Round Three. Knockhill Fife Scotland.

We rolled up at Knockhill with a spring in our step but an eye on the weather forecast. The positive mood was fuelled by Max’s performances at Donington Park where he raced his bimota KB998 Rimini toe-to-toe with champions Ryde and Redding to score three podium finishes.  Joe had a tricky weekend at Donington but was fit and ready to bounce back.

The main thought in the back of our minds was how the stiff, race breed, bimota chassis would work around the tight and bumpy 1.27 mile Knockhill circuit. With a heatwave forecast for the south of the country the prospects for further north were not looking so good. Sure enough, Friday’s practice sessions were conducted in heavy rain such that the final pre-qualifying session was postponed until Saturday morning. Little did we know at the time that missing out on dry running on Friday would have a big impact on how the weekend played out.

Free practice testing

Max parked his bike after 26 laps of the first session with P1 on the timing screen. It was the first time he’d ridden the new bike in the rain, and he was certainly pleased by the feedback he was getting from his bimota. Joe concentrated on getting more time on the bike and chalked up 39 laps during the hour. Mind, a lap of the 1.27 mile Knockhill circuit takes less than 55 seconds in the streaming wet. By the end of the session Max’s times had dropped back into the mid-pack but despite the weather it had been an encouraging start.

Similar conditions for the afternoon run. We certainly didn’t learn anything more and the bikes spent most of the time in the garage. It wasn’t long before a message came down from race control that the pre-qualifying session, which usually takes place towards the end of the first day, was postponed until the following morning. Too much water on the track and puddles in critical places making it too much of a risk to send 24 superbikes out into a competitive session.

Pre-qualifying

The short third practice session on day two is usually a warm up for qualifying but this time it was to give the teams a dry run to prepare for the rescheduled pre-qualifying session. It was this session that showed us we had a bit of a challenge. The stiff chassis was no longer a strong point as it highlighted the sharp bumps around the Knockhill circuit and robbed our riders of their confidence.

To prepare for the 20-minute pre-qualifying session, several changes were made to make the bikes ‘softer’ and more able to ride the bumps. It only worked up to a point and as we feared, Max and Joe continued to struggle and both failed to make it into the top 12 to go straight through to Q2 - Max P14, Joe P16. We couldn’t recall the last time this happened. In the event, having to start qualifying in the Q1 session turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It provided an opportunity to try a new front fork part from K-Tech, our suspension partner, which was specifically designed to give more ‘feel’. We had effectively turned qualifying into a test for Max to try out a significant set up change.

Qualifying

The new parts worked as Max was immediately fast and said the changes made his bimota seem like a different bike. He stormed the short session with a time that would have put him P5 in pre-qualifying. To complete the turnaround, Joe finished P3 so both progressed to the final stage of qualifying. Again, Max was flying and halfway through the allotted time he was on provisional pole - until he had a bit of a crash. No real harm done and still fast enough for a second row start, P6. Joe pushed as hard as he could and hung on for P14. Unfortunately, Joe then had to add the three-place grid penalty imposed by the stewards after he was adjudged to have been at fault in a first lap collision with Andrew Irwin in the final race at Donington. So, P17 but with a good opportunity to make progress in the race.

Good to see smiling faces back in the garage rather than the worried frowns from earlier when things weren’t going to plan.

Feature race one. Results, Max DNF Joe P12

30 laps. Good start from Max. Alongside Stacey at turn one, Duffus Dip the chicane at the bottom of the circuit and holding his position. After that a couple of small mistakes - still adapting to the new set up - allowed Vickers and Glenn Irwin through. A couple of laps later his teammate from last year, Iddon, took advantage of Max running a bit deep at the hairpin. Frustrated and back to P9, Max started to settle into the race with 25 laps to go. Then it properly went wrong. Into the hairpin on lap nine and doing everything the same as he had on his qualifying laps, the front went away from under him and Max slid gracefully to earth. Maybe the extra weight of a nearly full fuel tank caught him out but without a decent lap time recorded he’d have to start from P10 on the grid for the sprint race the following day.

