AUGUST 27, 2008 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS ❘ 3
www.motorcyclenews.com Artist’s impression of the Super Tenere
Yours for a million: the Rollie Free Vincent
Famous Vincent for sale – at £1 million! Herb Harris: owns the bike By Phillip Tooth
Stelvio beats BMW for flair down the BMW route of building a bike with basic offroad ability. The Strada Aperta will be powered by the very latest air-cooled 1100DS engine and is expected to go on sale next year.
APRILIA PEGASO 1200
Status: Due on sale in 2010 Aprilia missed the mark with Triumph: strongest challenge to BMW
the Caponord – it was a merely average bike in a class of exceptional machinery. The new 1200cc V90 V-twin engine will be used to power a new machine, which will probably be based largely on the Shiver/Dorsoduro platform. Expect to see it at the 2009 Milan show ready for sale in 2010.
KTM ADVENTURE 1190
Status: Due on sale in 2009 Central Europe’s other big manufacturer offers the sportier and faster Adventure 990. The model will get a boost next year with the RC8’s 1190 engine, which will give the Paris-Dakar style machine more power and torque.
THE world’s most famous bike has gone up for sale – at the world’s highest ever price for a motorcycle. The Vincent famously ridden by Rollie Free to a 150mph world land speed record at Bonneville 60 years ago is up for grabs – at a cool £1 million. The Black Shadow is owned by American Herb Harris, who also owns the copyright to the famous picture of the bike in action (see
THE LEGEND OF THE ROLLIE FREE VINCENT
AT just before 8am on the morning of Monday, September 13, 1948, Rollie Free laid stretched-out on a stripped-down Vincent Black Shadow. He was wearing nothing more than a bathing suit, a ‘pudding basin’ crash hat and slip-on beach shoes as he
below). He said: “Many people consider it to be the most famous motorcycle in the world, and the picture of Rollie Free in his bathing suit streaking across Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the all-time great motorcycle photographs. “I heard the bike was for sale in 1996: I paid a six-figure sum for it and then put it back to the condition it was in when it ran at Bonneville.” Harris says he is looking for a buyer who will “give it the respect it deserves” and show it in public so that others can enjoy seeing it. Harris bought the bike from Mike and Margaret Achorn in 1964. They had gone to look at a Honda 125 for sale, but saw the nonrunner Vincent and bought it. They took the Shadow to Marty Dickerson’s motorstreaked across the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He set an astonishing two-way average of 150.313mph, and went into the record books as the man who blitzed the American absolute motorcycle speed record. The previous record
cycle shop to get it fixed and he immediately recognised it. The bike was ridden on the street for a number of years before he put it away in the basement, along with the
‘Many people consider it the most famous motorcycle in the world’ HERB HARRIS, OWNER
the originals. The paintwork was not stripped for a concours job, but the wood block on the rear mudguard was replaced and new Mobil decals were made for the petrol tank. Harris is also selling two other famous Vincents – the supercharged Black Lightning built by Manchester dealer Reg Dearden, and the Marty Dickerson Class C Rapide that did 150mph at Bonneville in 1953.
Original race carburettors
MOST EXPENSIVE BIKES EVER
race carburettors. There it stayed for over 20 years. Harris returned it to the condition it was in when it ran 150.313mph at Bonneville. The straight-through pipes were missing, but he found a pair in Los Angeles he believes could have been
1933 SS100 Brough Superior: Sold this year at Bonhams for £166,500
had been set by HarleyDavidson rider Smokin’ Joe Petrali, whose speed of 136.183mph had stood for 11 years as the fastest ever achieved. Free had raced on board tracks in the 1920s and in long-distance road races, including
the first Daytona 200 to run on the beach course in 1937. He also drove in the Indianapolis 500. Rollie realised his regular riding gear of polo-neck jumper, baggy leather breeches and laceup boots must be causing drag – and he had seen his friend Ed Kretz strip to a pair of bath-
Honda RC173: The bike Mike Hailwood rode to victory in the 1966 World Championship series was
sold for £170,000 at Sotheby’s in 2001 Honda 250/4: Jim Redman’s 1964 TT machine was bid up to £325,000 at Bonham’s sale, Stafford last April – but failed to make its reserve!
ing trunks when he was going for the record at Daytona Beach. If he was going to break the 150mph mark, he knew he was going to have to do the same. So he stripped and put on a pair of tight bathing trunks and a pair of borrowed beach shoes that were two sizes too big.
