Matt Bond

Matt Bond, 21/03/08 - 24/03/08
Racedays.net

After a successful test in Almeria I was looking forward to jumping aboard the new bike and seeing just what changes there were from the old machine to the new. I also couldn’t wait to meet my new team mate, Australian Gareth Jones, and his parents, Glyn and Gill.

Day One.

As soon as we wheeled the bike out into pit lane it felt different. The bike felt a lot lighter, sharper and more nimble. It was as if someone had completely removed the front end of the bike and just left a single strip of metal with some bars and a wheel. It was a quite odd feeling.

On track the prepared engines felt really crisp and smooth on acceleration and had a load of top end grunt also. The initial set-up on the bike wasn’t too bad, thanks to using the settings from Almeria as a base. A few tweaks here and there helped keep the bike settled on the brakes and turn in, and once the new performance friction pads had bedded in, the bike was stopping really well, and felt very stable.

After a couple of sessions it was apparent that the forks were at their limit, and although Gareth decided to put the new Ohlins cartridge items into his bike, I opted to stay with the standard set until day two. I just focused on the lines I was using and the reference points I was going to be using over the test weekend.

Day Two.

With the new forks fitted it was time to do some hard laps to get a feel for the new cartridge kit and to find a good setting from which we could work on and improve the bike.

The front end was noticeably different and gave loads more feedback and feel, especially mid turn at the apex. It did feel odd at first until the fork settled in and got some oil around itself, after this we just focused on getting it to travel the full stroke length and compress at the correct rate when braking hard.

We made a few more changes to the rear end to try and help the bike maintain side grip and also we raised the rid height just to help turn the bike faster. It put more emphasis on the front end of the bike as well, which was good as it helped me to carry more corner speed and hold a good line on the mid turn and exit of the tighter bends.

It was gutting to see Gareth hit the deck at turn one about half way through the session, especially when we’d both started going forward and posting some top lap times. I just focused on continuing our forward progress, and get a decent qualifying lap in for the afternoon’s “Open Race”, which would see all the fast guys out in a time trial event.

With a rolling lap starting the race it was a bit manic with riders n bikes all over the track on the opening lap and I just had to dive up the inside of some of the 600 guys entering the first turn. A couple of laps in and I had settled into a comfortable third place and began to chase down the two riders in front, one on Superbike and the other being Jonathan Gallina, who I will be competing against in a couple of weeks! I made a few mistakes and had to relax back into my rhythm and once done my times started to improve once again and then it started raining and I just pulled straight in, there was no point in risking falling in a fun race that didn’t mean anything to be honest.

Day Three.

With the weather back to the expected glorious Spanish sunshine of the first day I was keen to get in a large amount of laps and try some new set-ups with the ride height of the bike, with the plan to help keep the bike balanced, but maintain turn in and lower weight transfer from opposing ends of the bike, also.

The first half of the day went well with the new set-up taking a bit of time to get used to as it all felt too slow and unstable, but after a number of laps and a few more tweaks to the suspension we managed to pretty much sorted any worries I’d previously had.

Being higher up on the bike certainly helped improve the feel and feedback form both the front forks and rear shock, and it really reduced the weight transfer when braking hard. It meant I could brake later than before and still turn in just as hard, making it easier to ride the circuit, and helped make the lap times more consistent as well.

I spent the afternoon just focusing on my riding techniques to try and help me find out what I needed to do to improve my lap times. It was mainly standing the bike up onto the fat part of the tyre and firing out of the turns which were my priority. I gained a clear idea of how to do this after following Gareth for a few laps; it was amazing to see how different we each ride the bikes. I tend to run more corner speed, whereas Gareth tends to stop, turn and fire out. I guess we can both learn little bits from each other over the season!

Day Four.

The final day of our test was going to be used to further improve the set-up on the bike and also to push hard towards improving the best lap time I had already set. Some laps in the morning were fairly clear as many of the riders form the previous days had gone home, but some new guys had turned up for the track day and were extremely dangerous and very slow! I had some really close calls when they just decided to sit it up mid turn n pretty much stop on the racing line while I’m coming through at full pace! It’s not the best situation in the world.

Anyway, we still got in some useful testing and pretty much had the bike dialled in really nicely, after solving a few rear end grip issues. The bike was now turning good, holding the line superbly and had just the right amount of traction and spin when exiting the bends. The only problem we had been with trail braking and turning in while braking, but this was something we can resolve back at home, by removing a few mils of oil from the forks.

We put a new rear tyre in the bike and kept the 20 lap old front tyre in and just gave it three laps to go hard and see what we could come up with, lap time wise. It was really good, the bike felt smooth and fluid and despite the lack of front end grip and the problem with the brakes I posted my fastest lap, at 1.40.1.

It was really good, a big improvement over last year and now I just can’t wait for the opening round. It’s going to be good and I’m really looking forward to seeing and racing the whole new field of teams and riders. Ciao for now!

