Gareth Jones

Gareth Jones, 31/06/08 - 15/06/08
FIM Superstock 1000 Cup
Round 4

Friday - First Practice

Off to Germany, another new country to visit and the best part was yet another new race track. We arrived at the Nurburgring very late Wednesday night, ready for Thursday’s pit setup and scrutineering. It was also a bonus to me that my Dad was back again, to assist me and the team for two rounds, along with my good mate Lloyd who will be spannering for me for the rest of the year.

I was itching to get on track on Friday morning, I had only managed 2 laps on the scooter on Thursday afternoon in the pouring rain with Brendan Roberts, so I knew there was a lot of learning to be done. Initially, the circuit was dry for first practice but with only 3 laps down it started to drizzle, so most of the field pulled in.

After sitting out for 10 minutes I headed back out again to spend as much time as I could on track. The drizzle was settling by then and seconds were coming off my time each lap. The Nurburgring is 5.1 kms long and over 2 minutes a lap. I finished first practice in 18th. As usual, places were separated by hundredths of a second.

Friday - First Qualifying

We had a new shock which we were hoping to try before the Nurburgring meeting, but limited time meant we didn’t have a chance to test that before we arrived in Germany. For first qualifying Friday afternoon we opted to try the new internal shock configuration. This was much better than the shock we had been using, and I found quite a lot of time with it on track. However I could only manage 21st by the time the chequered flag was out at the end of the 25 minute session. The track proved to be quite technical and it was very clear how much time could be made or lost around the circuit. I was confident that by chipping away at the bigger problems we had, I could manage a quicker lap.

Saturday - Second Practice

Second practice on Saturday morning was dry and the way the tyre allocation works, it means that most riders are out on used tyres, which gives a good chance to use the track time to test settings on worn tyres. I have always had trouble with the steering on the Suzuki, so we tried a lighter set of forks springs which certainly helped through the tighter sections of the track. I came in several times to make changes and try to improve on the progress we had made.

Saturday - Second Qualifying

Second qualifying that afternoon was sure to be the decider for grid positions if it stayed dry, with a lot of the field dropping their times with each session. For this session we had made the decision to go with a firmer rear setting to help keep a tighter line. This second qualifying session is only 25 minutes, as opposed to the 45 minute first qualifying session so time is a lot tighter to find a good lap.

The weather was looking rather dull and we knew that we may only have a few laps before the rain hit. In fact, as I rode out of pit lane I didn’t even get to the first corner and is was pouring, so I pulled straight back into the pits and got my wets went on. Everything was ready to go on pit lane so I was quickly back on track. It wasn’t long before the rain stopped again but by now most of the track was soaked and the session would only allow for a good wet test session.

I got stuck into it and felt comfortable early, and I was surprised how grippy the surface was. I managed to put in numerous quick laps before the session ended.. When I came in I was thrilled to be told that I was the fastest rider on track by a margin of 3.2 seconds, much to the delight of the team! Needless to say I was quite happy with this and was really hoping for a wet track on race day!

Sunday - Warm Up

Race day came around all too quickly, and like all other meetings so far, just a few practice sessions too early! The weather was dull and overcast, so it was a matter of getting into the swing of things in morning warm up and using every last minute on the track to get the most from the bike we could. I was 16th in warm up and found another sizeable chunk of time but obviously it’s the race that counts.

Sunday - Race

An hour and a half later the field was gridded up and ready for a start. I got away well but once again there was a crash in turn 1 and I lost a few places avoiding it. However at the end of the lap 1 I was on the back of a large pack. I tried to move forward picking off a few riders as quickly as I could and found myself in 12th by mid race with Chris Seaton just ahead in 11th. With the final three laps to go, I started having problems. My brakes were pulling all the way into the bar and I was leaving myself quite open to getting out braked. I had to brake very early, pumping the brakes hoping to pull up in time to tip in.

Around the same time my quick shifter decided to start miss shifting, not allowing me to select some gears. I pushed on as best as I could, but unfortunately even though I was trying to ride very defensively, I lost a few positions and fell to 14th by the flag. All in all I was happy to have again been moving forward with the bike. It’s a hard game but I’m determined.

A special thanks must go to www.theaussieshop.co.uk who have very kindly sponsored me with two of their top of the range swags, so Mum and I can camp in the pits at the tracks which alleviates the dramas of getting to the tracks in the mornings and the added expense of accommodation. This is a terrific help, thanks very much.

Talk to you all after San Marino next weekend.

Gareth Jones, 09/05/08 - 11/05/08
FIM Superstock 1000 Cup
Round 3

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!

