| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
I will sit down and do a full race report once I get a minute, but must share this most surreal racing experience that happened yesterday.... We had been suffering all day Sunday with a mystery wet weather misfire that started in the morning warm up and got worse throughout the day (and was the cause of Phil's rush to the back of the field and 30th place at the start of race 1 Sunday, and subsequent charge through the field to finish 8th). With around 5 minutes to go before the last race we still had major problems and were tempted to just put the bike in the van and go home, but decided that as it was the very last race of the year we might as well just go for it. I told Phil to see how it went on the warm up lap and just come back in if it was no good. So Phil rides down to the assembly area, where the bike suddenly cuts out and refuses to re-start just as they are waved onto the circuit. A helpful bystander, who had been chatting to Phil, volunteered to give the bike a push and lo and behold it started up. All through the race the bike would cut in and out, particularly in the fast right hander at the bottom of the hill (the bit with the river running across it!), so it was testament to Phil's ability that he not only finished the race but on the podium as well (3rd!). Anyway, here is the surreal bit......The bystander that gave Phil a push start was Paul Smart. Yes, THE Paul Smart of Imola 200 fame and with the Ducati named after him! So we had Phil Read riding the bike and Paul Smart pushing...I'm just waiting for Agostini to pop round and clean it now   | ||
| Glitch |
Paul Smart?! How cool is that! | ||
| Blake |
LOL! That is great! | ||
| Trojan |
Oh by the way, for the benefit of AMA racers, that stuff in the photograph is heavy rain (only joking of course) | ||
| Court |
You suppose Paul Smart ever forgave his wife? | ||
| Glitch |
I heard that while racing in the rain, you typically only lose 10% of traction. That seems a low percentage to me. Not that 10% is anything to sneeze at. Is this even close? | ||
| Diablobrian |
Modern rain tires are pretty amazing, but they do have limitations. ASRA is not the pro's, but lap times drop very little in the rain for the classes that are allowed to use rain tires. If the track dries up they get hot and chunk very very quickly though, so it can be a gamble to run them. | ||
| Court |
It's a fascinating story and one that is overflowing with the romance that makes racing . . . . well, RACING. From the New Zealand write up . . .
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| Trojan |
I heard that while racing in the rain, you typically only lose 10% of traction. That seems a low percentage to me. Not that 10% is anything to sneeze at. Is this even close? We use Michelin Pilot Power rain tyres (exactly the same as the Yamaha GP bikes believe it or not), and they are astonishing! We had far better grip in the heavy rain conditions on Sunday than we had on Racetecs in semi dry conditions on Saturday. Phil was amazed by their performance and now wants rain every week  His lap times in absolutely torrential rain with rivers running across the circuit were almost exactly 10% slower than in the dry. | ||
| Slaughter |
Wow! Smart! Read! If I touch the bike, will I be healed? | ||
| Glitch |
Amazing! So, Phil liking the rain so much would give him an advantage, or is everyone over there comfortable in the rain? Y'all found a sponsor yet for next year, any prospects? I'd hate to see y'all stop racing after all the growing pains y'all have had to endure. | ||
| Aeholton |
Oh by the way, for the benefit of AMA racers, that stuff in the photograph is heavy rain (only joking of course) Seeing as it seems to rain 2 out of every 3 days in Great Britain, I don't think you would get much racing in if you waited for dry days. (only joking of course  ) | ||
| Trojan |
Phil is a demon in the rain, and actually enjoys racing in it. He did the Classic Bol d'or last year and it rained throughout the race His style is very smooth and economical, very much like his dad, and he always looks deceptively relaxed on the bike. |
