Brands Hatch

Gareth Jones, 01/08/08 - 03/08/08
FIM Superstock 1000 Cup
Round 7

Friday - First Practice

Round 7 of the championship saw us at Brands Hatch in England. After getting in a few laps on the scooter on Thursday afternoon, I realized the circuit had lived up to what I had heard. It is a pretty wild circuit with many ups and downs with a few blind corners thrown in for good measure.

As usual the Superstock class kicks off proceedings at 9am Friday morning. The lap time around the fairly fast Brands circuit is only a minute and a half, so I managed to get quite a few laps in during the 30 minute practice. However it was straight into the pits after the session to decide on the changes we were going to make for the afternoon qualifying session.

The settings we had used at Brno were less than ideal for the British track. We were a little behind this weekend as our suspension technician was not available, so it was a matter of using the small amount of time on track to change what we could to improve the handling of the bike.

The afternoon qualifying was not very productive and I ended up in a disappointing position, somewhat further south of the leader than I was hoping. However I was positive that Saturday morning practice would prove to be a little more promising, and I hoped we would have a better idea of where to head with the setup of my bike.

Nevertheless dramas continued to plague us, and the weekend seemed to be heading in the total opposite direction to that of the last round at Brno, where we appeared to be moving forward.

Even though we managed to improve by 1.2 seconds in the second qualifying session, the problems with the set up of the bike were still very apparent, and I was certainly struggling, obvious by my hugely disappointing qualifying position of 29th.

My spirits were down, but the one thing that did work in our favor was the fact that the weather was looking really ordinary for the Sunday morning race. I was desperate for a stroke of luck which could perhaps come in the form of some rain! In Sunday morning’s 10 minute warm up, it was raining quite heavily and I was 14th quickest, so I had my fingers crossed that the weather would set in.

An hour and a half later and we’re off and racing. The rain had stopped, and in parts the track was drying quickly, but it was looking very bleak. It was going to be a tough call as to what tyres to run for the race. We left it as long as possible before making a decision, but at the time we needed to make that choice, it was definitely not going to be full wets.

We had some last minute dramas in the pits, and I ended up on the grid with full wets. It was my intention to join the grid with a wet front and an intermediate rear, and then my choice would have been to change the wet front to an intermediate also. Because of lack of time, we only managed to get a cold intermediate rear on my bike, whilst on the grid, and with no time left to change the front, I was left with a wet front for racing.

I knew my only chance to get up into the points was to go as hard as I could off the start. I got off the line well, and aimed straight for the inside going into turn 1. I managed some good passes and crossed the line after lap 1 in 16th. I continued to push in the early laps, before the wet front started to overheat and that made things difficult. I got up into 10th position, but about 6 laps into the 14 lap race, the track had a completely dry line.

I had some good battles but towards the end of the race the tyres felt like marshmallow and even holding a line in some of the slower corners was proving to be very difficult. However, all things aside, I managed to finish the race in 11th and take home some valuable points. It was a hard few days but points are points at the end of the day and I was satisfied to have come from 29th on the grid to finish in 11th place.

Thanks to family and friends who were able to come to support me at Brands.

Matt Bond, 03/08/07 - 05/08/07
FIM European Superstock 1000 Cup
Round 8

Friday - First Practice

Despite not having tested either the new engine or at the Brands Hatch I was still confident that we’d have a good weekend, at a track that pretty much represented my home round.

First practice went well and I felt comfortable on the bike straight away, even with the engine still feeling tight and laggy, but still top end wasn’t too bad, having not rode for what seemed like months, it felt like a ballistic missile with handle bars! I think I’d forgotten just how fast these bikes really are!

The track was completely different to the previous year on the 600. Everything felt much faster, bumpier, more cambered and generally just a little bit crazy to tell you the truth! I loved every second of it and would seriously describe the place as a small piece of heaven on earth! I’m sure some people would have been whinging about the bumps, but it just made things a little bit more exhilarating in my view.

Lap times were good and once again I found myself inside the top 20, in a respectable 18th place, even though I wanted to be higher up I was pleased with the positives in the session, and knew there was more to come form me and the bike.

