A new blog post! Hopefully, the first of a few this year.
Personally, life has been a little mixed, hence the lack of new content here, but I've been doing bike related stuff when I have the time and fitness.
Clearly, in the meantime my camera has had some use, and now, I've learned how to use the flash to make the results a little better. Thanks to Grays of Westminster, the best Nikon dealer in England, and my buddy Angus Thompson, who have given me lots of invaluable advice.
Back in March, I rode Jerez - an incredible experience. I took the red 749R and the 999RS - more of that later - we've got some BSB content that won't wait. But before that - oh, SO pretty!
If you successfully got past that...
Last year, I was lucky enough to get to meet some of the Ducati Tri-Options Cup riders (one of the BSB support races) and got to know the JHP Penso rider Darren Fry pretty well.
He mentioned that he might be putting a team together for this year in the Tri-Options Cup. As we know, plans change, and Darren got together with another paddock regular to form FS-3 Racing. They moved straight to BSB Superbikes, buying a bike and literally truckloads of spares from Paul Bird Motorsport, who had announced a move to Ducatis for this year. This is a little off-focus for my blog, but bear with me - it's a Kawasaki. I was a little 'eugh, green', but I rode the 2016 model at Jerez and was really impressed. And it's not green, it's black, so it's a little easier on the eye.
Following a team from startup is an unusual opportunity. Most teams in the paddock progress through the junior classes and arrive at the premier class as a complete package. Although Darren has race experience and Nigel has sponsored riders before, FS-3 has been able to come straight into the premier class by working with established, full-time personnel. Some of the team have been in the BSB and WSB paddocks for longer than I've been riding (and they wear the years well :D). It's not often publicised, but many mechanics in national race series give up their personal time to help teams - they're not paid. These guys should get our eternal thanks for enabling teams to get to the grid and give us exciting, world class racing. Back to the subject. FS-3 has used the depth of experience these guys have to build the bike and learn about it's operation and maintenance. They've invested in premises and have the facilities to prepare for each round fully.
Before the first race, the team still had no rider signed and had Luke Quigley on board, testing at Silverstone and Donington. I was able to get up to Silverstone and saw the bike running for the first time in it's new colours. I've spent time with BSB teams and have seen how they evolve from a collection of individuals into a cohesive unit, with each member knowing their place. Watching FS-3 the first time the bike ran demonstrated the members' professionalism and experience and provided proof that the decision to hire the core members of the team was correct. Each individual knew what they were expected to do and did it without fuss. They also respected their team mates jobs and left them to get on with it - no drama.
Luke Quigley on the ZX10:
Over the years, PBM have forged strong links with Kawasaki and the bike is extremely well developed. It has as many custom parts as the Ducatis and many that FS-3 don't want sharing, so I've had to dial back on some of the detail I'm afraid.
PBM ran Shakey Byrne and Stuart Easton last year, with Byrne finishing second in the championship and winning six races and Easton winning at Oulton, so whoever rode it (we don't know), the bike has real pedigree.
What's noticeable straight away is the massive, custom swing arm, developed by PBM. It's a lot deeper than standard and is wider than the stock item, but it's beautifully made with a channel for the exhaust.
The bike has a full kit wiring loom and the BSB standard ECU - no traction control and no anti-wheelie control. I'm not convinced it reduces cost - some teams are forced to provide turn-by-turn throttle mapping for each circuit to make up for the lack of TC, but what do I know.
The bike also has a torsion bar to control lateral flex in the chassis. The amount of flex can be varied to suit the tracks characteristics. The detail is incredible.
The rider: Billy McConnell
Where to start? Billy is a 29 year old Australian racer with a wealth of experience. I'm sure you'll know better than me that he's been in BSB in Supersports and Superbikes for twelve years. He's got a wealth of racing and setup experience, winning the British Supersports Championship for Smiths Racing on a Triumph in 2014.
Last year, he rode for Smiths in the Superbike team, riding a BMW S1000RR and tested at Silverstone for Anvil Yamaha before finally signing for FS-3 before the first round at Silverstone in April.
He's got an Australian sense of humour. When he's in his work suit, he's focussed and professional. When he's not, he's a proper good bloke!
I'm looking forward to following Billy and the team this year.
Enough of horrible green. Back to red.
For MotoRapido, their ex-WSB bike (ridden in 2014 by Chas Davies) has a new rider: Danny Buchan. Turns out, I met Danny a few years ago when he was in British Superstocks with Bournemouth Kawasaki on a ZX10. He was looked after by a good buddy, Dave (Jack'O) Jackson.
Google Danny Buchan and you'll find that he's from Essex and that he's tall. To me, he's really tall. He's the real deal, a properly professional, approachable and genuine guy.
