Testing

Matt Bond, 10/11/06 - 12/11/06
Racedays.net

After the final round of the European Superstock 600 series at Magny Cours I flew back home for a few weeks rest before Mike & Gerry Bryce of Racedays.net organised for myself to go out to the Spanish circuit of Jerez for a test on a Superstock specification GSXR1000. Now bear in mind I’d never been to the track before, the bike was suspension guru Steve Jordan’s pride and joy (he sold his Nissan Skyline to afford it) and I was to “take it easy”, everything should have been a simple ride round, get used to the speed of a thousand and get by without too many incidents, well, yes… kind of.

We arrived at the circuit on day one, and knowing I wasn’t going to be riding, I decided to go for a training run around the outside of the circuit. Probably a bad idea with me being full of cold and it being midday. Anyway off I went at a normal running pace and about halfway round I realised just how long it was going to take me and just how big the hills lining the track are, bloody massive if you must know! I returned to the pits feeling like I’d been shoved in an oven for the last two hours at gas mark 7 and thinking that I was never going to be doing that again for a while. Anyway, back on track everyone was pootling around whilst I enjoyed the spectacle of Mr. Leon “Loon” Haslam and Jeremy McWilliams, roast the nuts off their 750’s along with Iain MacPherson doing his equal best to keep pace. All three were, as ever, phenomenally fast. Sitting back in the pits talking to the three stars was a good laugh all day, and I’m glad to say everyone went home safe and sound, ready for a good meal and drink that evening.

Day two and I finally jumped on board a bike, albeit Sarah Jordan’s marvelous ThunderBike. I have to admit that was probably the most fun bike I have ridden in ages! It was so light and nimble and had enough torque to rip Arnie’s arms from their sockets let alone my scrawny sticks! It was amazing the lean angles you could get were simply unbelievable. But then came the proper machine. Steve’s meticulously prepared GSXR1000. I was just edging towards it when I remembered Mike and my old man’s last words “Just don’t go binning it” and looking into Steve’s eyes as I rolled out from the pits I knew he was as nervous as me. No surprise really, would you let a nineteen year old hooligan jump aboard your favourite ride?

Within about half a lap I thought “Stuff it, lets open this thing up, she can’t be that fast”… Oh hell was I wrong! Out of the last turn I nailed it and nearly went straight over the rear! It wheelied through every gear change, it was awesome! I then started working on hitting the lines around the track and putting into practice everything I had learnt from MIST Suzuki and the Racedays instructors from the 2006 season. Within four laps I was beginning to really enjoy myself, maybe a bit too much as down the pit straight I changed down to fifth as I entered the first turn and then… Oh shit, I can’t change anymore! That gravel trap looks appealing right now. Wait I’m ok, I saved it, phew. I managed to keep it out of the gravel and on the black stuff. I toured back to the pits and gingerly passed the bike back to Steve, saying “Sorry mate, it just… blah… blah… blah”. Thankfully only a bolt had come loose, so no harm done. Later in the day I got another chance to jump on board the bike, and it began to feel smooth and tractable, but still a damn sight faster than my 600! I just kept putting the laps in until the fuel light came on and then returned to the pits with a huge beaming smile across my stupidly happy face. And to top it off, I went faster than Steve!

Day three and again I didn’t do much but got a third ride on board Steve’s machine and I just kept on riding round, speeding up bit by bit throughout the session. Despite a dodgy front tyre I still managed to improve once more and although not being timed I did catch and stick with Malcolm Ashley (runs in BSB Privateers Cup) and his times were a lot faster than what I had been running, so maybe I snuck in a faster time than Steve but he was, on paper at least, faster by about 0.3 seconds, bloody old guy. I’ll get you next time boss!

Really all I can say is I learnt a lot more than I thought I would from under an hour on board the bike. I found that the bigger bike suits my size and riding style a lot better than the 600. I found the machine a lot easier to ride, and once I’ve mastered the controlling of the wheelies I’m sure I will be fine. I just really want to race one in 2007!

