Back To the Banking
Back to the Banking
RACE WATCH
Digging in at Daytona
KEVIN CAMERON
THIS YEAR'S DAYTONA RACES WILL see the most changes since the 200 moved from the beach to the Speedway.
Two high-speed tire failures in prerace testing a year ago—and fear of worse to come as Superbikes become ever faster—drove the race-format change. This year, Superbikes will no longer go 200 miles at Daytona, but will instead run in a non-refueled sprint race whose length as of this writing was yet to be decided. Taking their place in the classic-format 200 will be “600 Superbikes,” the new Formula Xtreme class introduced last year. The stock-engine 600cc Supersport and l OOOcc Superstock classes will remain as before.
Why did the AMA choose FX instead of Superstock to run in the 200? The answer is that one of the two tire failures occurred in Superstock, and in the 2004 Daytona events, the race average speed for Superstock was faster than for Superbike. These decisions are logical even if they fly in the face of tradition.
Meanwhile, Daytona brought in the earthmovers. Infield buildings (other than the new media cen ter) have been replaced. A new tunnel, big enough to permit movement of tractor-trailer transporters during races, was punched through under the Tri-Oval’s Turn 1. To reduce tire overheating during high-g running on the banking, the infield portion of the road course was altered to eliminate the West Banking. After the first right-hand horseshoe, the track now turns right where it used to jog left and joins to the second right horseshoe backward, making it into a lefthander. The track then turns again to rejoin the back straight. The approach to the Chicane, the East Banking and the off-the-wall shot to start/finish remain as before. Because the resulting lap is 3.0 miles instead of the previous 3.56, the 200-mile race distance will now require 68 laps instead of 57.
At the annual tire test this past January, participating riders seemed cautiously supportive of the changes. Reigning AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin noted that the undesirable combination of hard walls and high speeds still exists at the Speedway. Speaking of the changes on the first day of the threeday test he said, “Good. That’s got us off the West Banking. Now we can work on the rest.” He characterized the new infield as “a minibike track.” Mladin had the fastest time of the test until crashing (Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Ben Spies thereafter lowered the time to 1:39.7). The Australian’s injuries were minor.
Veteran Dunlop technician Jim Allen said tire temperatures are down about 60 degrees Fahrenheit from previous years-a useful margin of safety. At non-bowl events, a normal temperature might be 250 degrees, while at high speeds 320 degrees or higher can occur. Allen noted that left-side tire wear has increased on the new course, whose new pavement is probably “sharp.”
With the Ducati Austin team switching from Michelin to Dunlop there is no major AMA team now on the French tires, reducing the scale of that company’s long-awaited return to AMA racing.
With Michelin dominant in MotoGP, why would Ducati Austin switch to Dunlop? First is Michelin secrecy. With Ducati’s MotoGP team moving to Bridgestone, having its AMA Superbikes on Michelins could be viewed as a security problem. Experience is another factor. Michelin, long absent from the U.S. scene, would need time to adapt its current race-tire technology to stateside conditions, which typically include considerable high-temperature running. No team with championship aspirations can afford to double as tire-testers.
Allen’s data book is thick and current, so it makes sense to use it.
Dunlop brought 1100 tires to the test. According to a release, Superbike teams were offered six fronts and 14 rears. Variations included multi-compound rears, plus a new-gen eration rear designed to “maximize turning and straight-line traction and stability.” Superstock riders tested four fronts and six rears. In preparation for the 200-mile FX event, four fronts and six rears were available.
These tires incorporate Dunlop’s new “NT” construction system. Insiders joke that this stands for “Nigel’s Technology,” as there is a Nigel on the development staff. NT construction is said to “work the compound harder” and increase stability. This sounds as though the changes involve the ability to lay down a somewhat larger footprint through softer construction, which would have the above effects.
A Daytona sub-shock is that Honda Japan will no longer supply complete, developed Superbike versions of its CBR1000RR to its U.S. importer. Does this make the team into hot-rodders? Will AÍ Ludington, Ray Plumb and Merlyn Plumlee throw in hot cams from a hop-up catalog and hog out the ports with whining die-grinders? No. Honda is too jealous of its reputation to hang it on desperation all-nighters. Ludington, for years Miguel Duhamel’s crew chief, observes that, “You can’t win a championship today if you have even one DNF.” Fourstroke reliability requires “many testing,” as they used to say at Kawasaki. Honda’s Gary Christopher confirmed that the U.S. team would use kit parts, which were the starting point of the bikes used in ’04. A further argument is that had R&D been in U.S. hands in 2004, the clutch problems that slowed Honda’s Superbike effort might have been more promptly fixed. One of Rob Muzzy’s Ten Commandments is, “Do everything you can in your own shop. That way you have control.”
Of the switch from HRC-centered to U.S. Superbike development, Mr. Arima, assistant to the president of Honda, reportedly said, “You have lived in your mother’s house too long. It is time to leave.”