AUGUST 27, 2008 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS ❘ 9
www.motorcyclenews.com
plan
BUELL 1125R PROTOTYPE – EXCLUSIVE PICTURES
KEVIN ASH
Erik Buell no idea the bike was going to be given to me and I was very moved when my wife Tish handed me the keys. “The reason I buy my bikes is because Harley-Davidson owns this company but that doesn’t mean there is an endless pot of cash. Quite the opposite. We run our own affairs over here, but the Harley-Davidson influence is strong and we have to legitimise our own existence.” One of the most recent examples of this is the fact that the 1125R entered production as a half-faired bike – Erik Buell had always seen it as a fully-faired bike for the previous 20 years. He said: “My vision was always a fully-faired bike but Harley-Davidson felt this was not in keeping with what they wanted Buell to be about so it was decided to make it half-faired.
Buell numbers and nuggets ■ Buell still has the first, second, fourth and fifth employees to be hired working at the factory ■ There are still just 195 employees at the factory ■ More than 100,000 Buell’s have been built ■ Buell started his out as a mechanic but he was also a road racer ■ He almost lost a leg after crashing a flattracker on a fire road in 1972 when he collided with a child on a dirt bike ■ Buell was employed as a chassis engineer at Harley long before the company bought into his.
THE MOST OUTSPOKEN MAN IN MOTORCYCLING
What do Richard Brunstrom and a ranting pedestrian have in common? Knee-jerk reactions
Erik Buell’s first attempt at a building fuel-in-the-frame bike dates back over 20 years THIS is the world’s first glimpse of the two bikes that spawned the Buell 1125R and – they date back to 1987 when the concept was first made into metal reality. Erik Buell, who granted us special access to the pictures, said: “The first pictures [above and right] are of the first bike which was There’s no conventional shock, instead it’s under the bike conceived in the spring of Suzuki GSX-R stuff. This finished bodywork is in 1987 and built in 1988. It was engine was the predecessor storage, so the bike is naked. the original VR, and had an to the V-Rod, but was “The second pictures underslung pull shock and a dropped because the V-Rod rubber mounted motor since [below] show the next engine took precedence for version – scheduled to the first version of this motor H-D at that time. The bike did not have balancers. It was launch in 1998. What is in the project was shelved because pictures are a couple of mule refreshed in 1993 to use as a we could not use that bigger prototypes from about 1997 proof of concept vehicle to engine in a proper sportsbike which were in disguised initiate work on the next bodywork that used modified because of size and weight.” version, then put away. The
Almost complete: test mules from 11 years ago wearing modified Suzuki GSX-R plastics
A FEW weeks ago I was with Suzuki in Northampton taking pictures of the new DR125SM. A man accosted our photographer, berated him for pointing his flash towards the traffic, and babbled about how it was going to cause a crash. It was the kind of kneejerk reaction many people have to all sorts of situations: first they make a learned association, in this case a flash gun causing temporary blindness, then they assume consequences: a road accident. This kind of response is the preserve of the stupid as it involves no real thinking, like those word association games which we do for fun – tooth, gear, fashion, Kate Moss, drugs, guns, flash, blindness... Apply a little thought and you discover those associations come with provisos: a flash can blind, yes, but it has to be sufficiently powerful, and unless you’re only a couple of feet away and staring straight into it, a camera flash is nowhere near strong enough to have that effect. If all flashes blinded then you’d expect to hear rather more concern about forward-facing speed cameras – when this was pointed out to our angry pedestrian, his response was to ignore reason and say that yes, he’d written to the police about that too! What about the flash distracting drivers? Well yes, some of them did look briefly, but not as much as they did at two gorgeous
girls strutting their way towards the Tesco car park, or, ironically, our arm waving, upset pedestrian. So, a little thought and reason, no more, is all that’s needed to allay the fears of a reasonable person about the safety of taking photographs in traffic. Mr Angry was immune to it of course, he’d taken his stand and he was sticking to it, which is exactly how the proponents
‘This kind of reaction is the preserve of the stupid’ of speed cameras are responding. The reasoning is impeccable: if the aim is to improve road safety, and if speed is a major factor in six or seven per cent of accidents (the government’s own figures), then even if cameras are 100% successful in getting every driver in Britain to stay within limits,
the maximum effect you can ever expect is a reduction in accidents of six or seven percent. And that’s without throwing in factors like excessive speed in some situations being below the posted speed limit anyway, and the many other factors involved such as drink, fatigue, drugs and so on. Now we have more results proving the knee-jerk, speed-equals-death vacuosity of speed camera culture, as reported in last week’s MCN: in speed obsessed Richard Brunstrom’s North Wales, road deaths have doubled. In Durham where there is not one fixed speed camera, road deaths were down by 42%. Durham has even said that if it had installed cameras, as it has been under pressure to do, more deaths would have occurred. So, even a police force is stating that speed cameras kill. So let’s try that word association again: wellies, sheep, Wales, Brunstrom, kneejerk... Actually, that works better without the ‘knee’.
