed for further discussion on braking and turning points and some valuable reference points to help with track position in a number of the tight left/right kinks. The pace was obviously going to be quicker with a totally dry track so it was time to make the most of the limited knowledge that Matt and Chris had built up and concentrate on making the most from getting towed round by faster riders. The plan worked with Matt up in 28th place and a 2’17.236 lap and Chris improving to a 2’19.152 despite being in 35th place.

The start went almost to plan with Chris running in 23rd with Matt all the way up in 17th hounding the group ahead who had qualified much higher up the grid. After two laps having knocked another second of their fastest qualifying times the race was red flagged and a full ten lap restart ordered. At this point the whole team got nervous as we only had measured enough fuel for 14 laps thinking that would be more than enough for a decent safety margin. A sighting lap plus a warm up, two race laps, a slowing down lap and now another sighting and warm up lap followed by a ten lap race really was pushing things a bit far so both riders went out with instructions to go as slowly as possible on the warm up lap to conserve fuel.

Back on the grid for the restart and Matt made another good start and was up to 22nd by the end of the first lap. Shame he had to restart from his original qualifying position of 28th though! Another lap and he was in 20th being held up by another rider in the corners. Chris meanwhile was caught up in a great battle with seven riders and was gradually picking his way through each one getting faster and faster all the time. Fortunately the track was quite wide and he had been practicing different lines through some of the corners to improve his options when overtaking.

Just as Matt was looking like he could make a move on the next rider we were informed that he had apparently jumped the start to the first race which, despite us thinking the full re-run made it null and void, meant he had to undergo a pit lane ride through penalty. Obviously we were somewhat less than amused, particularly as we had watched the original start and were convinced everything was okay. Rather than ignore the penalty, like at least one other rider which would have resulted in a black flag and exclusion from the race, Matt diligently came through the pits and set about reeling in the guys that had overtaken him.

Chris had made it through to the front of the pack he was running with and was soon catching one of the usual front runners who had qualified a full 3.5 seconds a lap quicker than him. Despite some valiant efforts the final turn had yellow flags out due to another incident and his over eagerness to get on the throttle led to a slide which cost him any chance of passing before the line. He missed out on 18th place by just 0.071 seconds but was elated to finish 19th with a best of 2’16.358 - Almost 2.75 seconds quicker than qualifying. Amazing what having a target to chase can do!

Matt meanwhile had made his way up to 27th place and a best of 2’16.190, a further improvement of 1.1 seconds a lap. The disappointment was made even worse when the rider he had been held up by earlier in the race finished in 13th place. To miss out on more points after being run off the track at Misano was almost too much to bear.

After all the concern about not having enough fuel in the bike to cope with the full length race restart Matt’s bike eventually died on the way back from Parc Ferme, less than 500m from where we were parked. A bit close for comfort!

If only the guys didn’t have to learn a totally new track each time I really think they could shine in this class. Every time we run through a set of tasks to help them learn the circuit and they are managing to learn each new circuit faster than before but even the places where they should have a home advantage, such as Silverstone, have proved frustrating as only British SuperBikes run with that circuit configuration so they had no more idea where half the circuit went than many of the competition.

After another thousand mile drive home everyone is really looking forwards to the next round at Brands Hatch GP, both because this is the one track on the calendar they know and also because it is a 40 minute drive rather than a 16.5 hour one! Fingers crossed for a good results in front of our friends and sponsors.

Mike Edwards
Team Manager - MIST Suzuki
www.mistsuzuki.com

Would like to thank main sponsors www.givemethekeys.com and Steve Jordan Motorcycles for their never ending support and the help given to the team from B & C Express, Dyna Pro, Pipercross, RaceDays.net, S&B Commercials and Silkolene.

Despite usually competing in the European Superstock 600 Championship, Matt took the opportunity to compete at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire, in the highly competitive MRO SuperSport 600 series.

Despite running a relatively low specification machine compared too many of his fellow competitors in the class, Matt was returning to run in the UK for only the second time this season and was using the meeting as testing time, to help prepare his MIST Suzuki for the upcoming round of the European series, which will be held at the Czech circuit of Brno.

Saturday - Qualifying

A steady start in both qualifying sessions suffering with a few minor suspension problems which were quickly resolved by Ohlins specialist Steve Jordan led to a time good enough to earn 21st place on the grid for the opening “Super Pole” race of the afternoon.

Saturday - SuperPole Race

After a respectable start and despite opting to back out of the melee in the first turn, Matt ended the opening lap inside the top 20. For the next few laps he settled into a consistent rhythm and made good progress forward through the field, despite having to take avoiding action to miss a falling Pat Sheridan. On the final lap of the race Bond managed to pass another rider and took a respectable 16th place finish, five places forward from where he had started.

Sunday - Race 1

For Sunday Matt was in a more confident mood, and with further adjustments made to his GSXR600 K6 Suzuki was focused on improving his lap times and gaining further feedback from the machine to help further the ever continuing development process. The opening race began well withe another fast start and was already battling into the top 20 and, after avoiding a rapidly slowing Darren Whymark, exited the opening bend in 19th place.

Bond instantly became involved in a five bike battle although he struggled to keep pace on the straights, where his bike was significantly down on top speed against the tuned competition, he more than made up for it in the turns and was enjoying one of his best rides this season. By mid race Matt had become stuck behind Simon Sinnott and struggled to get past the Honda rider. Two laps later however and Bond made a stunning manoeuvre, forcing his way around the outside of the man in front and instantly improved his lap times and began to close on the group of riders just ahead. Despite his best efforts, time ran out for the teenager, who crossed the finish line in 18th place, but with an ever improving lap time Bond was happy with the outcome.

Sunday - Race 2

The final race came to the line and a flying start, the best he had managed all weekend and was instantly inside the top 16 by the end of the first lap. Being involved in a battle with four other riders forced Bond to concentrate hard and it showed as the Suffolk rider put in his best lap times of the weekend. Lap after lap he improved and it was entering the last lap where Bond showed his true class. After losing a place on the main straight Bond made a fantastic out braking manoeuvre to move ahead of Jonathan Wadie and then of the crowd thrilling mountain section Bond literally jumped past Pat Sheridan, to the joy of his MIST Suzuki team boss Mike Edwards. Bond held his position forcefully and crossed the line in 14th place, his best result of the meeting. A jubilant Bond returned to the pits with head held high, knowing that the work of not only himself but also the MIST Suzuki team, will put them in good position for the upcoming Brno round.

Conclusion

Matt Bond would like to thank all the sponsors and supporters and hopes that a good result at Brno will be returned for the continued effort of everyone in the team.

Photos copyright @ Wildcard Photography 2006

Paddock photos copyright @ MIST Suzuki Racing 2006