Friday - First Qualifying

Relaxing and focusing on just make lots of small improvements in each section of the track were the aims for the session. It was simple really, and after only what seemed a short few minutes I was into the pits to change tyres, only they weren’t sticker, and therefore we couldn’t go out on them. No-one could find them and therefore I had to finish the session on very used rubber.

It wasn’t ideal but I clocked my fastest time on the last lap, which was good but I was right near the tail end of the field and less than happy.

The stickers had decided to fall down the back of the tool box, which no-one even thought of looking in, but it wasn’t that bad, at least I’d get new tyres for every other session over the weekend. And my ideal best time would have lifted me up about 6 places on the grid. So the pace was there, just not all together.

Saturday - Second Practice

New tyres equipped and engine ignition and fuelling remapped, the bike seemed completely different. Much more competitive, more responsive and yet easier to ride. It felt more confident with the bike, and the lap times improved, again boosting my confidence.

A few small adjustments to the suspension to help maintain mid corner grip and front end feel on corner entry were made making the bike feel slightly better, but there was still a definite lack of rear end grip, which a lot of people seemed to be suffering with. Andreani suspension advised more preload on the front of the bike, which we tried, but I didn’t gain enough confidence or feedback from the bike like that so we decided to undo those changes.

Saturday - Second Qualifying

All I had to do was string a good lap together and push everywhere in the process, I needed a good grid slot if I was to have any chance of a top 15 finish and therefore score some points.

I got my head down straight away and instantly bettered my best lap from the previous session, not hard really, but with more to come I still kept pushing further and further and was pleased with the forwards progress.

The bike again got slightly better and the engine was feeling much stronger than previously throughout the weekend, and despite lacking punch out of some of the lower revving and slower pace corners, I was able to stick with a larger majority of the people in front of me, time wise.

I didn’t get a decent tow from anyone, but the small tows I did get seemed to make all the difference and I learnt a lot after just a few laps behind some of the front runners. A few adjustments to the lines I was using made a world of difference, and again my lap time improved, even if the position didn’t improve as much as I’d have liked.

30th on the grid was really not where I wanted to be, but I was still assured by the team it was okay, I’d made a huge improvement form the opening session in terms of lap time, and having not ridden since the opening qualifying at Brno, I was well on the pace with even more to come. I was still ahead of one of the Brit wildcards still though, with Jon Boy Lee struggling somewhat, just behind myself.

Sunday - Race

Warm up in the morning had gone really well, and I was straight back onto the pace I’d been sat at over the previous sessions. The bike was running really good and thanks to some small suspension adjustments from Steve “The Guru” Jordan, I was really happy with the set up we had for the race.

The crowd was huge even if we were the first race of the day and the atmosphere around the place was really intense. It was starting to make me nervous but I just listened to Mike and the team and relaxed. Having my girlfriend Chloe beside me as my grid girl helped calm me down as well. Before I knew it we were starting the warm up lap, and all the worries of the journalists, fans, my friends and family, all seemed to disappear from my mind, and all that I could think about was getting around the first lap safely, but moving forwards too. I got a great start and ran around the outside of loads of the guys who’d started in front of me on the grid. I got squeezed out at Druids however and Graham Hill wasn’t much better, by the end of the lap I’d only passed two people from the start line. I could still see a large group in front of me and I just focused on picking people off one by one.

I’d close on people follow them for a few turns and then dive up the inside on the brakes, or use the drive from the previous turn to slip past. It was going well and I became involved in a battle with Marko Rotthlan, which included some paint swapping moments, but it was all safe and a good laugh to tell you the truth. I made my way through to 21st and then started to catch the MGM Yamahas of Dario Gisupetti and Timo Giesler with just two laps left.

I followed Dario through Paddock Hill bend and he slid slightly wide at Druids so I took the opportunity to go through and the move stuck, and with Giesler within striking distance I made a push to get onto his back wheel.

The last lap and I’d got onto him, and I tried numerous moves before thinking I’d leave it till the last turn and make a move there. I missed a gear however and he got away entering the final straight and beat me to the flag and 19th by a measly 0.019secs.

But I’d got my best result of the year, passed 10 people in total and overall, made a massive jump lap time wise, and had missed out on points by only 5 seconds over a 14 lap race. It was good.

