Photos copyright © MotorBikesToday.com 2008

Friday - First Practice

Two weeks after Round Two at Assen we headed off to Monza in Italy, yet another new country to visit and of course a new race track. I’d heard that Monza was a great fast track so I couldn’t wait to get back on the bike. The Suzuki has proven to be able to well and truly hold its own in a straight line, so if there was any circuit going to wind a bike out, Monza it was.

We arrived at the track Thursday morning to finish getting setup as usual and the bikes ready to go. As soon as that was seen too, on the scooter I was to check out the track. I did a few laps with my good mate Chris Seaton who had raced there recently and could give me a bit of a run down of the circuit.

On a side note, being able to look around the circuit was also a real history lesson. Monza is like a big park, the race track runs through the middle of an enormous forest, which is also home to the old Autodrome which Monza became famous for. It was really interesting to see the old track and the huge banking that appears in parts of the park.

I was keen to be on the track for as long as possible to do as many laps as I could to get familiar with the high speed circuit. For those of you who don’t know the basic layout, Monza consists of very high speed straights and very tight chicanes, with a just a few fast flowing corners. Braking hard and getting on the gas hard was of the essence, and there was so much time to be gained or lost in these sections.

Friday - First Qualifying

The second session on Friday afternoon is a 45 minute qualifier, so we have a chance to make quite a few adjustments mid session, while still learning the track, before putting in a new set of tyres near the end, to try and put down a time. I pitted several times making changes, chasing the setup. As I’ve said in previous reports, I have had quite a lot of difficulty getting things right on the Suzuki, so the team has been working hard with me to get this sorted. I finished the qualifier in 19th position.

Saturday - Second Practice and Qualifying

Saturday, as usual consists of morning practice and a final 25 minute qualifier in the afternoon. We had made some substantial changes to the forks for the morning and I found it to be a benefit in a lot of places on the track. Therefore I felt that I would be able to improve on my position in the afternoon. We also felt that we could improve those changes we had made by making some more adjustments for the afternoon session. This required another set of forks to be built, and they were not going to be ready in time for the qualifier.

Disappointingly, we had to keep the same internal settings that were to be altered for the qualifier in the afternoon. We changed the spring rate hoping to have a similar effect. The change wasn’t as eventful as I had hoped and to make matters worse, on my out lap I had a serious technical fault that only allowed me to complete 1 flying lap. I pitted several times in the hope to locate the problem but time ran out and I ended the session having dropped several places to a very disappointing 25th.

Sunday - Warm Up

Having had trouble in qualifying, and not having had the forks to try in that session, meant that I would have to use morning warm up as a test session, which obviously is quite a gamble. The forks went in and I found them to be a better choice.

Sunday - Race

Only an hour and a half later I took my grid position for the race. I will mention here, that turn 1 at Monza is extremely tight for even a few riders, without bottle necking 40 bikes in there, straight off the start. Those of you who saw the footage would know what happened. As one British newspaper quoted, “40 into 1 won’t go”. As the whole field ran into the first chicane flat-out, one rider hit another, triggering a massive incident.

As these two tumbled, more bikes were collected, including some that were in front of the accident, when the bikes spewed forward at speed, and to add insult to injury, another rider taking to the grass to avoid the carnage, couldn’t wash off enough speed and took out another two with him. 11 riders in all went down. This is certainly not something you’d like to witness too frequently. Luckily I just managed to avoid it. The rider that first went down was just off to my right, so it was a matter of getting through without getting taken out.

My start was good and I had already made up quite a few positions, so I didn’t hesitate in getting into it flat out, as soon as I got through the crash. As I came around after the opening lap onto the straight my board showed I was in 12th position. By mid race I had moved up into 9th and had a decent gap behind me. There was a pack of riders a few seconds ahead of me and I was pushing to get onto the back of them. It’s so hard to chase down a group when they are towing each other along. There were plenty of times where I used the entire track and then some, but try as I might, I had to settle for 9th. A top 10 result is definitely a step in the right direction and the time from the leader was 10 seconds better than Assen, which was the most pleasing thing for me.

