For once we were lucky with the weather at Phillip Island and it seems that the cold air really suited the Honda! Everyone arrived early at the island and we thought it would be easy to go around and do our regular track walk/scooter ride to take a look at the track and see if there where any changes from last year and to start with a basic reference points map and an idea of what was needed for attack angles on some of the turns.
Thomas Luthi:Last year Thomas led this race with a huge margin and he said that the goal should be to find 2 seconds so he was off the third and fourth rows and close to the front. A tall order! So, with some refinement of his body position and his 2 step timing he finished at the end of the first free practise in P2!
I didn’t get to follow up on this for the QP1 session because Sandro had crashed badly and I spent most of the day in the Medical Centre with him, but more of that later.
With a quick further reminder of the body position and of the need to try a different line in the final two turns Thomas finished the first day still in second place and with 0.6 of a second to find for a pole, just like old times!
On day two the body position was still needing work but improving. With this in mind he concentrated hard on it to get it right. He did much the same last year with his outside arm in right handed turns. The result was a faster time but in fifth position. Not too bad given the positions of late but there was still work to be done.
In QP2 the body was worked in the lefts and there was a refinement of the visuals skills in two of the slowest turns on the track but there was still a need to find a good slipstream if we were to keep the position high. This was exaggerated by the sheer number of bikes on the track. In the first few minutes of this final session it looked like the beginning of a race!
Thomas finally qualified in P4, back on the front row at last!
Starting for the race it was one hell of a battle for third position between himself, Pasini and arch rival Kallio. As they crossed the line having battled for most of the race Thomas finished fourth. He wanted a podium really badly but maybe it will come in Japan over the weekend. Watch this space.
Arriving here Thomas asked if I had the RP maps from the Island (which I did) as he keeps them to refer to the flowing season. Nice!
Sandro Cortese:Sandro’s luck seemed to be running short as in the first free practice his engine seized into Honda Curve and threw him over the handlebars. Although the crash was a low speed he hit his head hard and I had to stay with him for most of the day in the medical centre as he was suffering from concussion.
As a decision of the team he did not ride in the first QP1 which gave a lot of catching up to do on day two.
But once given the clearance to ride in the morning Sandro was ready, willing and able to make up for lost time without going stupid.
The biggest point for Sandro was to work his 2 and 3 step timing so that he could find the flow of the circuit. Phillip Island is not a place where you can be aggressive as it bites you on the bum in return, as he found out last year having a big highside.
With this in mind we also worked on his braking style getting him to leave it as late and to have a better sense of entry speed.
By the end of the FP2 session he was in P21 which might seem a little low but given that his head was still clearing and he stayed up -right it was a good job.
In the final qualifying session there was more work on his 2 and 3 step but this time in Honda curve and at Lukey Heights. In Honda curve it was to get rid of him looking in too late which seemed to be a result for the crash. At Lukey Heights it was to get a better attack angle into the last two corners.
By the end of it he was in P18, again, not bad given his condition.
In the race all his luck returned! He was hit by a late braking Bradley Smith but stayed on and then was pushed wide on the last turn and when he came back on the track he hit a the edge of the kerb which had him flung out of the seat! He finished the race in P14, another solid position and this was with a front wheel rim that was bent so badly you could see the beading where the tyre sits. How it never went flat I will never know!
Lets see what this weekend brings...
Words by Andy Ibbott (California Superbike School)
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