If a camera flash is so dangerous, what about Truvelos?
Tell us what you think www.motorcyclenews.com
AUGUST 27, 2008 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS ❘ 13
NEWS
www.motorcyclenews.com
£500 to take test as chaos threatens
BMW told dealers to replace immobilisers when bikes went in for service but it has now told them to warn customers of faults
BMW admits it has hit quality control issues
7,000 bikes sold with potential faults as rising sales leave firm struggling to uphold standards steve.farrell @motorcyclenews.com
T
HE quality of BMW motorcycles has suffered due to a massive boost in sales, the firm has admitted. The German bike maker, which has a strong reputation for reliability and finish, has failed to maintain standards while struggling to meet a rise in demand of more than 40%, according to bosses. About 7,000 bikes have been sold to UK customers with potentially faulty immobilisers, the firm announced last week. Models across the range are affected by the problem. Owners could be stranded because they are unable to start their bikes. The firm is also dealing with a second fault, affecting fuel pumps on the R1200GS. The fuel pump relay can fail, halting the supply to the engine, BMW said. Adrian Roderick, the firm’s UK general manager, said the two faults were just the latest problems to arise following a sales boost.
In both cases the firm has not recalled bikes or informed owners. Instead BMW dealers were told to replace faulty components when bikes were serviced. Roderick, right, blamed the problems on the firm’s struggle to build 15-20% more bikes each year for four years to meet the surge in demand. “We were growing so fast we were sort of tripping over ourselves,” he said. “We’re well over 40% up on four years ago. With any product, when you suddenly increase volumes quite quickly you are prone to things going adrift.” He put the sales boost down to “more sensible pricing” and the shedding of the firm’s image as an “eccentric or quirky choice”. He said Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman had given the brand a tremendous boost by choosing BMWs for their TV adventure series Long Way Round and Long Way Down. Hendrik von Kuenheim, the head of BMW’s motorcycle division, said: “We’re selling a lot more bikes so there are bound to be some
problems.” Von Kunheim said a troubleshooter had been appointed to report directly to him on quality to help resolve the issue. Roderick claimed the firm was now getting a grip on the problem with the help of the new appointment. He said progress could be chart-
‘Increasing production quickly risks things going adrift’ ADRIAN RODERICK ed through warranty costs. “As sales went up the warranty cost per bike went up slightly,” he admitted. “Now it’s dropping again.” The long-term aim is to
make it even lower than it was before the sales growth. Roderick said problems lay with parts sourced outside the company. Nick Leatherland, owner of a 2008 BMW F800 ST, said a riding holiday in Europe was ruined because the firm failed to tell him the bike’s immobiliser could be faulty. “I was in the middle of France when the immobiliser wouldn’t allow me to start the bike after I’d refuelled,” he said. After his bike was brought back to the UK, Leatherland was told by BMW that it had known of the fault and that “dealerships have been told to replace the component the next time a bike is in for a service”. Leatherland, 56, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, said: “That’s not good enough, is it? If they know there’s a fault they should do a recall, or at least let owners know so they can do something about it.” A BMW spokesman said dealers had now been told to contact customers and inform them of potential faults from September.