Racing in this class is ultra competitive but we are moving forward one step at a time. The next round is at Germany’s Nurburgring in just over a month’s time. However we head back to Italy in a couple weeks for a test at Misano. Hopefully the extra track time will put us in a good position to be more competitive for round 4 and with any luck, bring home a better result once again. Standing on podium is hopefully getting closer with every ride!

Friday - First Practice

This was to be the first test for my shoulder following treatment from Brian Simpson, and I was hoping it would be good and stable throughout the weekend.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to even see if it was okay on the brakes entering the first chicane as the motor when bang at the end of the very first lap! I was gutted to say the least, but I made it back to the pits, so I didn’t have to walk too far back to the truck!

Friday - First Qualifying

The first qualifying was my first chance to get a decent set-up and test myself, so I just took the session steady, gradually building my pace and just feeling what the bike was doing and what needed adjusting.

I did the simple three lap routine of out lap, fast lap and in lap. It worked well as it really helped me focus on what was going on and what reference points I was using. It helped me re-learn the track a lot faster also, even if I was struggling to get a few parts sorted.

I changed my lines and markers pretty much each time I went out on track, and really only started to find some consistency towards the end of the session, but I was pleased with the times and how the bike was behaving, and only needed a small gearing and suspension adjustment ready for Saturday.

Saturday - Second Practice

The changes we made to the bike really improved things, making the bike a lot easier to ride, via less gear changes through the tight and twisty sections and also improved handling through the faster sections.

A few more tweaks through the session managed to resolve the chatter problems I was having in the fast sections, which gave me a lot more confidence in the front end of the bike, enabling me to fell more in control and smoother with my riding. The bike was feeling good, and seemed to be doing what I wanted it to, without too many problems.

I began to push to see how late I could brake and how hard I could turn, and although I ran on a few times, it was beginning to come together a lot better. I caught a few tows around the track and it helped me gauge where I needed to improve and also showed me how. I made a few adjustments in terms of line at a couple of turns but otherwise it was good.

Saturday - Second Qualifying

I was going to have to push it to get further up the grid, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy, especially with my shoulder starting to become more and more painful, but once again the team got the bike even better than before and I felt much better straight away.

The plan was just to get out there and follow everyone and get a tow throughout the session, there was no way it would be easy but I knew I had to just push it as much as I could.

Halfway through the session and id knocked a fair wedge of time off my previous best, but the rear tyre was starting to go off and after a few scary moments I decided to get the new tyre fitted for the last third of the session, in the hope it would give us the time we needed to move forward on the grid.

I didn’t get a good tow from here on and had to work extra hard on my own, and I made another improvement in time but not as much as any of us had hoped, and I kept making silly errors trying to push it harder and harder. I saved front end slides at the Ascari chicane and Parabolica curve, but only through trying too hard, not through being on the edge, and I was fairly deflated by the qualifying result. But, having less track time than all the other guys was the main reason I was struggling, coupled with a completely standard bike, it wasn’t a million miles away from where I wanted to be come raceday.

Sunday - Race

I got my shoulder heavily strapped in preparation for the race, as it had by now become a hindrance, but despite all the problems I was just focusing on going forward in the race.

I got a decent start and was heading forwards until I saw a big cloud of smoke and backed right off, just as the carnage occurred entering the first chicane. I knew it was going to happen, but I didn’t think it would be that hectic! I just picked my way through the debris and fallen riders and then set about getting back the places I’d lost in the mêlée.

By the end of the first lap I’d got into a group of guys I remember being a fair bit higher up the grid than I was so I knew I’d gone forward in terms of places, and tried to make a few more on the brakes at the first chicane, but noticed the waving yellow flags, so backed off, with a plan to make the places at the next chicane.

It didn’t happen, but what did at least got me some TV coverage! I can’t really remember what happened, but I just remember suddenly speeding up while braking and not being able to avoid Danny De Boer. Next thing I can recall is trying to get my breath back and wondering where I was!

Apparently I’d been hit from behind and had no-where to go but into De Boer. I felt really bad about it, but as it wasn’t my fault I was told not to worry. I was really gutted to have crashed out of 17th at the time, I’m certain we’d have been well in the points and I was feeling great before the incident. At least I know we’ve got the bike almost all the way there, and my riding is getting back up to standard, so I’m pretty confident for Nurburgring in a few weeks, as long as my body has repaired by then! Back to Brian’s again for some magical body fixing!

