Mike Edwards, 05/05/06 – 06/05/06
European SuperStock 600 Championship
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.