LEARNER riders are having to pay almost £500 to take their test due to a shortage of places. In the clamour to get a full licence before changes to the test from September 29, parts of the country have been left with no places available except for those pre-booked by rider training centres. And the centres are refusing to sell the places unless learners book lessons costing hundreds of pounds – whether they need them or not. Melanie Taylor, 41, from Dutton, Lancashire, failed her test on her emergency stop and found the only way she could book a retest without travelling hundreds of miles was by paying £495 instead of the usual £60. She said: “I spent hours trawling round and couldn’t get a test in the North West until I phoned Riverview Rider Training. They said they had them all prebooked and would only let me take one if I paid for two
Thirty super centres are due to replace 200 test locations
‘I could only get a test if I paid for two days’ rider training’ MELANIE TAYLOR days’ riding lessons.” Defending the policy, Riverview boss Wayne Taylor said:
“The tests that I’ve prebooked and prepaid for are for my instructors to work for. I sell training, not tests.” He said selling tests alone would mean taking work from his instructors. Learners were warned in July they would face chaos unless they passed by the end of September when 200 test centres are to be replaced by as few as 30 super centres.
56 ❘ MOTOR CYCLE NEWS AUGUST 27, 2008
SPORT BSB
Cadwell Park, Lincs / August 25, 2008 ROUND 9/12
RACE ONE Pos Rider
Race time
Top speed
Best lap
Grid
1
L Haslam, GB (Honda)
26:42.195
160.5
1:28.091
4
2
T Sykes, GB (Suzuki)
26:42.746 159.4
1:28.045
1
3
S Byrne, GB (Ducati)
26:51.014
159.8
1:28.510
3
4
L Camier, GB (Ducati)
26:54.176 160.2
1:28.546
5
5
C Crutchlow, GB (Honda)
27:01.165
159.4
1:28.146
2
6
M Rutter, GB (Ducati)
27:01.677 157.5
1:28.499
6
7
S Andrews, GB (Yamaha)
27:04.289
159.0
1:29.253
9
8
M Laverty, GB (Suzuki)
27:08.766 158.6
1:29.330
10
9
A Watanabe, Japan (Suzuki)
27:16.011
155.3
1:29.753
8
10
Gary Mason, GB (Honda) *
27:16.801 153.6
1:29.916
11
11
T Palmer, GB (Honda)
27:20.013
159.4
1:30.168
13
12
B McConnell, Australia
27:20.367 154.3
1:30.032
12
13
S Smart, GB (Kawasaki)
27:20.746
159.8
1:30.213
14
14
J Laverty, GB (Ducati) *
27:25.098 157.2
1:30.196
17
15
G Martin, GB (Honda)
27:24.159
156.8
1:30.165
16
16
C Burns, GB (MV Agusta) *
27:35.525 150.5
1:29.966
20
17
M Jessopp, GB (Honda) *
27:51.559
150.5
1:31.313
19
18
K Gilbertson, GB (Kawasaki) *
27:59.555 156.8
1:32.153
24
19
T Tunstall, GB (Honda) *
27:59.970
154.3
1:31.956
21
20
S Etheridge, Australia
28:00.097 151.1
1:32.178
22
21
L Morris, GB (Ducati) *
28:12.081
152.5
1:32.327
27
22
A Zanotti, GB (Honda)
+1 lap
151.1
1:33.405
25
DNF
M Howarth, GB (Honda) *
4 laps
140.1
1:34.471
26
DNF
K Harris, GB (Yamaha)
3 laps
153.6
1:29.337
7
DNF
D Johnson, Australia (Honda)
2 laps
151.5
1:31.438
18
DNF
S Easton, GB (Kawasaki)
2 laps
150.1
1:31.358
15
DNF
D Ellison, GB (Yamaha)
2 laps
144.6
1:33.501
23
Haslam has now won three races in a row
RACE TWO Pos Rider
Race time
Top speed
Best lap
Grid
1
L Haslam, GB (Honda)
22:11.771
160.2
1:27.835
4
2