Photos copyright © MIST Suzuki Racing 2007

Friday - First Practice

Lap 1 was amazing, just to feel the true speed of the 1000 compared to the 600 was truly mind blowing and really amazing! Everything was a blur and the main straight was to be brutally honest, one of the scariest things I think I have ever been on. The force when you hit the brakes is unbelievable, the wind tries to tear you off the back of the bike, and it is an incredible sensation.

Anyways, the session was good and I was feeling comfortable, despite struggling with the gearing being far too short and being in between gears at the first chicane. Some of the turns were causing vibration on the front end and the chatter was less than confidence inspiring.

Friday - First Qualifying

Getting a tow around the track was going to be key for the first session, just to gauge how fast and how late I could go into that first chicane. I found out you could go in fast and late, it was just very difficult! At least the bike did not go anywhere near as sideways as the 600 used to. It made the entry much smoother, more consistent and above all, a lot easier to control!

The session went well, and I just took off a little bit here and there, but it was seemingly frustrating at how hard it is to go fast round the track, there aren’t many places to make up the time and I was struggling to get the Lesmo turns sorted. I was between gears but kept trying to pull it through in third, just carrying more corner speed to compensate. It seemed to work.

One last thing I needed to adjust was the exit of the first chicane, and get the gearing sorted. It was a decent session, but I still languished towards the rear of the field, mainly as I did not get a decent tow.

Saturday - Second Practice

The gearing changes we made seemed spot on, and a small adjustment to the front end of the bike made it feel a lot smoother on the transitions from side to side in the chicane. It helped majorly through the fast Ascari section.

The time I set during the session was much better than the previous day’s time so I was happy with it, but I was still off of where I needed to be. I got a better go at getting a tow thanks to Brendan Roberts, who I spent most of the session following and battling with, and enjoyed a sweet round the outside overtake on the teams’ Aussie friend at the Parabolica. It may be the only time I get to overtake a factory Ducati, around the outside, in the dry. Blagging rights to me down the pub!

Saturday - Second Qualifying

I went faster, but not by much, it sucked. I really struggled to improve, mainly as I just didn’t focus on getting it right from the off. I needed a tow badly, didn’t get one, and didn’t make the best use of the guys around me. I really did get it wrong big style. It’s the first time this year I’ve been really annoyed at myself.

The good thing was that the bike was really working well, the gearing was spot on and id sorted the problems I had with the track. I just didn’t make it work for me. Was a bad day at the office but after a good sit down and talk with Mike, I got my head sorted and was feeling much better for raceday.

Sunday - Race

A good warm up session from the morning had sorted my head and I was clear on what I was to do.

The plan for the opening turn was a simple one, get through it while staying rubber side down. I did that and even managed to make a few places in the process. I (hooked onto the back of Barry Burrell and used him to pull me through the opening lap. It was good to finally be with the guys I should have been with all weekend. I slipped past Luke Nedog entering Ascari n blasted down to the Parabolica in a much better place than I had started the race. The it all went tits up!

On entering the Parabolica, I just felt a massive smack into the side of my bike and I had no option but to run straight off into the gravel, narrowly avoiding the back of an R1 in the process. All the hard work of the start had gone down the drain. I got back on the track and just thought “Well, I got nothing to lose, stuff it. If I fall now I fall”!

I really got my head down and pushed as hard as I could. I felt much more stable onboard the bike and it seemed to click. I was catching the group in front rapidly and despite them being some 14 seconds ahead I managed to catch and pass a few of them. I then was pulled up a few more places when a couple of the top guys hit the eject button and when I got back to the pits after the race I was happier than I have been all season. If I hadn’t have run off the circuit and kept the 14 seconds I lost then I’d have been on the back of the group running in the top 20. Gutted!

To see Mike smiling and happy with what I’d done too was awesome. I think I’ve finally started to go forwards as a thousand rider and I’m really happy with the bike now. Even if I don’t like the place, I can’t wait for Silverstone. Fingers crossed that I carry on how I finished off Monza!