Joe had a spirited ride from the back making up places until he came up to Kent on lap 5. Running P13 and 14, and they were stuck together for the rest of the race. Joe was unable to make a pass and with Kent slipping back, running slower lap times than the group ahead, it turned into another frustrating race for the team. Finally crossing the line P12, Joe would be starting just behind Max in the sprint race - P13.

Sprint race. Results, Max P5 Joe DNF     

Agreeable weather greeted us on Sunday morning. Dry, pleasantly warm and less wind.

The 10-minute warm up was an opportunity to try a couple more things to help the riders with the feel and rideability of their bikes. Max reported that some worked, others he was not so sure about. Despite everyone’s best efforts we were still searching for the ideal settings for race conditions. Unfortunately, Joe didn’t get a complete run as his bike suffered a technical issue which slowed him down and he pitted for checks. It would be sorted out in time for the race.

A 20 lap sprint race places an added premium on getting a good start, especially if you’re back on the fourth and fifth rows as were Max and Joe.

Max got jumped by the two DAO Honda’s into turn one, but he was back past both by lap four – P9. Head down closing on Iddon.

Then the safety car boards came out.  Joe had slipped off at the hairpin on lap three in a mirror image of Max’s fall the previous day. Unfortunately, his fall caused Hedger and Kerr to crash by taking avoiding action. So, a very short race for Joe and a lap time that would see him start the final race of the weekend from well down the grid.

After the two lap safety car period, Max set off again. Iddon crashed, quickly followed by Vickers and Glenn Irwin going down. All the dramas saw Max up to P7 with Stacey next. Passing Stacey, he then engaged in a tough battle for P4 with Haslam which he won with five laps to go. Then more drama, Max detected a small hesitation in the engine. The issue gradually got worse but after his unlucky Saturday, Max was determined to see the chequered flag. With the problem slowing him, Stacey made easy work of repassing Max into the Hairpin on the final lap to nick P4 from him on the run up to the line. Bit disappointed with P5 but good be back battling at the front. P7 grid slot for the second feature race.

Feature race two. Results, Max P7 Joe P13

Both Max and Joe got reasonable starts and first laps. But it wasn’t long before, yet again, Joe came up to Kent. More drama! Determined to pass him this time he was right on his back wheel when the Yamaha suddenly slowed as the engine blew. Unable to avoid a collision as Joe swerved to try and miss running into the back of the stricken bike, he caught it hard enough to rip off a wing from his bike and give Joe a nasty bang on the fingers. Red Flag to clear the track and check for oil from the blown engine.

New race over 25 laps. We had hoped this would help Max if it went back to the original grid positions. He’d been running P6 when Skinner made a very late lunge to pass him at the hairpin and took him so wide he dropped to P13. However, the new grid was based on positions when the red came out so it would be a P12 grid slot for the restart.

On his repaired bike, Joe soldiered on with a very sore hand. He spent the race chasing the DAO Hondas and fighting to keep O’Halloran behind him, only to get passed on the run up to the line on the very last lap – P13. Well done Joe. Tough weekend but more laps run and more experience in the invisible data bank that all riders have.

Max got stuck in again, aiming to make up for the places lost in the Skinner incident. Quickly past the DAO Hondas and then Iddon on lap 8. By half distance Max had cleared Haslam’s Ducati and was up to P7. For the rest of the race, he closed in on Glenn Irwin and Skinner but was unable to get close enough to pass and with a big gap behind, he eased off for the last few laps. Max crossed the line just over two seconds behind Skinner. What could have been - but still a strong recovery and a fast race after all the weather and set up challenges over the weekend.

Championship standings

Max holds on to P5 in the overall standings with 93 points. Joe’s tally is now 29 points, sandwiched between Kent and O’Halloran. In the team standings the AJN Steelstock bimota squad is in P5 chasing our McAMS Yamaha mates.

Next time

We are really looking forward to Snetterton. Based on what we now know, there is no reason why our bimotas shouldn’t be back at the very front, taking it to the Ducatis. Long, fast bends and quick changes of direction are the bikes’ happy places and there are plenty of those over a lap of the Snetterton 300 circuit layout.

Snetterton is also the home round for our title sponsor, AJN Steelstock, so we are looking forward to welcoming their guests and hopefully putting on a good show for them on track.

Can’t wait! Hope to see you there.

Regards, Nigel Team Principal.