Mike Edwards, 01/09/06 – 03/09/06
European SuperStock 600 Championship
Round 7
Summary
After the highs of Brands Hatch everyone was looking forward to Assen, especially as the SuperStock 600 race was going to be between the two SuperBike races on Sunday. With an ominous looking forecast and a painfully slow journey to the circuit the team were still hopeful despite the torrential rain during the track walk on Thursday evening.
Miraculously the overnight rain stopped by the time practice started on Friday and with our mid day time slot the track was dry. Other than the occasional wide line both riders managed to consistently improve during the session. For the first time on track at a new circuit it was probably the best free practice session of the year and shows that Matt and Chris are listening and improving as time goes on. Until the final lap they were both neck and neck on times and it was only a last minute improvement from Matt that mean the wasn’t relegated when other riders improved also. Matt finished the session in 25th place with a best lap of 1’53.140 and Chris managed 1’53.730 ending up in 28th place.
With rain forecast for the late afternoon everyone was rather nervous but it held off for the first qualifying session. Another good session with small improvements each lap whilst fighting the decreasing grip from the tyres that had already endured the half hour free practice session. Having been used by several other riders during the session for a tow it took Matt until the final lap to tag on to the back of someone himself which resulted in 0.65 second improvement moving him in to 26th place with a 1’51.875 lap as all the other riders had improved also. Chris managed the rare feat of setting his fastest lap without beating any of his best sector times from the session, i.e. he had gone faster in every sector at some other point in the session but managed to string together some fairly good times to post a best of 1’53.608, a full half a second off his theoretical best had he strung together all his best sector times on the same lap. Just goes to show the importance of being consistent!
Another damp walk round the track that evening resulted in some key tips on staying out wide on certain long sweeping corners plus improved reference points for getting on the gas set the stage for second qualifying on Saturday lunch time. Another wet morning that cleared up in time for our session. Maybe our luck was improving! A good start to the session saw Matt immediately put in five consecutive laps faster than his previous best and after a trip in to the pits for some discussion on a couple of braking markers he went out to get a tow and once again left it late crossing the line with just 12 seconds of the session remaining to start his last lap. This one was definitely worth waiting for as everything came together to knock another 0.7 seconds off the time. Despite improving by a huge 1.3 seconds in the second session Matt was, once again, left in 25th place.
Chris took longer to settle in to a rhythm and by the time he came in to the pits half way through had dropped 0.7 seconds from his previous time. Amazing what a bit of consistency can do! With fresh advice on throttle control and with renewed focus the remainder of the session saw his lap times continue to fall all the way down to a best of 1’51.697, almost 2 seconds quicker than the day before. He wasn’t so lucky with the timing narrowly missing out on a final lap which was a pity as he finally had the benefit of following a quicker rider for a few corners which would have seen the time drop even further. Unfortunately being just a couple of seconds too slow across the line to get that crucial final lap meant he dropped to 30th position on the grid.
More laps on the scooter and some borrowed push bikes that evening helped to cement some clearer lines through the complex first section of the track along with some additional markers to help maintain speed through the final chicane. Having been lucky so far the weather forecast had been gradually getting worse and things weren’t looking good for the Sunday race. Sunday dawned wet and a prolonged delay in the warm up for the SueprStock 1000 class saw their race postponed until after the second SuperBike outing. Even more rain caused disruptions all the way through calendar as anyone who saw the first SuperBike race can confirm where the majority of the top riders came off in the slippery conditions. Another delay in the SuperSport race caused pressure on the already diminishing television schedule that meant the SuperStock 600 race was postponed so that the second SuperBike race could start on time.
Having already fitted wets and adjusted the suspension ready for our planned 2:30 pm start there was a great deal of concern as the track started to dry yet the dark clouds continued to gather as things progressed. The SuperStock 1000 race started without incident with the World Side Car Championship due out next caused some confusion when we realised the start time we had been given was for the pit lane to open rather than the start of the race – We usually have to be out on track 20 minutes before the published start time which caused problems as the Side Cars were still going round. With riders gathering in the collecting area everyone was looking nervously at the sky as a few drops of rain started to fall. By some miracle the clouds parted in the distance and long stretches of black cloud went either side of the circuit allowing us a dry race after all the excitement. The riders eventually took up their grid positions at 6 pm in the evening, over an hour after we should have left the circuit to head home.
Finally, after all the waiting this was it and both riders made fantastic starts. Some would say too good as at the end of the first lap Chris was in 20th position and Matt was nowhere to be seen. It transpired that Matt had made it in to the top ten on the way in to the first corner only to have someone fall off to his inside resulting in a trip through the gravel at turn one. With the Dutch marshals helping their fallen countrymen Matt resorted to getting off the bike and pushing out of the gravel before remounting and joining the race dead last. Matt’s first lap was almost thirty seconds longer than anyone else and leaving him over a minute down on the riders he had entered the first corner with. Chris meanwhile was having a great battle before trying to overtake a wild card rider around a fast right hander on the back section of the circuit.
A sudden move across the track from the Dutchman pushed Chris on to the grass where he did well to stay upright. Several attempts to rejoin the track were foiled with the wild card rider holding position. Eventually Chris was forced to brake as the next corner was rapidly approaching and despite gentle pressure on the rear brake the bike went down sending Chris tumbling through the long grass. Just like his out of the seat moment at Brands Hatch he was caught on camera and everyone was treated to the sight of the bike rolling and bouncing across the grass.
Matt had rejoined and despite being last by some way was rapidly catching those at the back of the race. By lap four he had made two places up with several more to follow over the next few laps. With impressive determination he continued to lap rapidly although not quite on qualifying pace due to some damage from being hit in the first corner incident. Three riders behind him were lapped before the end of the race and there were still other riders on the same lap behind him at the finish so despite having lost so much time in the gravel Matt was still able to finish in creditable 24th position. A best lap of 1’52.110 was disappointing as we were sure Matt could run in the low 1’49 bracket had he been able to keep with the front runners for a few laps.
Chris still managed a 1’52.646 on his solitary flying lap before the incident. Still cheerful although obviously disappointed at incurring another broken wheel and bashed up bike through no fault of his own. Both bikes had a well deserved hose down to remove much, gravel and other debris from the various race incidents before loading the bike and heading for home over three hours later than planned. All credit to the organisers though, given those conditions I’m amazed they managed to fit the whole calendar in before it got dark!
In summary, the team were quite positive about the weekend with the best combination of practice and qualifying sessions yet. It’s a pity neither rider could capitalise on this during the race but it bodes well for the rest of 2006 and our intended aim to compete in the European SuperStock 1000 class in 2007. Despite the appalling weather over 61,000 people attended the race meeting. Still short of the excellent 121,000 we raced in front of at Brands Hatch but still a good turn out none the less.
Many competitors headed straight off to Germany for the next round but work commitments meant the most of the team had to come back to the UK for work and other commitments. Fingers crossed that both the weather and our luck will improve for the Lausitzring round.
Mike Edwards
Team Manager – MIST Suzuki
www.mistsuzuki.com
Would like to thank main sponsors www.givemethekeys.com and Steve Jordan Motorcycles and ongoing support from B & C Express, Dyna Pro, Pipercross, RaceDays.net, S&B Commercials and Silkolene.