My first trip to Italy and I get to drive through the alps. Wasn’t expecting snow or sunshine at that altitude but it was a nice place to stop after all the motorway driving. The circuit was incredibly fast set in a picture-esque country park on the outskirts of Milan. We even had the opportunity to walk around the old banked oval circuit. Fortunately for us there was a hole in the fence as I didn’t fancy balancing precariously at the top of the banking without anything to hold on to. We were assured the steel armco was added later after a few too many cars went through the old wooden railings in to the trees. Eeek!

Photos copyright @ MIST Suzuki Racing 2006

Summary

Good Luck, Bad Luck and Hayfever!

So round two of the European Superstock 600 series brings Monza and the opportunity to build on what was learnt in Valencia.

Thursday

Having suffered at the hands of Barry Burrell (fellow Brit racer) on the plane (I now know not to ever fall asleep next to him again) we arrived at the airport and I was offered a lift to the track with MCN’s World Superbikes reporter, Michael Guy. This turned out to be one of the luckiest breaks all season, as we got pretty much straight to the circuit while several others in the team spent many an hour touring the town of Monza in search of the illusive track, <smug mode on!>. Smug mode was, however, soon cancelled due to one teensy little problem with the location of the track. Monza is in a lovely big park. Lots of lovely trees, lovely little flowers and lovely, lovely grassy stuff. This abundance of green stuff left me with killer (well nearly) hayfever all weekend.

We walked the track Thursday night and concentrated on possible lines. Walking the track also showed me just how important slipstreaming was going to be, given the straights going on forever!

Friday – Free Practice

I took the first session easy to give me a chance to work out my lines and pick various braking/turn in/apex/exit points so I could fully apply the techniques bestowed upon me in Valencia! Also Monza is not a place to mess up, a point proved over the weekend by the many spent carcasses of race bikes laying bleeding oil into the gravel traps!

Friday – First Qualifying

For the second session on Friday, we were made to feel right at home again (yes, it rained!) and I had the new challenge of learning to ride a 600 in the rain! Again, building up gradually I started to get some consistent times in and find a flow around the circuit. About 6 minutes before the end of the session, I had a minor mishap exiting the first chicane, prima variante – see I learned some Italian! I got on the power exiting the turn a tad to eagerly and high sided, albeit not in the usual fashion! As the bike snapped sideways I half fell off the inside of it, then when it came back in line (amazingly still upright) I kept hold of the bars and simply (!?) hopped back on, much to the amusement of the marshals! Once I had finished giggling I realised I now had a new dent in my knee, but decided to make the most of the track time and carry on lapping until the end of the session.

Saturday – Second Qualifying

Headed to Doc Costa for some leg repairs to be made from my shenanigans in Friday’s qualifying, came out with a shiny bandage and less leg hair than before!

Determined to gain a good position on the grid, I went out with a few points from Mike that I need to work on clear in my head. Counter-steer more positively, a revised line into the first part of the Ascari chicane and get in the slipstream of people to get a good lap time. I managed to put all(ish) of the above into practice and spent a good amount of the session chasing the Marcel van Nieuwenhuizen of Remar Racing. Once I had caught and passed Marcel I set about pushing a bit harder in the places where I had been held up. Unfortunately the session was red flagged due to a bike on the track and we all had to pull into the pits. When the session was restarted for the final five minutes, ill fate struck again, when the circlip holding the gear lever in place went awol leaving me to limp back to the pits in 6th gear. Qualified a lowly 31st on the grid, my mission for the race was clear: good start, survive the first chicane and then pick people off lap by lap, easy. Well, easy in theory anyway!

Saturday – Race

Lining up on the grid, I was fully focussed on the task ahead, with the most important task being to survive the (inevitable) first corner carnage. After getting a good start and passing the row in front, I picked a line to the first bend and stuck to it. Sure enough, the pack just ahead of me felt the need to indulge in a bit of skittley pinball action and about 6 of them decided to better acquaint themselves with Monza’s finest black stuff. Having picked a way through the mess, I set off on stage two of the plan – start picking off riders in front. Coming out of Ascari, I slipstreamed a yellow Yamaha (sorry not very specific I know!) and made a pass on it into the Parabolica. Having got a wheel ahead, the kind chap riding the Yamaha decided to turn in on me and ram my front wheel from the side, most decent of him! As I tumbled through the gravel I was, well, mildly annoyed to say the least. As soon as everything had stopped bouncing I ran for my bike, picked it up and was out of the gravel trap quicker than a stray dog in a kebab shop kitchen! Just as I was preparing for a boring 9laps on my own, the red flags came out due to a bike throwing oil over the track and a there still being a rider on the floor from the first corner incident. Lucky or what?