T Sykes, GB (Suzuki)
22:12.312 160.2
1:28.039
1
3
S Byrne, GB (Ducati)
22:12.681
160.9
1:28.008
3
4
L Camier, GB (Ducati)
22:13.040 160.9
1:27.915
5
5
M Rutter, GB (Ducati)
22:28.327
157.9
1:28.806
6
6
S Andrews, GB (Yamaha)
22:35.229 159.0
1:29.214
9
7
A Watanabe, Japan (Suzuki)
22:38.949
154.3
1:29.592
8
8
S Smart, GB (Kawasaki)
22:39.146 156.1
1:29.299
14
9
M Laverty, GB (Suzuki)
22:40.320
157.9
1:29.701
10
10
K Harris, GB (Yamaha)
22:49.197 158.3
1:29.054
7
11
G Martin, GB (Honda)
22:49.336
157.5
1:30.357
16
12
T Palmer, GB (Honda)
22:50.702 158.6
1:30.367
13
13
C Crutchlow, GB (Honda)
22:50.760
159.8
1:28.330
2
14
S Easton, GB (Kawasaki)
22:51.436 156.8
1:30.597
15
15
J Laverty, GB (Ducati) *
22:52.967
157.5
1:30.590
17
16
D Johnson, Australia (Honda)
22:56.547 153.2
1:30.563
18
17
C Burns, GB (MV Agusta) *
22:59.069
149.8
1:30.865
20
18
M Jessopp, GB (Honda) *
23:10.943 151.5
1:31.341
19
19
T Tunstall, GB (Honda) *
23:18.910
155.3
1:31.999
21
20
S Etheridge, Australia
23:19.020 151.1
1:32.158
22
21
L Morris, GB (Ducati) *
23:21.250
152.9
1:32.431
26
22
A Zanotti, GB (Honda)
23:32.095 152.2
1:32.373
24
23
M Howarth, GB (Honda)
+1 lap
144.0
1:33.416
25
DNF
B McConnell, Australia
13 laps
152.5
1:29.582
DNF
G Mason, GB (Honda) *
0 laps
12 11
* Denotes privateer cup: 1 J Laverty 351pts, 2 Jessopp 240, 3 Mason 212.
BRITISH SUPERSPORT Results (14 laps – 30.52 miles): 1 S Plater (Yamaha) 21:20.357 – 85.81mph, 2 G Richards (Triumph), 3 J Webb (Honda), 4 H Kennaugh (Yamaha), 5 J Westmoreland (Honda), 6 P Young (Triumph), 7 R Frost (Triumph), 8 I Lowry (Suzuki), 9 C Martin (Kawasaki), 10 T Bridewell (Honda), 11 S Brogan (Honda), 12 J McGuinness (Honda), 13 J Dickinson (Yamaha), 14 D Cooper (Honda), 15 J Kennedy (Yamaha). Fastest lap: Webb 1:30.507 – 86.71mph. Championship positions after nine of 12 rounds: 1 Richards 177pts, 2 Kennaugh 140, 3 Lowry 128, 4 Westmoreland 91, 5 Brogan 85, 6 Martin 76, 7 Plater 70, 8 Webb 61, 9 Frost 52, 10 Hutchinson 42. DRY RACE
DRY/WET RACE
WET RACE
GROUND TEMP
HUMIDITY
AIR TEMP
Haslam’s first 2008 double win for Honda
DOUBLE RED
RESULTS
Leon continues his winning streak at Cadwell rob.hull @motorcyclenews.com
L
EON HASLAM racked up his third victory in as many races with a memorable double at Cadwell Park – his and HM Plant Honda’s first double of the year. And it came despite a crash while cresting the Mountain in practice that Haslam admitted had knocked his confidence on the Lincolnshire circuit. Haslam was sent tumbling on Saturday morning, just half an hour into the first BSB session of the weekend – and although he picked the stricken Fireblade up and rode back to the pits, an awkward landing left him nursing a battered and bruised neck and shoulder. “It’s not good having a big crash that early in the weekend, especially somewhere like the Mountain,” said Haslam. “I landed quite badly on my neck and shoulder, so I’m a bit sore. But it didn’t affect me in the race. “I’m over the moon to come here and score a double at my favourite race track. I knew I had the pace in the second race; once I got in front I dropped the speed back down and felt comfortable nobody could pass me.”