Talking to the team this weekend, they told me that he can appreciate a 0.25mm rear pre-load adjustment - incredible. BTW, to get to that granularity, you take a spring, heat it to it's operating temperature of 70 degrees so that it's length is correct, then measure it's unloaded length, install it on the shock and make your adjustment. Makes me messing around with a couple of C-spanners look very amateur! Yeeaaah, looks like a couple of mm. That'll do...
BTW, the Ohlins tech is in that pic talking to Danny.
Over the winter, the team has been busy developing the bike. Running a works Ducati isn't cheap. Racing it at this level is another world and despite the huge commitment by sponsors, the team has to work with a budget that's a little more limited than the Corse WSB team.
To reduce the impact of an off, the team put many man-hours into the loom, taking a one-piece loom and splitting it into sections. The factory loom must be replaced in it's entirety if one part is damaged.
Apart from the horrendous cost of carrying several spare factory looms, it takes hours to replace one if even just one connector is damaged. The cover here on the headstock houses the junction box and is custom made for this bike.
The exhaust made an appearance late last year at Brands and helped John Hopkins take the teams first podium. It's entirely hand made from titanium. If you know titanium (and I do from bicycle frame manufacturing), you'll know that it comes in sheets, not tubes, so each hand welded section here starts life as a flat sheet before being cut, rolled into a short tube and welded to it's neighbour. It takes 90 hours to make the pipes and another 30 for the cans. If you want 200bhp out of your 1199R, these are what you need! They're made here in England at Storm Performance - nice people - give them a like at https://www.facebook.com/spfducati/.
Personally, life has been a little mixed, hence the lack of new content here, but I've been doing bike related stuff when I have the time and fitness.
Clearly, in the meantime my camera has had some use, and now, I've learned how to use the flash to make the results a little better. Thanks to Grays of Westminster, the best Nikon dealer in England, and my buddy Angus Thompson, who have given me lots of invaluable advice.
Back in March, I rode Jerez - an incredible experience. I took the red 749R and the 999RS - more of that later - we've got some BSB content that won't wait. But before that - oh, SO pretty!
If you successfully got past that...
Last year, I was lucky enough to get to meet some of the Ducati Tri-Options Cup riders (one of the BSB support races) and got to know the JHP Penso rider Darren Fry pretty well.
He mentioned that he might be putting a team together for this year in the Tri-Options Cup. As we know, plans change, and Darren got together with another paddock regular to form FS-3 Racing. They moved straight to BSB Superbikes, buying a bike and literally truckloads of spares from Paul Bird Motorsport, who had announced a move to Ducatis for this year. This is a little off-focus for my blog, but bear with me - it's a Kawasaki. I was a little 'eugh, green', but I rode the 2016 model at Jerez and was really impressed. And it's not green, it's black, so it's a little easier on the eye.
Following a team from startup is an unusual opportunity. Most teams in the paddock progress through the junior classes and arrive at the premier class as a complete package. Although Darren has race experience and Nigel has sponsored riders before, FS-3 has been able to come straight into the premier class by working with established, full-time personnel. Some of the team have been in the BSB and WSB paddocks for longer than I've been riding (and they wear the years well :D). It's not often publicised, but many mechanics in national race series give up their personal time to help teams - they're not paid. These guys should get our eternal thanks for enabling teams to get to the grid and give us exciting, world class racing. Back to the subject. FS-3 has used the depth of experience these guys have to build the bike and learn about it's operation and maintenance. They've invested in premises and have the facilities to prepare for each round fully.
Before the first race, the team still had no rider signed and had Luke Quigley on board, testing at Silverstone and Donington. I was able to get up to Silverstone and saw the bike running for the first time in it's new colours. I've spent time with BSB teams and have seen how they evolve from a collection of individuals into a cohesive unit, with each member knowing their place. Watching FS-3 the first time the bike ran demonstrated the members' professionalism and experience and provided proof that the decision to hire the core members of the team was correct. Each individual knew what they were expected to do and did it without fuss. They also respected their team mates jobs and left them to get on with it - no drama.Luke Quigley on the ZX10:
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The bike. 2015 Kawasaki ZX10
Over the years, PBM have forged strong links with Kawasaki and the bike is extremely well developed. It has as many custom parts as the Ducatis and many that FS-3 don't want sharing, so I've had to dial back on some of the detail I'm afraid.PBM ran Shakey Byrne and Stuart Easton last year, with Byrne finishing second in the championship and winning six races and Easton winning at Oulton, so whoever rode it (we don't know), the bike has real pedigree.
What's noticeable straight away is the massive, custom swing arm, developed by PBM. It's a lot deeper than standard and is wider than the stock item, but it's beautifully made with a channel for the exhaust.
The bike also has a torsion bar to control lateral flex in the chassis. The amount of flex can be varied to suit the tracks characteristics. The detail is incredible.