On returning to the pits it was a race against time to do what essential repairs we could to make the bike a bit less like riding a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel. The foot peg was replaced, bodywork taped up, gravel removed from bike and gravel removed from me! It was quite a sight to see everyone helping to fix it, including:

• Uncle Richard (new record for the sprint across the paddock!)
• Mr Polita (Father of Alessandro Polita of Superstock 1000 brilliance and Alessia from last years Superstock 600 series)
• Eric from Suzuki Netherlands
• And Matt’s Dad Andy

THANKS GUYS!!!!

Saturday – Race (Take 2)

Lined up for the second attempt, I had to be cautious on the first few laps due to cold, dusty tyres. This was a little spirit breaking, as I managed another good start and then had to let the pack get away as I waited for my tyres to come up to temperature. After about a lap and a bit, the tyres were up to temperature and I was able to start racing! I passed a couple of bikes and then tagged on the back of a Kawasaki. I was struggling to find a way past, as however well I got out of the corners, the kwak would just disappear on the straights. With something still not quite straight on my bike, I was unable to go for any wild lunges on the brakes and didn’t manage to find a way past. In the end I had to settle for 22nd place. Although initially disappointed with 22nd, given the circumstances it is by no means a bad result.

What did I learn?

Well, for a start don’t trust anyone at all on the first lap, or you end up on the floor!

Secondly, remember some hayfever tablets!

And thirdly, Monza is an amazing place and probably one of my favourite tracks so far.

And there ends another horrendously long tale of the misdemeanours of myself in what is turning out to be one of the most exciting seasons of my life!

Tune in next time when I will be heading to Silverstone with a newly fettled engine and even more determination!!!

Thanks to –

• Michael Guy for his impeccable Italian Driving impressions
• Everyone who helped me in the pits on Saturday
• Roger for giving me the opportunity to get up to this much mischief!
• Nan and Grandad for driving the race truck up from Valencia
• Mark, Barry, Rich and Tom for making sure I stayed awake and revised on the plane!
• The lady at Stanstead Airport for sending me to the wrong car park at 10:00 at night in sandals and shorts. It’s ok, I only walked around lost for about 45mins!!
• Steve Jordan for making my bike work again!
• Mike “F” Edwards for getting my bike to the track
• All the teams sponsors and supporters
• All my friends and family who watched back home on the internet!
• Mum and Dad, sorry I smashed the bike up but thanks for everything

See y’all in Silverstone!

Friday – Free Practice.

After Valencia I felt a lot more comfortable on the bike, and rolling down pit lane for the opening practice I definitely felt more confident and more able to keep up with the guys in the top half of the field. Out onto the track and from the exit of pit lane you can barely see the first chicane; the distance between the two is massive! A few laps in and I began to feel my way round the circuit and it was about four laps in when I realised just how fast the track really was. It was crazy just how quick the straights are! And most people think Thruxton is quick! Despite not catching a tow off any other rider for more than a few turns I was feeling quite good and began to push that little bit harder into each turn and then decided to see how late I could brake for the opening chicane. Needless to say I totally overshot and took to the service road, but at least I knew I had to brake before the 200 board! The rest of the session was fairly uneventful and returning to the pits I was fairly happy with everything and didn’t really need a huge adjustment of any part of the bike. Ending the session 23rd fastest was quite pleasing, despite I did hope to be higher up if I’m honest!

Friday – 1st Qualifying.

Qualifying was awful in a word. The weather decided to totally chuck it down, and despite my love for wet conditions, I just didn’t feel happy out there at all. The bike hadn’t been altered to the set up I requested and it was just almost un-ride-able. It eventually resulted in me high-siding out of the first chicane and landing on top of the bike, fortunately with no injury other than a bruised ego. It was annoying for me as I knew it wasn’t my fault, I hadn’t even got on the gas and the rear just decided to jump round on me. I had no feeling whatsoever to what the bike was doing. As I sat out most of the session on my arse I saw the entire field get faster and faster, leaving me outside the qualification maxima as a non-qualifier. Despite the major muck up I wasn’t too worried, knowing that there was another qualifying session on Saturday, where I’d get the chance to put in a decent time.