The team was happy and so was I. Despite all the problems from Brno and over the start of the weekend, we’d been able to get right on the pace of the guys in the points, shown up all the wildcard riders who were highly rated back in the UK, and proved we belong at this level. It was good for the team to finally see there tireless work pay off, and the results are starting to come. If we can carry this speed over the end of the year I’m sure we’ll be on for points at each of the final three rounds.

Chris Northover, 04/08/06 - 06/08/06
European SuperStock 600 Championship
Round 6

Ah Brands! Time to get all nostalgic about last year when I started off on this European Superstock 600 malarkey! Two injuries, a lot of sleepless nights and the time of my life, but that’s another tale for another time, or something!

After pulling back such a good result at Brno after an appalling qualifying, I was determined to be on the pace from the word “go” at my home round. With the track only a 20 minute fast drive (or half an hour legally!!) from my parents house, you would expect me to know the track well. While this may be true of the short circuit, red tape and moaning people make chances to ride the full GP circuit few and far between. Luckily Matt and myself managed to get out on a track day a couple of weeks ago for some practice, which proved to be a shrewd move!!

After driving back from Hinckley where I work, in my brother’s car (long story - me and the internal combustion engine seem to be having some disagreements lately…), it was all hands on deck organizing tickets for friends and family for the weekend. Thursday shot past and before we could say “have you got any spare tickets?” it was Friday morning and time for free practice.

Friday - Free Practice

Out on track, it was great to get on a familiar circle of tarmac, especially one as enjoyable as Brands. Some, but not all, of the European tracks just feel so featureless compared with a good ol’ British race through the Kent countryside. After a few laps I was just getting in to it when I saw a pirates flag, but without the skull and cross-bones. Ah, that’ll be the black flag then…

It took a whole lap for me to figure out that a certain, timing-based pretty red box, otherwise known as a transponder, was sadly still in its own pretty box and not filling the gaping hole where it should have been on my bike. I didn’t swear. No really, I didn’t. I was too embarrassed!

Once this had been dealt with and The Boss had bailed Matt and myself out (yes, him too!!), it was straight back on track, to concentrate on the job in hand (and hide behind the black visor!). Now, the potential danger of being worked up over the transponder had passed, but there was another foe in wait for me… the brake gremlins of Teng Wheelire(!?). The pressures of determination led me to ignore the juddering and keep pushing my braking harder and harder. Unfortunately (there’s always an “unfortunately…” in these stories isn’t there!!) as I popped up to brake late for hawthorns (a 120+mph right hander out in the woods) I realised that perhaps I should have not tried quite so hard on this particular occasion…

As I always say, when things are going wrong; when you’ve combined very late braking with iffy brakes; when you’ve entered an already ridiculously fast corner too fast; mindless optimism will get you through. Or, at least, make you think you can get through! Despite my best efforts, the physics of the situation soon prevailed and Mr. Newton won this time. The bike cleared not only most of the gravel trap, but also the air fence, tyre wall and marshals’ road. It then decided it wanted a career change from lowly race bike, to lumberjack and aimed at an innocent tree. Tree 1 - GSXR600 - 0. That’ll be that job down the pan then!

After the session, I still managed to be 23rd fastest, which was fairly encouraging, especially considering that the lap I crashed on was looking to be my fastest lap at that point. I would also like to mention the fact that I was second fastest through the speed trap, although that may have something to do with the speed trap being just before hawthorns…

Friday - First Qualifying

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my team is the best team in the world! How they transformed a sorry looking pile of bits laying at the foot of a tree into a fully operational race bike again, not forgetting the unforgiving time scale, is awe-inspiring. Having done such a sterling job, it would have been rude not to repay them with a good performance in the afternoon. Well, that and the fact that Matt was in the top ten…

After coming in to iron out a few tree-derived problems early on in the session and to try and cure the vibration from the front wheel, I lapped with consistent improvements and ended the session 17th. Given the fact that I had, only a few hours ago, indulged in the sort of crashing activity that could have easily ended the weekend, perhaps the season, we were rather pleased with ourselves! Our confidence for the remainder of the weekend was further boosted when we discovered the front wheel being buckled was the cause of the mystery vibration I had been experiencing.