Haslam’s crash in practice wasn’t too dissimilar to that of Leon Camier’s a year ago. Landing at an angle after getting air underneath both wheels, Haslam was thrown over the handlebars of his Fireblade. The former Ducati man admitted he was trying to take the Mountain like he did on the twin, rather than adapting his style for the four-cylinder machine. “I tried to ride it like I used to on the Ducati,” Haslam said. “On the twin, you seem to be able to power up the hill with the bike leant over. It wouldn’t take off, so you could maintain your drive all the way over the top. “On Saturday morning I passed Simon Andrews’ Yamaha going up the Mountain on the inside. To keep the tighter line, I had to have the bike slightly on its side over the rise and I landed a bit like Leon Camier did last season – at an angle. It spat me straight off.” Haslam had physically and psychological recovered by Monday, and chased down on-form Tom Sykes in race one, trailing the Rizla Suzuki rider for the first 10 laps before making his move into Park – a passing point the three-time Cadwell Park BSB winner has had mixed success with before.
He said: “Passing there has come off for me in the past, but it’s cost me as well. I could have had a double here in 2005, but Greg Lavilla and I came together here in race one. “I know Tom tends to work the rear tyre a lot harder than I do, and by lap 10 it looked like his tyre was going off. He was running really
‘I’m over the moon to score a double at my favourite track’ LEON HASLAM deep into Park, but when he pulled off a tear-off I saw it as an opportunity. I had to come from a fair way back, but as soon as I hit the front I found it quite easy. Cadwell is a difficult place to follow someone like I did in that first race, because you can’t see the kerbs and it’s so easy to miss your apexes.” Haslam and his side of the HM Plant garage had to overcome some serious chatter issues over the weekend to score the win. Haslam’s crew chief Chris Pike told MCN: “We’ve found a few
chattering issues that seem to be specific just to this circuit. In warm-up we changed the footrests and handlebar position so Leon is riding more over the front of the bike, but the chassis is in a more neutral position to help with his braking.” The same chatter issues Haslam’s crew conquered cost team-mate Cal Crutchlow a potential podium in race one. Crutchlow was third, but fell back into the clutches of a trio of Ducatis including Shane Byrne and Leon Camier, but eventually held off Michael Rutter for fifth. Crutchlow crashed at Hall Bends in race two, when the engine casing of his Fireblade appeared to touch down on the kerb, but he remounted to finish 13th.
TITLE TABLE
BSB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Byrne Sykes Haslam Crutchlow Camier Rutter Ellison Andrews Laverty, M Palmer
Cadwell Park ROUND 9/12 GB GB GB GB GB GB GB GB GB GB
364 254 249 236 205 195 177 127 125 84
Leon Haslam put a smile on the faces of his Honda bosses with a impressive double win at Cadwell
WSB for Rizla? Maybe... RIZLA Suzuki boss Jack Valentine refused to rule out a potential move to WSB this weekend at Cadwell after another impressive weekend for Tom Sykes. Sykes took pole position in the first F1-style qualifying session in BSB, and transferred that into two second place finishes in the races. With Sykes’ incredible run of form spanning back to his double win at Oulton Park last month, Valentine told MCN there should be no reason why Rizla Suzuki couldn’t be a player in WSB. “Tom’s keen to carry on riding for us, but next year is totally up to our sponsors and Suzuki. We wouldn’t go to WSB unless we did it
properly and with a plan. The first year would be about getting dialled in and then you can go for it in the second year. But there is always a possibility of mak-
‘Tom Sykes and the team are good enough for WSB’ JACK VALENTINE, RIZLA SUZUKI BOSS
ing that move. Tom and the team are certainly good enough to go to WSB.” If we do stay in BSB with Tom and the same crew, the
only aim will be to win the championship,” added the former crew chief for exWSB champ Carl Fogarty. “Tom isn’t the sort of rider to jump ship,” he added. “I want to see him progress through the ranks at Suzuki – there is no reason why he couldn’t progress to one of the top WSB rides. But to do that he needs to take steps in the right direction and with the right team around him. I’ve spoken to him a lot about next year and I’m positive he’ll be with us in ’09.” Sykes said he hasn’t thought about next season – he’s concentrating on this year and moved 21 points clear of Cal Crutchlow in the race for second in the series.