Saturday – 2nd Qualifying.

Unlike the previous day, the sun was out for qualifying and what a scorcher it was. I was riding harder than on Friday, but the times were just not coming and I just continued to stay down the bottom end of the field. I just couldn’t make up any extra time at any point on the track. Without a decent tow it was always going to be hard and I found that out, ending the session well down the grid in 29th place. It just seemed to me that I was losing out on the straights to every other bike out there. Later I realised it was just down to me, but at the time I think I just didn’t use my head properly. What was more annoying was that Daniel Beretta, who I was battling with at Valencia had managed to qualify in 13th place, over a second faster than what I managed!

Saturday – Race.

The plan for the race was a simple one, get away from the line well, be really careful not to get wiped out at the first few turns and then get a tow and pull through the field. It sounds easy, but at Monza, when you have groups of seven or eight bikes altogether for the first few laps, it’s far from simple. Anyways, the lights went out and I remember getting another good start (I have no idea how it keeps happening!) and jumped the row in front of me, only to look beside me and see Chris flying passed, the cheeky bugger! Up in front and all hell broke lose as five riders hit the deck, including championship leader Xavier Simeon. It was a case of sit up and beg through the opening turn, but I got through safely, with Chris right alongside. The next few turns were a bit of a blur as I just passed people left, right and centre on the brakes and through the opening lap in an attempt to get with the fast group just in front. It was all working perfectly until the end of lap 2 when the red flags came out. Someone had blown up round the back of the circuit and dumped oil everywhere and with Mathieu Gines still on the floor from the first corner incident, so the race director had no choice but to stop the race.

Gutted is one word I’d use to describe how I felt, but for Chris it was a different feeling, one of the gravel kind. He’d got taken out at the Parabolica, damaging the left of the bike, and had yet still managed to get it back to the pits! I was amazed to say the least! Seeing the team work on the bike so efficiently was reassuring and Chris’ desire to get back on and ride the thing, even if it was missing a foot peg was somewhat inspiring. Back onto the grid for the restart with a full field (minus Gines) we blasted off into turn one and this time we all got safely through, even though I had to take to the grass on the way out. The first lap was manic and everyone was jostling for a position at every turn. Thanks to another good start I made up a few places on the opening lap and entering the first chicane I took a huge distance out of the group in front. I was determined to pass all of them through the chicane, wrong idea! I got shoved back onto the grass and ended up losing a place. It didn’t take long to get back onto the bunch though and within a few laps I was back in with them, slipstreaming all the way down the main straight.

After a few more laps and at about half distance I had lost the tow and the guys behind began to catch me. It was about now that I began to get some major brake fade and became enthralled in a battle with Barry Burrell and some Italian. We swapped position at least three times a lap and I eventually found a way back through and began to break away, but it didn’t last long. With two laps left I had almost no brakes left and the lever was coming back to the bar every time I anchored up. Luckily I could balance it out with extra rear brake but soon the standard pads began to overheat and entering the last lap I lost two places on the brakes at turn one. As it happened I thought to myself just to follow them and out brake the two at the Parabolica, whether I had brakes or not I was going to beat Burrell and be top Brit, well that was the plan. I lined both Burrell and the Italian up coming into the Parabolica and pulled out of their slipstream just in time to see yellow flags being waved, bugger! With no way through I tried to out drag the duo to the line, but I couldn’t get any extra drive and ended up finishing third in our little group and 17th overall. The result was good, and once again I jumped 12 places from my grid slot and improved my lap time by well over a second and could still see the top ten as I crossed the finish. It was a relief to get back into the top half where I know I belong, and knowing that once we get the brake problem sorted I can challenge for points on a regular occasion. Hopefully Silverstone will see me get a decent qualifying and an even better result in the race!