Matt Bond, 05/10/07 - 07/10/07
FIM European Superstock 1000 Cup
Round 11

Friday - First Practice

After Vallelunga we were pretty confident that we had ourselves prepared and ready to improve on the result from Vallelunga the week previous. We had a few suspension adjustments made by Andreani, apart from that the bike was pretty much how we’d led it after Italy.

The track seemed very different on the big bike compared to the previous year on the 600, everything just seemed a lot more technical and more difficult than before, but it also made the track that much more fun, its something I’d found had happened throughout the year!

We got a fairly decent set-up through the opening session, spending most of it just following the faster guys seeing what lines they were taking, and what they were using for braking and turn in markers. I was struggling a bit to get the bike through the middle section, mainly due to the 180 turn, which was just a pain to get out of at any speed. At least the bike was fairly rapid down the back straight!

Friday - First Qualifying

I was really going to have to push, as with the weather being very unpredictable, we were unsure as to whether or not we’d get another dry qualifying session this weekend. The plan was to do some laps on my own before tagging onto the back of one of the fast guys for as long as possible and see what happened.

The first few laps went well, and the times were a big improvement on what I’d done in the morning session, due to improve track conditions and a better set-up. I came into the pits about 15 minutes into the session just to check the lap times and make sure the tyres were at the right pressure and make a couple of adjustments to the front of the bike as it was a little unstable on the brakes.

Back on track for a few more laps and the bike was much more settled and was a lot easier to stop and turn when trail braking into some of the tighter turns on the course. It helped extensively at the hairpins, of which there are many at Magny Cours, along with numerous tightening turns. I was struggling for rear end grip so entered the pits to fit the new rear tyre.

With the new tyre fitted I had about ten minutes to put in a good lap and after half a circuit, and with the tyre scrubbed in, I latched onto the back of fellow Brit Adam Jenkinson and used him to tow me. All was looking great as I set my best sector times in the final two sections behind him but then as I started a new fast lap it all went bang, literally.

The bike suddenly began to slow and then totally locked up as I entered the first turn. I quickly grabbed the clutch and free-wheeled to the side of the track and lent the bike up against the tyre wall as I joined the marshals on their post. I trudged back to the pits, fairly pissed off to say the least, but I was cool enough to accept that it wasn’t the teams or my own fault and that we couldn’t have stopped the problem anyway.

Saturday - Second Practice

With the replacement engine fitted and re-mapped, we were ready to try n make some improvements and get further up the field on the second day of competition.

The engine wasn’t as strong as the previous one, making it a bit more difficult to get out of the turns as hard as I’d have liked, and it gave people the chance to get away from me, but it just helped me improve corner entry and mid turn speed and also enabled me to get on the throttle sooner, although twisting it harder took a while to adjust to. If I’d have dome it before it would have gotten me a few more air miles I’m sure!

We managed to get some decent lap times in towards the end of the session, and made a few more adjustments to help keep the bike settled on the early acceleration, and to help keep the spin minimal as I was powering on while the bike was still on its side.

Saturday - Second Qualifying

I really needed to get my head down for this session; it was going to be the last chance I got to improve my grid slot. The plan was simple, two or three laps on the old tyres before sticking in our final new set and really going for it.

I felt comfortable after my first few laps out and the bike seemed really smooth and controllable, and fast, which was key. I entered back into the pits right away and got the new tyre fitted to the rear of the bike.

I went for it from the opening lap on the new tyre and I just pushed that little bit harder at every turn, let the bike slide and skip when it wanted to, and basically just go for the, “it’s either pole or coming back in a van” mentality. I managed to go faster by a fair chunk, but lady luck didn’t help much and I didn’t improve on my grid slot. Bugger.

Sunday - Race

Once again I was starting from a slot on the grid which really didn’t make my job any easier, hey, why should I change things this far into the season? Ha-ha. Either way I had a plan, simply put, I AM going forwards!

From the start I was pushing and barging my way through the field and by the time we’d got onto the back straight I’d already leap-frogged most of the guys form the two rows in front of me! The slipstreaming down the back straight when your behind some 30-plus bikes is a totally extreme experience, and the extra speed you carry is amazing. Hitting the brakes it was a case of miss everyone around you and hope they attempt to do the same. Unlike last season, I didn’t have a Yamaha come flying past me totally locked up, and we all made it round the hairpin without and real problems. That was my biggest and only real worry!

From then on I got onto the tail of the group just ahead of me and we enjoyed some really close moments and exchanging of positions lap after lap. I managed to keep with the group until getting stuck behind a very unpredictable and sideways wildcard rider. It was impressive to watch him backing it in everywhere, but he was overtake, and once I was through I just tried to gap him, which I did.

After a few laps on my own I could feel him closing in, and with no-one close enough in front of me, I just aimed on being consistent and not allowing the guys behind me to get through.

With a few laps to go I noticed that I was beginning to rapidly catch the bike ahead of me, that being Dan Sutter. I desperately wanted to catch and pass Dan, but despite closing in by a massive amount of time each lap, I couldn’t quite get close enough to mount an attack, but fortunately, I didn’t get passed either, and was happy to come home safe and with a decent result.