Gareth Jones, 25/04/08 - 27/04/08
FIM Superstock 1000 Cup
Round 2

Two short weeks went by after Round One at Valencia and we headed off to the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands. Every circuit in the championship this year will be new to me, and every country is another one to add to my list. I was looking forward to Assen, and planning on starting with a clean slate after a very frustrating and disappointing time at Valencia.

We got on a plane Wednesday morning in England and less than an hour later we touched down at Amsterdam airport. I’m finding it a bit surreal that just an hour’s flight away and I’m not only in a different country but a different language and culture. On arriving at the track we assisted with some of the set up and organization of the pits, so we would be ready for scrutineering and rider’s brief on Thursday. The scene over here is very different to Australia, but I’m learning my way around pretty quickly. Here you need pit scooters to get about the area its so big.

I was very keen to get into practice and learn the track. I was also feeling a bit anxious as the last thing I wanted was the problems we had at Valencia, so we started with fairly neutral suspension settings on the bike. Unfortunately I joined the Mist Suzuki team at the 11th hour, so my track time has been very limited and have not had an opportunity to get onto a track between meetings. Anyway UK tracks over the past month have been covered in either snow or rain. I did however get a few flying laps Thursday afternoon on Brendan Roberts rocket ship scooter, and we had turns in cutting laps with some of the other guys!

Friday - First Practice

The first practice at 9 a.m. Friday morning was not much more than a ‘learn the track session’ but at the same time I was trying to find a good feeling with the bike for the first qualifier in the afternoon. I stayed on the track for most of the session and came in only to make a few adjustments.

Friday - First Qualifying

After the session we made some larger geometry changes and hoping that we wouldn’t continue with the suspension problems. We made a little bit of headway with the changes for qualifying, so I stayed out on my old tyres for as long as possible, using the time to adjust to the settings and learn the lengthy track before putting in a new set at the end. I only got a few laps in on fresh rubber so my qualifying position of 31st was not at all desirable, leaving me concerned, as there was a chance of rain for Saturday so this qualifier may have well been where I was going to start the race.

Saturday - Second Practice

After having a good think about the bike Friday night, I needed to get onto the track again and get as much time as I could. Unfortunately this session turned out to be extremely limited. As the bike was being wheeled off the stand, we noticed a fuel leak. This put a big dent in the first part of the short session and just as I jumped on the bike and went to ride off it started raining. By the time we got the wets in and headed onto track, I only had 6 minutes of the 30 minute session left.

Saturday - Second Qualifying

For the qualifier in the afternoon, the circuit was dry, so I was anxious to work with the team to get the most out of the available time on track. I was in and out a fair bit during the session and was able to find a bit of time, by improving the basic setup. In effect, the qualifier was being used as a test session still, so I was trying to think about getting the bike sorted as well as trying to put a lap together. I ended up 28th out of a full 40 rider field. Times are so critical at this level, just a few hundredths’ of a second means numerous positions on the grid.

Sunday - Race

The time had come to get into it and put difficulties aside and push hard for 13 laps of the 4.55km Assen TT circuit. However before that we had one more large suspension change to try to the rear end before the race. Warm up was a less than ideal place to be trying that, but I wanted to attempt to improve things further, hoping we could find time in the race, luckily it helped me so I was keen to run with it.

Shortly after warm up was our race. The crowds were pretty big by then and the atmosphere exciting. I got a great start and quite a few riders parked it in turn 1 so I was lucky to be able to ride around these and move up about 10 positions on the first lap. I tried to make room where I could and push my way through and gain a few more positions on the brakes but I found running high corner speed a problem, which was really hindering us in practice and qualifying so I did what I could and tried to pick off as many people as I could.

I found myself in 16th fairly quickly. One certainty with this class, if you run wide or find yourself out of the seat, you can guarantee that more than one rider will slot their way back past. On one occasion about mid race I had a rather large out of seat moment in turn 2, and slipped back 4 spots!

I tried to ride consistently knowing where I was having difficulty and managed a 14th place finish. I tried hard as always and despite the setup trouble I’ve had with the Suzuki I feel I’m getting there, obviously the fact that everything over here is new to me makes it harder, but at least we are moving in the right direction. So upwards and onwards from here ! And I hope to achieve my realistic goals in the coming rounds and building confidence as we go.

Although I won’t be able to get to Monza before the next race meeting like many others have been able to do, we do have some testing planned shortly after that, so I expect to get on top of things then.

Before I finish up I’d just like to mention how good it’s been to have a heap of Aussies in the pits. The camaraderie between us is just like being back in Oz, probably even more so now as we’re all so far away from home.

A special thanks to Garry Crilly, John Chiodo and Justine from Monza Imports who have made arrangements for me to get a new AGV helmet delivered to the track within days so I had a European compliant helmet, it’s great to that that type of support from home.