Thanks to –

• MIST Suzuki Racing
• T&J Commercial Repairs
• Steve Jordan Motorcycles
• www.givemethekeys.com
• Racedays.Net
• Mike Edwards
• Steve & Sarah Jordan
• Alan Brown
• All the teams sponsors and supporters
• All my friends and family who watched back home on the internet!
• Mum and Dad, sorry I smashed the bike up but thanks for everything

NEXT UP SILVERSTONE, FIRST OF THE HOME ROUNDS!

Not being able to find the circuit was more of a concern at first than not having any idea of the layout of the track when we first arrived in Monza. After a successful Valencia debut for Matt and a clutch problem at the start for Chris both riders were keen to make the most of the first Italian round of the series.

Not realising that the circuit was 3.6 miles long the team set out to walk the track to get an idea of lines and reference points for morning practice on Friday. With just three half hour sessions before the race this was going to be an uphill task but after advice from the Team Manager, and a lot of walking, the riders were eager to put the theory in to practice. The circuit is incredible with two chicanes and the Ascari complex linking some very long straights with a couple of very fast corners, such as the famous Parabolica, it would take a lot of practice, and perhaps a good tow from other riders, to get the best from the 107 hp GSXR600K6 machines.

With the engines still completely standard the team was expecting to be outgunned on the straights as the rules allow thinner base gaskets, higher specification engine management units and various other opportunities for teams with bigger budgets and more experience. The biggest all British team in WSB wasn’t going to let something that minor stand in their way and were confident that they could salvage some pride in preparation for the home round at Silverstone later in the month.

The half hour free practice session was warm and dry and fortunately without major incident as both riders took the opportunity to learn the art of slipstreaming to get the best from the track. Simply following another bike down the start finish straight can be enough to see an additional 20 kph through the speed trap before the first chicane. With four such straights it would be very easy to miss out on a couple of seconds per lap if the rider made a mistake. Chris struggled initially but soon settled in to a rhythm once he remembered to relax. Every lap he improved, clocking a best of 2’05.703 towards the end of the session with the benefit of a tow on a couple of the straights. Matt found his feet fairly quickly with a 2’01.674 lap fairly early on but had to work on being consistent and was eventually able to post 2’02.xx or 2’03.xx laps without the help of other bikes to follow.

After the initial success things took a turn for the worst in first qualifying when it started to rain. It was fairly light at first but soon became heavy enough to need full wets. I’m not sure whether this is symptomatic of the class being made up entirely of teenagers but it was hard keeping track of who was crashing where at one point. Matt was going well in the first couple of laps and was in the top ten on the leader board when the first chicane got the better of him. With no warning he found himself sliding along the track as the bike bounced off in to the gravel. The damage wasn’t severe but he did miss out on vital track time, particularly as the rain began to ease off towards the end of the session. Chris had started slower although his session wasn’t without excitement as on the very last lap he found himself sliding alongside the bike having been highsided out of the seat. Not one to give up he had managed to keep hold of the handlebars and somehow managed to climb aboard and ride back to the pits. Chris had managed to gradually improve his times and qualified last in 32nd position with a 2’23.517 - Matt wasn’t so lucky and having crashed out so early his 2’26.185 wasn’t good enough to qualify at all.

Another opportunity to walk the track that evening and aside from changing the suggested turn in point to the left hander leading in to the Ascari complex the team were happy with the lines and reference points they had selected the previous evening. Spending time considering the best lines to make the most from a tow from any unsuspecting riders was a useful exercise along with planning the implications of getting a tow in the run up to the Parabolica and the start finish straight so the rider didn’t do all the hard work and have someone just pip them at the line. With Matt’s bike repaired and having made some adjustments to the riding position for Chris to make it easier to move around the bike, he had landed painfully in his crash with the gear selector putting a nasty scrape down his thigh, the riders went out for their remaining qualifying session. Fortunately the weather was dry although not as sunny as the previous day.

Without having been able to fully test his gearing choice in the previous sessions Matt was left unable to make the most of the time once again when his rev counter needle fell off on the first lap after a small wheelie on the way out of the chicane. The clocks had taken a bit of a bashing when he fell in qualifying at Valencia and had finally decided enough was enough. Although still needing some valuable track time to gain some much needed consistency Matt managed a best time of 2’01.750 and spent much of the session running in the 2’01.xx and 2’02.xx bracket. The crash had cost him dearly as he still hadn’t managed to better his 4th lap in free practice despite another dozen or so laps but had at least qualified in 29th place. Chris on the other hand was much more relaxed and was soon lapping at a similar pace to Matt. A good tow on one lap saw an extra 9 kph through the speed trap and a best lap of 2’01.980 to take 31st place on the grid. The session was cut short by a red flag incident and the restart was a non event after having to pull in when a circlip came off his rear sets leaving him without a gear change lever.

