Burning Rubber
Burning Rubber
RACE WATCH
Daytona Dress Rehearsal
Don Canet
EVERY YEAR IN EARLY DECEMber, Dunlop carts a truck load of race tires to Daytona International Speedway for testing. Doing the riding are some of the top Superbike pilots from both AMA and world competition. This year's test, as always, provided a first look at a number of riders on new bikes. It also provided evidence that Scott Russell remains the man to beat.
At a Daytona tire test there are no fans offering cheers of support. And there’s no gold Rolex, the traditional prize for earning pole at the 200. Unprotected armco and acres of empty bleachers serve as a profound reminder: This isn't a race. Yet witnessing the lap times turned in by the top men gives the impression that the 200miler itself is at stake. In a sense, it is.
There’s not a track on the planet that puts a tire to the test like Daytona. The combination of speeds approaching 180 mph and the huge dynamic weight generated on the banking-nearly doubling the static weight of bike and rider-calls for a specially built tire. “Overheating is the biggest problem at Daytona,” said Jim Allen, motorcycle roadrace manager for Dunlop. “The trick is trying to get the fast guys through the whole thing (the 200miler) without tire problems so they can race competitively and not have to worry about blisters of rubber coming out of the tire, which is the standard overheating problem.”
In its effort to achieve that goal, Dunlop brought 650 tires to this year’s test. Among these was a whole family of different compounds to be tested, as well as different casing constructions. In all, there were 12 front slicks, 29 rear slicks, five DOT fronts and 19 DOT rears-enough to keep a dozen riders circulating and two tirebusters busy mounting and balancing wheels for three solid days.
“We’ve run at least one of everything and a lot more of most,” said Allen. “What we’re looking for is to basically come up with a tire that’ll win Daytona. What you would like to do here is have a tire that'll go race distance.” For frontline teams, that’s not 200 miles, but rather the 75 miles between pit stops-for them the 200 is run on three rear tires.
“Making a tire to go 75 miles sounds like a pretty easy job,” admitted Allen, “but it isn’t easy here.” Furthermore, no single tire suits every rider’s style, pace or race strategy. “There’s a world of difference in the tire required to go 1:55 lap times and the tire required to go 1:50. The (softer) tire that would last for somebody turning consistent 1:55s wouldn’t last 16 laps for the guy going 1:50,” Allen said. That means that selling everyone the same tire Scott Russell uses wouldn't necessarily improve the average guy’s performance.
Explained Allen, “Ideally, we will come here in March with a tire that’ll go 200 miles for a guy who wants to go straight on through without changing, and we’ll bring two or three choices for guys who’ll be changing every fuel stop.”
Those guys, the ones aiming at tire swaps during every fuel stop, were here in force. Decked out in team colors, the 18-wheeled transport rigs of Vance & Hines Yamaha, Muzzy’s Kawasaki and Smokin' Joe’s Honda decorated an otherwise barren paddock. The Harley-Davidson factory roadrace team was also on hand, having made the trek south out of the Milwaukee cold in a discreet Budget Rental truck-a good choice, considering Budget’s white/orange/black corporate colors. And though the tire test offered plenty to see, the conspicuous absence of a couple of key members of the old guard didn’t go unnoticed.
Most obviously absent was the Fast by Ferracci Team, with its Ducati 916s. Ferracci elected to run on Michelins this year, quite a surprise after the team won two AMA and two World Superbike titles on Dunlops.
Pit rumors had it that in making the Dunlop-to-Michelin change, Ferracci was simply caving in to orders from Italy. As is so often the case, the reality is a little more complicated than that.
Explained Larry Ferracci from the team’s Pennsylvania F1Q, “We could have stayed with Dunlop. We don't have to brown-nose anyone. But in the overall scope of relationships between companies, it’s better to see everyone under the same flag.”
Also, said Ferracci, the fact that the Ducati 916—winner of the 1994 World Superbike championship-was set up last season on Michelins probably was a factor in the decision.
Honda’s Doug Polen also is making the move to Michelin following a long relationship with Dunlop. The reason for this year’s change is somewhat serpentine. It goes like this: Polen is contracted to Honda Racing Corp., which uses Michelin. Last year, Polen brought Dunlop with him into his Flonda deal. But this year, apparently because of Polen’s winless '94 season, the change was decreed.
So it was a show with a slightly changed cast, and the number of riders new to bikes and teams made for a fairly broad spread in lap times. Quickest of the ensemble was Kawasaki-mounted Scott Russell, clicking off a 1:50.62 around the 3.56-mile course. Russell, who won last year's 200, is keen to take on all challengers in March prior to kicking off the World Superbike season. No longer the hunted, Russell again is the hunter. He’s all the hungrier for it.
“When you're on top, there’s only one way to go: down,” said Russell of the ’94 season, in which he narrowly lost the World Superbike championship to Ducati-mounted Carl Fogarty. He added. “Now we're in a position to go after them.”
Russell has his work cut out for him. At Daytona, his new teammate, a talented 19-year-old Australian named Anthony Gobert, latched onto him for four or five laps. In those few laps, Gobert gained a good bit of time, making himself second fastest with a 1:5 1.9 lap. The fun ended when Gobert crashed uninjured while braking into Turn Five. In the three years since Gobert took to the road, trading a bright future in supercross to have a go at roadracing, he’s progressed from club racer to factory World Superbike rider. Undoubtedly his learning curve will need to continue this year-lie’s ridden just two of the tracks on the WSB circuit.
