Jack Valentine joined the ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki team for the first time last weekend at Knockhill in Scotland as their new Race Team Manager. Jack has been brought into the team to with his vast experience to free up team owner Nick Morgan from the direct running of the team in the pits each weekend untill the end of the season.
Here's what Jack had to say after his firts weekend with the team:
How has your first weekend been with the ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki team?Jack: Very good overall. I was very impressed with Stuart. Although I’ve not worked with him before I’ve known him for a few years. In fact he’s hung about other teams that I’ve worked for so much that I’ve considered getting him some team clothing… The big shame over the weekend was the Supersport race. We were looking at a podium there for sure, but with the conditions and the tyre we had he had no choice but to pull out as it was shredded. Maybe we should have had dries on, I think Tom Grant who got a podium did – but even people with inters were sliding out of the race. It was one of those races that really was a bit of a lottery. I think Pirelli had the edge at Knockhill in those conditions – they had the top five in the race I think, with some riders on wets and some on dries. It’s one of those things and we’ll bounce back.
So how do you think Stuart performed in the Superbike class? Jack: "Very well indeed. The second race was a more representative result I think. 11th was around the result that we were looking for. In the first race we had a bit of a problem with the back-end being a bit loose into the corners, but with a full-race of feedback from Stuart we were able to make some changes. We softened the bike up a bit to make it feel a bit more planted and we used a different tyre. I was thrilled with 11th to be honest as he’s not a regular Superbike runner."
What do you think about the performance of the bike?Jack: "To be honest I think it is on a par with anything out there, as was the ZX-6R. We’ve got a good handle on the chassis performance, but we should have some new engines from Oulton Park onwards for the Superbike, so that should be a welcome boost to performance for Michael, who can’t wait to get back out there. Both riders love the circuit too, which always helps."
What was it like getting back into the BSB paddock?
Jack: "Like coming home really. I know a lot of people in the paddock as does Nick Morgan, and we both like a laugh, so it wasn’t too surprising to see people taking the mickey by going up to Nick and saying: “I see you’ve got Jack in to sort you w****rs out!” That’s the sort of atmosphere you get in BSB, despite the serious nature of racing."
And what’s it been like working with the team?Jack: "Nick and Stuart Simmonds have run a great team over the years, and they have a good bunch of guys there with them. They all like a laugh: I don’t think I’ve laughed so much for years! There aren’t any passengers in Nick and Stuart’s team, which is good."
So what can you do to help improve results?
Jack: "I wanted to get stuck in at Knockhill and I’ve made lots of notes and bullet points about what could be improved a bit. The team is great and that’s a good base to work on, but I want to help the ISILON MSS Discovery Kawasaki team get some good results before the end of the season so they can work on things for 2008. I’m not jumping in feet-first, I’m looking at the team and how they do things. We just want to take it up another level. I’m not happy with 3rd or 5th, I want to win – we all do – and we need to find the way to make that happen.
I’ve come from a difficult project with the Foggy Petronas team and it was good this weekend not to have any mechanical problems like we had with the FP team. So to have the bikes run faultlessly all weekend is a good base to build upon too. I want to get a few things 100% perfect in the team rather than a everything 50% right. We need to be in a position so that eventually, everything is perfect so that the last link in the chain is the riders and then you can work on them. That’s what I’ve got to try and do to give the team the perfect launch-pad for 2008."
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