Everyone was apprehensive about the race with 33 riders having almost a kilometre before piling in to the first chicane and their concern was well founded when one rider lost the front on the brakes and skittled another half dozen bikes on the way in. Suddenly without a large number of front runners it appeared that MIST Suzuki could be up for points from both riders until we noticed that Chris was also missing from the pack. We could see from the timing screens that he hadn’t been caught up in the first corner excitement and about a minute later he appeared down the start/finish straight having had his front wheel taken out by another unhelpful rider on the way through the Parabolica. The joy at seeing him still running despite the crash was marred by the red flags coming out after another bike blew it’s engine around the back of the circuit and medical attention required by one of the earlier fallers.

It was at this point we had a mad ten minutes in the pit lane trying to repair the bent levers, clip on, foot pegs, front fairing frame, etc. on the bike. Even the R&G crash bobbin had bent backwards which, as luck would have it, was still able to offer just enough protection so that only the paint on the engine casing was scuffed. Without it the race would have been over with a large whole in the engine but after emptying half of the gravel trap from the belly pan, replacing the foot peg and a bit of duct tape to cover the worst of the fairing damage we were almost ready to go. Only problem was one of the paddock stand bobbins had gone missing and broken the mounting point from the swing arm so we were unable to get the bike on the stand to get the tyre warmers back on for the restart.

With cold tyres Chris was going to have to take it easy for the first couple of laps. Oh to be the works Xerox Ducati team or the Alstare Corona bike where you could just nip in to the garage used by your colleagues in the SuperBike class and make the most of their facilities, mechanics, tyre warmers, etc. At least one rider from each of those teams had fallen but things were quickly repaired and out on the grid for the restart. Oh well, there go our easy points (if there is such a thing as easy points at a WSB round).

Both riders made a good start and both made it through the first chicane in one piece. Chris had to endure watching the pack he was with pull away, along with Matt who was doing some dramatic braking and overtaking of his own a bit further ahead. With his tyres up to temperature Chris had a good fight with the group around him for several laps although the physical exertions of his highside the previous day and his 100 mph crash just twenty minutes earlier meant he was unable to match his qualifying performance. He still rode an excellent, albeit lonely, race to finish 22nd overall. A best lap of 2’02.782 was hard won but consistency was the key with every other lap in the low 2’03.xx bracket.

Matt was having a good battle with the group contesting 8th to 15th places with riders gaining, or losing, two or three positions each lap depending on who was getting the best tow of the group. Sitting in a comfortable 13th place Matt started to suffer from overheating brakes, a problem that cost him a couple of places towards the end of the Valencia race. He held 15th position for the last couple of laps after resorting to using the rear brake to help slow down before that too overheated and he was overtaken by two riders on the very last lap. Despite planning ahead and using the advice on making the most of the slipstream on the straights the yellow flags on the way in to the last corner put paid to any chance of getting the place back. Having to settle for 17th place was disheartening after having run in the points for almost the whole race and it was small consolation that his fastest lap was down to 2’00.481, the target we set at the start of the weekend.

Both riders had a lot to overcome when they arrived at the circuit yet the weather and various crashed made things much, much harder. The lack of track time due to incidents had affected both riders but they have proved that both can run with their much more experienced, and better financed, competition. At the start of the season, just two meetings ago, we would have been pleased with a top 20 finish yet already not scoring points is almost a disappointment. On reflection, a small British team that can regularly fight for points against the best young riders Europe has to offer is pretty amazing, especially when the majority of them have been in this class for several years and know the bikes and circuits already.

Roll on WSB round at Silverstone later this month.

Mike Edwards
Team Manager - MIST Suzuki

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, RaceDays.net, S&B Commercials and Silkolene.

Photos copyright @ cybermotard.com/Christian Bourget 2006