This process actually began last year, as piston, cam and cylinder-head development for American Honda’s participation in Formula Xtreme took place in the U.S. California-home to so much aerospace research-is a dandy place to base
it. This means “staffing up” with specialists in a variety of fields, and operating serious testing and quality-assurance departments. It won’t be cheap, but neither were HRC’s Superbike leases.
Honda’s Erion Racing shadow team now imports speed parts from Ten Kate, the Dutch tuning firm that fields Chris Vermeulen in World Superbike. The respected Ten Kate team had been expected to take over Honda’s WSB operations from Team Castrol last season, but the Japanese factories’ withprevented it. When Ver’s CBR1000RR was incompetitive with factory Ducatis in that series, it was vigorsly denied that HRC had anything to with this. Just as you can put any ingredients you like into a DOT tire mold, so the laser marker writes “Ten Kate Tuning” onto engine parts as easily as it writes “HRC.”
At Daytona, the Hondas were said to “build speed” as the test ran. They worked with the options currently open to them, changing major chassis components such as forks and brakes. The brand-new Suzukis ran fast times and were, as always, rapid in achieving workable setup.
Why did Honda Japan cut Superbike R&D? The answer is the dull rumble and flash of far-away artillery-the costly war in MotoGR Ducati admits to a start-up cost for its MotoGP undertaking of $32 million, while rumor pegs Honda’s at almost five times that. Yamaha, in the runup to its 50th-anniversary year, spent big to take the MotoGP title with Rossi. This isn’t play money-it all comes from other essential activities. Honda’s Christopher confirmed that it is inconvenient for HRC to support both MotoGP and Superbike at the moment. When Aprilia, Yamaha and Kawasaki went MotoGP racing, they quit World Superbike, though Suzuki’s and Kawasaki’s apparent MotoGP goal is attendance, reserving resources for tactical purposes.
Last year in MotoGP, Suzuki’s bike stood still. Was a new engine coming, making its further development pointless? Or did Suzuki planners rationally stack their chips where they could win-on Mladin’s GSX-R1000?
More than one AMA Superbike team flies to Japan every winter to build its own engines and chassis. This achieves a liability disconnect (as with kit bikes and airplanes) and gives the teams instruction and experience they need. It also takes heat off hard-pressed factory race departments in a continuing era of tight money in Japan. Expect to see more race R&D “offshored” from Japan in the future.
Neil Hodgson is personable and understands crowds. The former WSB champ was also third quickest at the tire test on his Ducati Austin 999, having last run at Daytona in 1995. According to Allen, “Neil was shocked at the lack of grip on the old pavement (notably Turn 1 ).” He ran three 15-lap segments, providing essential tire data. Eric Bostrom has had ups and downs on Ducatis, setting pole at Daytona a year ago yet being invisible at certain later races, citing front-end vagueness. What’s happening? Hodgson is a multi-year Ducati veteran, a Ducati Corse insider, and he knows how a Ducati should feel when it’s right.
Significantly, Bostrom set his fastest tiretest time on Hodgson’s bike. A lighter WSB-spec crank is forbidden by AMA homologation. This may make U.S.-spec Ducatis harder to flick over as forward crank rotation adds its gyro effect to that of the wheels.
Top speeds are undiminished despite the track changes. Jason DiSalvo’s Superstock-spec Yamaha YZF-R1 recorded over 193 mph in this test, only 1 mph slower than the fastest Superbike. It makes you wonder what the vastly greater cost of a Superbike really buys. Yamaha manager Tom Halverson observed that YZF-R6 Supersport clockings are now just over 170 mph. And Formula Xtreme? Alex Gobert’s FX Honda speed-trapped at just over 175 mph, just 3 mph faster than Tommy Hayden’s Supersport-spec Kawasaki ZX-6R. This is interesting as the Honda FX engine spins to a MotoGPlike 16,500 rpm, at least 1000 revs higher than the Supersport redline. Looking over the numbers, what’s most obvious is the overlap of classes-it’s hard to see where
Supersport ends, FX begins and just what it is other than dollars that distinguishes Superstock from Superbike. When I get to the track, I’ll buy a program.
Just as Supreme Court justices sometimes return to the idealism of their youth, surprising those who appointed them, so retired basketball star Michael Jordan is at last free to express his earlier interest in motorcycling. There’s plenty of room at the AMA’s party for the Jordan team of Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Montez Stewart. Jordan and retinue flew to the last Grand Prix at Valencia, Spain, in his Gulfstream G5 to see how it’s done at the top. The team is Suzuki-equipped.
The first tire test was a snapshot of the teams at an early stage of their season preparation, and so revealed more about development styles than it did the potentials of the machines and riders. Efforts to reach key team members by telephone revealed that they are where they should be-anywhere but at their desks. That’s how it will stay until March.