Saturday - Second Qualifying

Final qualifying and a final chance to improve my grid position further. After a steady start bedding in new brake pads, I pitted to allow them to cool off before returning onto the track. I took a while to get up to the pace I had been comfortably running at on Friday. Despite pushing hard I failed to improve my time and to make matters worse was relegated to 23rd on the grid as other riders went quicker.

After the Friday comeback, needless to say, this was a major disappointment. After many hours running through every detail of the session, both in my head and with Mike we finally got down to an explanation for the problems and, more importantly, a plan of action for Sunday. The reason for my lack of speed was simple; lack of focus! The solution was to work hard to ensure I was in the right mindset every time I get on a bike and be really, REALLY focused.

I returned with a vengeance Sunday morning, with one goal in mind: overtake whoever is in front of me and repeat ’till the chequered flag. I arrived at the track and decided the best plan would be to relax and clear my mind in the morning and disappear to get mentally prepared in the hour approaching the race. I spent a chilled morning at the edge of the circuit out in the woods with friends, playing guitar and watching the bikes - paradise!! I disappeared to a Quiet Place for the hour preceding the race to run through the first lap bend by bend, move by move. I had my plan decided for the first corner from so many races on Brands Indy Circuit.

Sunday - Race

The start line was, once again, the best feeling in the world, with no one cheering louder than dear ol’ Mumsy!! Gah! Not content with her mischief at Silverstone, Mother Dearest was doing her best to embarrass me and even the grid interviewer felt the need to pass comment! Parents eh? After the sighting lap we lined up for the sixth time this season for what was to be my best race yet. As soon as the red light disappeared, I was off the line in a shot and made for the outside of Paddock Hill Bend like a drunk to a kebab shop at kick out time. Nothing was going to stop me getting the lines I wanted this time!

After passing a handful of riders round Paddock, I managed to get a couple more round the outside at Druids and into Graham Hill Bend. I got settled straight into the race and started trying to pick off riders one by one. I got fellow Brit Barry Burrell fairly early on in the race and set off after my crazy Italian chum Daniel Beretta. Friends off the track, but there would be no love lost between us once the visors snapped down; after battling for some time, he made a break when I had a big slide exiting Sheene Curve and lost considerable time.

By the time I had recovered the time I had childishly lost, master Beretta had managed to pass a few more riders and the chase was on. I set about getting past the remaining riders that stood between me and that all important top ten finish. After a few good stabs at getting through I had another slide, only this one was slightly bigger than the biggest slide I’ve ever seen! Mind you, it did get shown on the big screens and I guess any coverage is good coverage!

I set off (again!) to make up the lost time. Although I caught back up again, setting a faster lap than three riders in front of me in the process, I was unable to make a pass stick in time. After just missing out on 12th place by a ridiculously small margin, a 13th place finish still felt really good.

There were the usual “what if’s” and “I should’ve just…” thoughts in my mind, places I could have made a firmer pass, qualifying sessions I could have actually used rather than just riding round in circles… but the bottom line is that I came 13th after starting 23rd. Having learned so much once again and hopefully started to better suss out the immense psychological side of racing, I can only wait for Assen and make sure I put everything into practice.

Thanks and Cuddly Toys to:

• Steve and Sarah Jordan - Use of plush race vehicle and highside practice… And Steve’s superb bike set up advice
• Mike Edwards - Winner: 100m sprint, pit lane olympics. Thanks for sorting out my head for the race!!
• Uncles Clive and Richard - Superb mechanic service, bikes repaired while U wait!
• Roger and Tony Z - Professional ribbing of CG for crashing, a great double act now showing in a truck cab near you! Top notch supporters and much more!
• Neil Faulkner - Help with brakes and tickets!
• Ros and Pete - Supporting me and photography of Dragon Steak!
• Craig for the NHS Helpline story…
• Beckie Dark - CG Racing, Newquay Division
• The man on the motorhome area gate, for being such a cheery chap!
• Supporters Bruv, Kirst, Gemgem, Smed, Double D, Nick, Loominator, Sammy, Bunny, Unc Sebastian and Auntie Gertie, Jonny B Goode, Sarah, Chris, and everyone else who was there to support us.