Huge thanks and praise goes out to Gerry at Racedays.net, these guys are the dog’s danglies when it comes to organisation, track time, service and instruction. Honestly doubt you’ll find anyone worldwide who does it better than these guys. I can’t thank them enough for what they have done for me. The instruction has brought me on so much as a rider and the amount of track time I have had with them is far superior to anywhere in the UK.

Big thank you to the following folks:

• Gerry Bryce & the crew @ Racedays.net
• MIST Suzuki Racing (Cheers Mike)
• Steve & Sarah Jordan for use of the bikes and looking after me all weekend
• Hotel Le Ceuva (Sorry I left the room in a mess)
• Leon & Ollie Haslam
• Jeremy McWilliams
• Iain MacPherson
• All the people on the Racedays trip & academy for making it memorable

Cheers guys!

Matt Bond, 25/07/06

Summary

We finally managed to book ourselves some much needed testing time on the Brands Hatch GP circuit, and I for one, was going to make the most of it and get the bike and myself ready for the upcoming round.

The first session saw us take a few laps behind a travelling marshal before they “released the hounds” so to speak. Instantly I could feel the bike moving and sliding a lot, due to the tyres still being on from the Brno round a few days prior to this test. Never the less I got stuck in and just put into practice a few of boss man Mike’s ideas and began making a catalogue of reference points in my head. I began to adjust these as the session wore on and just as I was getting into a decent rhythm of running the points further and further one of the track day heroes decided to throw his wonderful Ducati 998 down the tarmac and cause a premature end to the session.

Session two went a lot more smoothly as we began to build up the pace, and with the adjusted gearing now on the bike, it seemed a lot more ride able. I began to build up the pace and after catching and passing fellow Euro Stock 600 rider Mads Odin Hodt; I was feeling quite confident and fairly quick too. Once again the session was bought to a premature end thanks to another bike heading into the kitty litter, but I wasn’t too fussed as id began to work my references really well and they’d begun to string together nicely.

For session three we decided a new set of tyres was in order, after a fair few big front and rear end slides towards the end of the second session. They felt so much better after riding on what was effectively completely shot rubber at the start of the day. With the new Pirelli’s working well I got my head down and began to push into every turn that little bit harder and accelerate that little bit sooner and more aggressively. It was going well until I caught a whole gaggle of track day riders and rather than risk it I just picked them off one or two at a time, giving them all plenty of room. Well, didn’t want to get tangled up or scare them did I, would I do a thing like that, with my reputation? Once again the session was ended early as yet another bike lost adhesion, and yet again we trundled back to the pits passing a very unhappy rider on the edge of the circuit.

Back on track after lunch for session number four and I got in a number of decent, fast and clear laps, despite Mads trying to tail me, I was still able to get myself free, without showing him too much ion the way of lines, braking points, etc. Thanks to advice from Mike, I was well aware of what would happen if he did get on my tail. The rest of the session seemed to fly by, right until, you guessed it, another rider decided to face plant into the wonderful Kent scenery. Maybe I was missing something, were they giving away prizes for the days best dismount?

After the fourth crash in as many sessions we (and by we I mean the entire group!) got a severe talking to from the clerk of the course, who threatened to put a travelling marshal out on track with us. It seemed to work as no-one jumped ship for the rest of the day. Now why couldn’t they have said all that before lunch? Anyways the session was really uneven; I’d get a few laps clear and then get completely stuffed as I tried to get through a group of five or six riders and then I’d get a few more clear laps and then hit more traffic. I didn’t really get to string anything together and the session was kind of wasted, although I was able to test a few overtaking places thanks to catching the groups in roughly the right places.