Jack Valentine: won’t rule out a move to WSB for next season
AUGUST 27, 2008 MOTOR CYCLE NEWS ❘ 57
www.motorcyclenews.com
ROB HULL
PIT PASS
F1-style qualifying has added a new dimension for BSB fans WITH the current poor state of four-wheeled motorsport, there isn’t much I personally want to see being taken from car racing and introduced to the world of two wheels. But knockout phased qualifying, used currently in Formula One, is an exception. The new qualifying structure, tried for the first time last weekend at Cadwell, had received full support from teams, sponsors and riders when the idea was first suggested in a meeting at Snetterton back in June. So much so that instead of implementing it in 2009, the series organisers were encouraged to kick it off this year. And it proved to be a complete success, solely because it made for enthralling spectator viewing. The change to the ‘you’re either in or you’re out’ staged qualifying from the conventional 50-minute open circuit qualifying gives the paying BSB fan the incentive to make a weekend of it by turning up for the Saturday session. If you look at the qualifying standings from Cadwell in comparison to those from any of the eight previous rounds, you’ll notice there isn’t much difference in grid positions. But the new qualifying injects the competitive atmosphere that is rife in the paddock on race day, but seemed to be lacking during the rest of the weekend.
Byrne’s boss: ‘stay cool’ AIRWAVES Ducati Team Manager Colin Wright has called for calm amongst the ranks in fear of a repeat scenario of 2006, when the team lost a big points advantage in the championship with Greg Lavilla. This weekend at Cadwell Park saw Shane Byrne extend his victory drought to six races, scoring two third places – a strong contrast to his string of eight wins in the first six rounds of the season. And, even though he still leads the series by 110 points from Suzuki’s Tom Sykes, the Airwaves team boss has said this is the time of season his riders and team need to keep their concentration. Wright said: “Sometimes it
Wright: ‘no silly mistakes’ can be just as dangerous to have a big lead at this time of the season, as we’ve learned in the past. On paper it might look as though we are having a bad run up to the end of the season, but in reality it’s just a case of everyone else catching us up, like we said it would be halfway through the year.
“We’ve all seen it before when a rider has a big lead in the championship and then things stop going in their favour. We just need to keep our head down and let the results keep coming. We knew Honda and Suzuki would raise their game, but we can’t let it get to us and make silly mistakes.” Byrne said he’d seen the improvement in machine performance of the opposition, and a dominant first half of the season might be making his recent form look disappointing. He said: “I would have liked to have been able to go with Tom [Sykes] and Leon Haslam in race one – if I’d got a good drag down the
The pit lane morphed from its normal relatively laid-back self in free practice, to a mass of paddock stands, pit crews’ elbows and riders darting in and out of pit lane. It transformed into a really urgent place. Billy McConnell rode into the MSS Kawasaki pit at one point like it was an endurance race – straight off the bike, fuel in, wipe of the visor and straight back out. Some have argued that
‘It made for enthralling spectator viewing’ the new system could be quite harsh on those running further down the field, because they might only get 20 minutes of qualifying in the first phase from now on. But maybe the new procedure should be looked at as an incentive to ride harder? Atsushi Watanabe proved that this weekend, stepping up his game to get into the top 10 and securing his best qualifying of the season. As far as we’re concerned, it can only be a good thing. This qualifying system has changed the appeal of F1 and now it has boosted BSB. The only difference is, we get incredible racing with outragous overtaking moves to look forward to on race day!
Shane Byrne: has now gone six races without a victory straights, I could have seen what I can do. But they’re not going any quicker than me through the corners. “At the beginning of the year, all we had to do was turn up on Friday, adjust a few clicks here and there and we could still have a gap. At this point in the season it’s taking until a Saturday after-
noon to get the bike set up . “We’ve had such a strong start to the season that when I score a third, people expect me to be completely destroyed. “I don’t want to end up winning this championship by finishing third every weekend, but we need to keep scoring points.”
Knockout qualifying proved to be a big hit at Cadwell Park
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