If any of you were watching the final qualifying sessions for the GP at the weekend then you will know that the rain took a hold once more and was so bad that the MotoGP bikes didn’t even get to ride! But that wasn’t enough to stop the 125s... Well some of them...
Thomas LuthiWith each passing race it is getting harder and harder to make a match for the Aprilias. However, the aim of the team is to be the leading Honda at the very least and this is something that Thomas is always striving for.
Arriving direct from the schools in Silverstone the Thursday afternoon was spent going around the track with a circuit map and looking for RPs that we could use in the Friday sessions. Thomas had already been out in the morning and located a few of his own but there were some blank corners which we needed to look at together.
Like all tracks that you see on TV the circuit is not as flat as it might seem and there are several key corners to a fast lap there.
With the Aprilias being so fast, getting the power on earlier in the turn and hard on the exit were the areas that Thomas had to concentrate on. Some of this was down to using different lines which allowed for an earlier, more aggressive pick up drill. But as ever, one thing at a time so the first session was dedicated to using the RPs we had looked at the day before.
As Thomas develops he is getting better and better at this but there was one corner that had him scratching his head at first. A short debrief in the pits and he was able to find a different point that worked much better and his times started to drop. He ended in P12 with an additional 2.237 secs to find.
In the first qualifying session a change of the rear tyre with 7 minutes to go proved to be a move in the wrong direction and the bigger sized tyre created too much chatter. With no time to change it he battled on but actually went slower in spite of his efforts and finished in the first qualifying session a lowly P16. No worries, there was always the final session tomorrow...
In the morning a better attack angle in Turns One to Two and a change of the three step timing in turn nine produced a much faster time and shifted him to P13 with the gap down to 1.8 seconds. We were looking forward to the final Qualifying session and to get to at least the second row if not higher.
However, it rained so hard that only four 125 riders went out and they were doing three minute laps at best and one rider did a seven minute lap! It was dangerous and nothing was going to be achieved, not even TV coverage for the sponsors because the cameras couldn’t see the bikes it was that bad.
Like it or not P16 was what we had and that was a tall order to get into the points. However, Thomas did just that and ended the race in P13. Not ideal, not what he wanted but the best in the circumstances.
Roll on Philip Island.
Sandro CorteseSandro is getting better and better with each round he rides in and I was impressed to find that he too had started on an RPs map when I got there. Although only 16 and a half he is starting to get a little more mature, there is a big difference between a 19 year old and a 16 year old in this game!
Some what surprisingly we ended up with almost the same series of goals for Sandro as we did for Thomas after the first few laps around on the scooter. And it was turns One to Two and Turn nine that where needing attention.
It was taking a little longer with Sandro to get these points in place with his riding so at the end of the first session he was, for him and his current standard, struggling in P21. The gap required to get to pole was now 3.174 seconds so not only was it important to get his speed up but also to make sure he wasn’t overloaded with information. You can have too much too soon you know!
In the first Qualifying session he pulled out all the stops and managed to set a time of 2.15:402 which was good enough to get him all the way up to 10th sport on the grid. What made this even better was that he set the time whilst riding on his own. A lot of the time Sandro does not have the confidence to try for a fast lap on his own so this was a real confidence booster for him!
Overnight we again looked at different points on the track and I took him out to look at the big boys and to tell me what was good and bad about their riding as part of his education. Being a mere 10 feet from the track and not having any ear plugs also gave us issues as we watched!
The following free practise was not as successful with Sandro taking a bit of a step backwards and going slightly slower with a 2.15:917, a drop of four tenths. He was trying to do too much so we planned to just working one point for the final Qualifying session.
However, luck for him it was rained off and he was going to be starting the race in P10, a strong position for a good result. With a start and race plan in place Sunday was looking good.
Part of the race plan was to keep calm and err towards his German side rather than the Italian side. It was not to be and he dropped it on the second lap. Luck was once more on his side as there was a red flag when Pasini crashed and he was able to restart. However in the restart, Mike De Meglio crashed right in front of him and he was lucky to avoid the fallen rider and his bike. This did put him down the field to 22nd and he finished the race finally in 23rd place.
Oz next and both riders have faired strongly here in the past so we will again be looking to be the lead Honda for Thomas and for Sandro to earn some more point for his final championship position.
Words by Andy Ibbott (California Superbike School) Related Linkswww.superbikeschool.co.uk