Session number five was the fastest and smoothest session of the entire day. Everything clicked into place perfectly and when it came to traffic I was through without incident every time. I was really able to push my reference points, and began to ride the bike hard. I felt at ease as well and was really relaxed and just found myself able to get from point to point, with the bike at full speed, with no problems whatsoever. It was great to be as one with the machine. Even though the bike was out of line at various points around the circuit as I either backed it into Druids or spun it up out of Sheene curve, I never felt out of control and damn was I having fun out there! Especially memorable was doing three bikes in a row on the brakes entering Hawthorne’s, don’t think any of them saw that coming! And we got a full 20 minutes on track thanks to no-one dumping it! Bonus!

The final session was spent just bedding in some brake pads ready for the meeting, and I also used it just to make double sure of where al my reference points were. After a few laps I pulled back into the pits and called it a day. Nothing else needed to be done and I was happy with the set up. Confidence is high ready for the round in a few weeks time. Fingers crossed it’s a good one!

Matt Bond, 08/07/06 - 09/07/06
MRO SuperSport 600 Championship
Round 6

Despite usually competing in the European Superstock 600 Championship, Matt took the opportunity to compete at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire, in the highly competitive MRO SuperSport 600 series.

Despite running a relatively low specification machine compared too many of his fellow competitors in the class, Matt was returning to run in the UK for only the second time this season and was using the meeting as testing time, to help prepare his MIST Suzuki for the upcoming round of the European series, which will be held at the Czech circuit of Brno.

Saturday - Qualifying

A steady start in both qualifying sessions suffering with a few minor suspension problems which were quickly resolved by Ohlins specialist Steve Jordan led to a time good enough to earn 21st place on the grid for the opening “Super Pole” race of the afternoon.

Saturday - SuperPole Race

After a respectable start and despite opting to back out of the melee in the first turn, Matt ended the opening lap inside the top 20. For the next few laps he settled into a consistent rhythm and made good progress forward through the field, despite having to take avoiding action to miss a falling Pat Sheridan. On the final lap of the race Bond managed to pass another rider and took a respectable 16th place finish, five places forward from where he had started.

Sunday - Race 1

For Sunday Matt was in a more confident mood, and with further adjustments made to his GSXR600 K6 Suzuki was focused on improving his lap times and gaining further feedback from the machine to help further the ever continuing development process. The opening race began well withe another fast start and was already battling into the top 20 and, after avoiding a rapidly slowing Darren Whymark, exited the opening bend in 19th place.

Bond instantly became involved in a five bike battle although he struggled to keep pace on the straights, where his bike was significantly down on top speed against the tuned competition, he more than made up for it in the turns and was enjoying one of his best rides this season. By mid race Matt had become stuck behind Simon Sinnott and struggled to get past the Honda rider. Two laps later however and Bond made a stunning manoeuvre, forcing his way around the outside of the man in front and instantly improved his lap times and began to close on the group of riders just ahead. Despite his best efforts, time ran out for the teenager, who crossed the finish line in 18th place, but with an ever improving lap time Bond was happy with the outcome.

Sunday - Race 2

The final race came to the line and a flying start, the best he had managed all weekend and was instantly inside the top 16 by the end of the first lap. Being involved in a battle with four other riders forced Bond to concentrate hard and it showed as the Suffolk rider put in his best lap times of the weekend. Lap after lap he improved and it was entering the last lap where Bond showed his true class. After losing a place on the main straight Bond made a fantastic out braking manoeuvre to move ahead of Jonathan Wadie and then of the crowd thrilling mountain section Bond literally jumped past Pat Sheridan, to the joy of his MIST Suzuki team boss Mike Edwards. Bond held his position forcefully and crossed the line in 14th place, his best result of the meeting. A jubilant Bond returned to the pits with head held high, knowing that the work of not only himself but also the MIST Suzuki team, will put them in good position for the upcoming Brno round.

Conclusion

Matt Bond would like to thank all the sponsors and supporters and hopes that a good result at Brno will be returned for the continued effort of everyone in the team.