After a few celebratory wheelies, and no burnouts (for a change), that was it, season over for 2007. It was a great year for myself and the MIST team and I really enjoyed the challenges I faced throughout the season, and the places I got to race and the people I got to race against, it was an mind-blowing year for me.

A huge thanks go to everyone involved with the team throughout the year:

• MIST Suzuki Racing – Mike Edwards for being inspirational and a cracking manager for the second year running (not even financial ruin can stop us now boss!)
• GPR Stabilizer – Jeff Norman & Co, for the best dampers and moral support
• Steve Jordan Motorcycles – Steve & Sarah for everything you done this year, suspension and race kit was fantastic
• MotorbikesToday.com – Simon & Laura for the photos and laughs
• Louise Cain & Frank Duggan for being great friends and supporters
• Alan & Ron for always being there
• Graham for looking after “Shrimpy Racing” while we were away
• All my friends and supporters who came throughout the year
• Chloe for putting up with all my antics throughout the season
• And a huge thanks to Mum, Dad, Lewis & Samantha, you guys really are the backbone of my racing, I couldn’t do it without you and can’t thank you enough for what you all done and gave up for me

Cheers guys, and see you all in 2008!

Matt Bond, 28/09/07 - 30/09/07
FIM European Superstock 1000 Cup
Round 10

Friday - First Practice

First thing about the track is that its fast, very fast in-fact, with some high speed sweepers but also some dead slow technical, twisty bits, and also the surface was fairly new, so still a little bit slippery. The track was covered in dirt n muck form where the circuit vehicles had been finishing off the track preparation, and on certain parts of the track mid turn grip was close to non-existent.

We worked on getting a good base setting and getting the gearing right ready for the first qualifying later in the day. A few tweaks to the front of the bike to help it enter the turns faster and maintain corner speed, something that was made harder by the track conditions. I was having a few problems with the bike cutting out coming out of a few of the turns. A problem we later fixed after a few hours of fiddling with various wires by Mike and my old man!

Friday - First Qualifying

We started the session on a new front and old rear tyre, which we were planning to change mid session, just to try and get some faster times. I stuck in a few laps that were much improved on the morning session, thanks to grabbing a few tows from some of the quicker guys that were ahead of me.

We put the new tyre in for the last half of the session but it lasted all of two laps before it started to spin up and break traction in places where it really shouldn’t have been spinning up. I was getting thrown out of the seat all over the place and it was a little bit scary to say the least. I did improve my time but it was very marginal and didn’t put me any further up the grid, despite my best efforts.

Saturday - Second Practice

With the problems from the previous day sorted, and the bike remapped and run on the dyno, the team and I were happy and hopeful of a further improvement was to come on the second day. The bike was feeling much more responsive now than on the previous day, and it made the bike easier to ride also. The fact that it wouldn’t try to chuck you over the bars mid-turn was a big relief to, the team had done their job well!

Instant improvements in lap time helped boost my confidence, and a few more minor adjustments helped improve the bike, and make the spin from the rear end more controllable, consistent and predictable. This again helped inspire more confidence inside me. The gap to the top guys was closing down once again, and the entire field was bunching up by now, making a one tenth improvement in lap time an equal to two or three places on the time sheets!

Saturday - Second Qualifying

With the session being so short I stuck another new front and old rear combination onto the bike, but planned to do only two or three laps to get up to speed before going for a few fast laps.

The plan went well and to plan and I was able to get some good tows from some of the fast guys in the few laps that I got to push hard. Again I took a big chunk of time out from my previous best, as did most of my competitors, so although I didn’t move up the grid much, I closed in on the top of the field. A second covering 18 riders! I was a little gutted not to be higher up, but at least I was getting closer!

Sunday - Race

Despite the relatively low grid position I was pretty certain that I could make in-roads towards the front half of the field and was confident that I would make big improvements throughout the race.

I got off the line really well and forced my way into the first turn, making a fair few places in the process. I kept tucked behind a row of riders down the back straight and as we hit the brakes I went round the outside of them as it was the only space I could find, but it played into my hands as I managed to get by another three entering the following hairpin.

I then latched onto the back of Greg Guildenhuys on the Pedercini Ducati, and followed him through the end of the lap, narrowly avoiding a cruising Barry Burrell on the home straight entering the flat out first turn. I got a better run than Greg on the exit but couldn’t make the most of it, and for the next few laps we began closing in on the group of riders in front of us. I was beginning to get a bit frustrated behind Greg and then just as I was about to make a and move on him he suffered a big high-side right in front of me and took a big hit as he fell. I narrowly avoided his spinning body and sliding 1098, but made it through.

Unfortunately the time it cost let the group ahead get away, and my brakes began to fade, making it harder and harder for me to keep pace and also slow enough entering some of the slower turns. I hung on as much as I could but struggling to stop I lost a few places on the final laps, a bitter disappointment but I was still pleased to come home just outside the top 20, enjoying one of my better rides in the process.