Looking Ahead
Tue, 06 Jul 2010
Simon Says, in association with CIA Insurance for UK
motorcycle insurance.
WELL quite a lot has happened since I last spoke to you all. Let’s start with my last column which was really just a view point from our side regarding Guy Martin. Guy and I have no problem with it and in fact he is joining our team for a test at Silverstone ahead of his Ulster Grand Prix campaign.
We are going to help him with his 600 suspension set up and it will be a first run for his Superbike since the massive crash in the Isle of Man.
What really amazes me is some of the comments from so called race fans on these forums. I can only conclude you either don’t have a good grasp of the English language or in some cases just have your own agendas. For those people I suggest you read it again and take your time and realise I did not in fact slate Guy at all, I just made some observations on how we could all get him to the point he wants’ to reach, i.e. winning at the TT.
I suppose I should take heart that it is not personal because when Wayne Gardner offered the opinion that he felt the TT had run its course due to the constant fatal crashes most years he got slated just as much by these so called race fans. Whatever you all may think, Wayne was a great rider and a World Champion in a golden era for the sport and anyone would actually struggle to make a good case against most of the things he said. Why don’t you all get some courage and name yourselves like Wayne and I did when we made comments instead of hiding behind pseudonyms - or if you don’t have the courage for that then just shut up and keep your opinion to yourselves.
Moving on from that Misano was a great race for us with Eugene wining his fifth race of the season to retake the championship lead for the first time since round one. The fact that Eugene, Kenan and Joan have been so dominant this year has made it hard for us to make up for the crash in Portimao way back at the second round.
There are now five rounds left and I know we have the rider, bike and team to go all the way. That said fair play to Kenan - he has only won two races but has never been outside the top three all year. Indeed the only time another rider has been on the podium this year was when Eugene crashed in Portimao from a certain top three and had a bad race in Valencia and finished fifth. Lascorz was also weak in Kyalami allowing Chas Davies to grab a podium for Triumph. Other than that it’s been the same top three, just a matter of which order. Brno was not a great race for us last year but we have an improved bike package now so I fully expect Eugene to challenge for another win. Sofuoglu was really bad there last year finishing only ninth, however I expect him also to step it up but can he match the pace of Eugene and Lascorz round there? Time will tell!
The grid may be thinner this year but the pace of the top three has in most cases been significantly faster than the times set by Eugene and Cal Crutchlow last year. I must admit I did not think this would happen as much as it has but it only goes to show we have moved it on a level but also how much Ten Kate and Kawasaki have as well. If you want to be on the podium in World Supersport you really have got to put in a World class ride. I look forward to the wild cards from the British Supersport Championship riding at Silverstone; I think they will get quite a shock as to how much they will need to lift their game to get near the big three.
Looking ahead as we are now with our 2011 plans we have looked at Moto 2 and World Superbike. We are working flat out now getting the budget together to take Eugene to the next level. I would love him to stay with our team and take it as a compliment to our whole team that he is really keen to do this if we can sort out the right package together for all of us. At this time we are looking to take him to World Superbike more than Moto 2 as I think he has what it takes to make this step as Cal had done. I know Kenan struggled but Eugene is very good at adapting his style to suit the bike he rides and I believe he will be able to do this on a Superbike quickly. We have gained some Superbike experience with Guy Martin’s TT bike this year and I am very confident we as a team can make the next step up and show well inside the top 10.
In Moto 2 it is hard to see where we can get the support to run at the right level to compete at the front with the deals we are looking at now. However I would not completely rule it out yet, watch this space and let’s see where we end up.
Cheers
Simon
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