The rider: Billy McConnell
Where to start? Billy is a 29 year old Australian racer with a wealth of experience. I'm sure you'll know better than me that he's been in BSB in Supersports and Superbikes for twelve years. He's got a wealth of racing and setup experience, winning the British Supersports Championship for Smiths Racing on a Triumph in 2014.Last year, he rode for Smiths in the Superbike team, riding a BMW S1000RR and tested at Silverstone for Anvil Yamaha before finally signing for FS-3 before the first round at Silverstone in April.
He's got an Australian sense of humour. When he's in his work suit, he's focussed and professional. When he's not, he's a proper good bloke!I'm looking forward to following Billy and the team this year.
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that's better - less green...
Enough of horrible green. Back to red.
For MotoRapido, their ex-WSB bike (ridden in 2014 by Chas Davies) has a new rider: Danny Buchan. Turns out, I met Danny a few years ago when he was in British Superstocks with Bournemouth Kawasaki on a ZX10. He was looked after by a good buddy, Dave (Jack'O) Jackson.Google Danny Buchan and you'll find that he's from Essex and that he's tall. To me, he's really tall. He's the real deal, a properly professional, approachable and genuine guy.
Talking to the team this weekend, they told me that he can appreciate a 0.25mm rear pre-load adjustment - incredible. BTW, to get to that granularity, you take a spring, heat it to it's operating temperature of 70 degrees so that it's length is correct, then measure it's unloaded length, install it on the shock and make your adjustment. Makes me messing around with a couple of C-spanners look very amateur! Yeeaaah, looks like a couple of mm. That'll do...
BTW, the Ohlins tech is in that pic talking to Danny.
To reduce the impact of an off, the team put many man-hours into the loom, taking a one-piece loom and splitting it into sections. The factory loom must be replaced in it's entirety if one part is damaged.
Apart from the horrendous cost of carrying several spare factory looms, it takes hours to replace one if even just one connector is damaged. The cover here on the headstock houses the junction box and is custom made for this bike.
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The bike is immaculate and stunning as always. It never fails to impress.
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On race day at Brands, Danny had massive off in race 1, smashing his head and the bike. He was OK, and I was glad to see him straight out of medical control looking fit and ready for the second race. Mixed feelings back in the box tho: the team worked so hard to get the bike ready for race 2, even before they knew that Danny would be passed fit. They moved from job to job like a train - just relentless. Quiet and professional. Just incredible. At times like that, you just have to stay out of the way and let the guys get on with the job. There was so much to do: shock, forks, callipers, (I think) the top yoke, radiator, tank and 'all the usual sticky out bits'. At one point, they were looking at the swingarm for structural damage. It's not good to take pictures of damaged parts - anyone who's had their pride and joy in the gravel knows what it looks like, and I have, so I don't - but I found the gawkers really difficult to get over. The team were in and out to the truck for parts every few minutes so they had to keep the door open and these bizarre people would just appear in the garage and grin inanely and point at the smashed bike. Just why?? F'kin' idiots.
Anyway, enough of that. Comparing the pics of the bike I took in the morning and those I took just before race two, it's almost impossible to tell them apart. The job was so thorough. And because it's the right time to bring this up, how does the team ensure that the 'new' bike is set up in the right way for the rider? During pre-season testing and the practice sessions, everything is measured and recorded. Some teams have a jig for the riders contact points - the bars and seat position - so that the rider can get straight onto the new bike and feel at home. I saw Danny do just that in the garage - he jumped on the rebuilt bike, reached for the bars and got off again - nothing needed adjustment.
I was in a real mess watching Danny and Billy swapping track position in race 2 - really rooting for Danny to get the Ducati back up there for the team, and really wanting Billy to get a good result for the guys! FFS! In the end tho, Danny got the better of Billy. But that's the second time out for the FS-3 bike, so maybe it won't always end like that!
Jakob Smrz
Finally, really good to meet up with Kuba Smrz again. He's riding for Smiths this year on a BMW and liking it! |  |  |
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Not so great that he had a bad off on Saturday and had the bike land on him. I wish him all the best for a quick and full recovery - he's a great asset to the paddock.
And to meet Peter Hickman from the GB Moto team. Incredibly nice guy - takes the time to post on the Trackday Addicts group on Facebook. He's racing the IoM and 'short circuits' too. Read more about him here: http://www.gbmoto.com/peter-hickman.html and give him a like on FB.
Oh, and I nearly forgot - Gio Piras who has been with MotoRapido for a few years now has joined the Suzuki MotoGp team! Great for him and proof that the team is doing the right thing.
Coming soon to a blog near you! Team Heroes Racing - veterans take to the track, Jezza does Jerez (see what I did there :)) and I found the pictures from Ferrari Clienti Corse - you HAVE to see them!
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