Another man facing a steep learning curve is 1993 AMA Grand National Champion Chris Carr. Carr will debut in AMA Superbikes aboard Harley-Davidson’s VR1000 at the Daytona 200. “It’s certainly different from anything I’ve ridden in the past,” said flat-tracker Carr, who got a brief taste of pavement racing at Daytona in 1984 on a 250 and again in 1988 on a Ron Woods Single. He turned a 1:59.1 lap his first day on the Superbike, and commented, “The speeds are pretty neat. I look at it as being one big wide blue groove. Obviously there are parts of a groove that work better than others, and it’s one groove that 1 don’t want to get off of.” Carr ultimately got his times down to :57s before heading home.
Harley, faced with lead rider Miguel Duhamel’s last-minute defection to the Honda camp, used its time at Daytona to conduct rider tryouts for the team’s open slot. Former Daytona 200 winner David Sadowski was the quickest of the three applicants on hand, with an impressive 1:53.84. Former AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler, looking for work following Cagiva’s apparent but still unannounced grand prix departure, spent a day on the VR, logging a best of 1:55.2. Jimmy Filice, a former Superbike rider best known for his 250 GP rides, also auditioned for the slot, circulating in the 1:56 range. Who will get the ride? Bet on Chandler.
Meanwhile, over in the Vance & Hines Yamaha camp, Jamie James, signed for another two years, was the tire-testing machine. This gave new man Tom Kipp the time and freedom to become familiar with the V&H crew and YZF Superbike.
“It seems like development is more intense (here) than anywhere I've been before, and that helps to develop my own setup skills,” said Kipp. He
added, “What they did was bring me backward with the bike, then took me through all the changes to sec how they got to where they’re now at. I’ve been able to kind of get a firsthand look at the development they went through to get to this point.” Kipp seemed at ease on the YZF. putting in a best of 1:52.5 1 —not far off James’ :52.23. Not terribly surprising, since Kipp cut his teeth as a privateer aboard a Yamaha OWOl Superbike in the early ’90s. He said of the V&H Yamaha compared to his old OW. “It feels similar. It’s a real comfortable and neutral-feeling bike with a broad powerband. The only difference is the chassis is better now, the geometry is better and the power is much better.”
Fastest of the Yamaha men w as former V&H pilot Colin Edwards, who clocked a 1:52.1 1. Edwards became a hot property when he won three straight AMA Superbike races late last season, prompting an offer from the factory to do World Superbikes aboard a Team Yamaha YZF this year. Like Russell and Gobert, the young Texan will race Daytona and the Suzuka 8-Hour, as well as the entire WSB schedule.
Said Edwards, “I’m going to get an apartment or house over in Milan.” What, no motorhome? “They’re looking for somebody who doesn’t get off the bike and go straight for the motorhome and not talk to anybody,” said F.dwards, noting that Yamaha brass put as much emphasis on PR value as on race wins: “That’s howserious Yamaha is about image.” With his sights set on 500 GP. Edwards has a one-year deal with Yamaha. “Schwant/ has already mentioned he wanted me to ride his 500 after he quit. That might be a possibility. I’d like to stay with Yamaha and build a relationship, but I’ve got to take my chance when it comes. Right now, they’ve got Abe, Cadalora and Kenny Jr. in line,” Edwards said.
Back in the Smokin’ Joe’s Honda garage, a clean-shaven Miguel Duhamel had his mechanics busy setting up the ex-Mike Smith RC45 to suit his riding style. Duhamel has his work cut out for him as he joins Mike Hale to chase the RC45’s elusive first U.S. win. But as important as that is, perhaps of greater importance to Honda is winning the 600 Supersport title with the new CBR600F3. Duhamel has two 600 championships to his credit and if history is any indication, he’ll be the man to beat.
While testing Dunlop D364 DOT racing tires. Hale got the F3 into the high 1:58s, with Duhamel a few tenths slower on the same bike. Within a handful of laps aboard the just-released Kawasaki ZX-6R, Scott Russell was also into the high l:58s-something that had the crew in the Honda pits very concerned. The 6R arrived at the track still new in the crate. It was fitted with an Öhlins shock and steering damper. Muzzy pipe and jetting, braided brake lines and solo seat section. Said Russell, “Kawasaki really wants to promote the bike and would like to win Daytona. It’s real important to them. If the chance becomes available and it works out, you might see me out there.”
In one of the year’s surprise moves already reported here (Cycle World. February 1995), former FBF Ducati rider Pascal Picotte joined fellow Canadian Steve Crevier on the Muzzy AMA squad. Eager to prove it’s the man, not the machine, that earned him two AMA Superbike victories last year, Picotte feels he has a bright future with Muzzy. “With Rob there is a better chance for me to get into WSB. Also with Kawasaki there is a 600 to ride. That means more track time and the opportunity to earn extra income.” Picotte also points out another benefit derived from riding the 600: “I think it’ll help me for my Superbike. I will have to keep more corner speed with the 600. I think the difference between two-cylinder and the four-cylinder Superbikes is you have to keep more cornering speed on the Four because you have more top end and less torque.”
When the three days of talk and testing were done, the shredded carcasses of 650 racing tires packed into Dunlop trucks and the racebikes tucked away in their transporters, this much remained clear: Scott Russell is the oddson favorite to win the 1995 Daytona 200. Critics who think Russell has lost his desire to win should take note.
“I don’t come out here to play, I come out here and go for it. Get the most out of the bike and the tires, that’s what we’re here to do,” said Russell, “I’m trying to go faster and faster every time I go out. Just like always.”
