Blog.alstare

Sunday February 22nd 2009

11:30 am

Bloody idiot but no longer, I put my light sun cream on my big nose, a nice yellow cap on my big skull. As planed, the light clouds have gone away and the shiny disc attacked with his rays.

We have, despite yesterday’s results, worked hard yesterday evening for some big changes to test today. We’ve got already a strong set-up for next week but some possibilities have been suggested along the bike development. So we test it too. We have to check.

We also decided to reproduce a ‘flag to flag’ pit-stop. The first test in Portugal was not good at all. We mostly saw what should not be done. We had a briefing which was more looking like briefing for secret military operations. A white board, color pen. Were just missing the small flags to mark the mechanics working on the bike. The army troop Commander Batta told his troups, helped by years he spent in endurance championship. This was not yesterday but the experience is always appliable. For that too, we have some of the mechanics who’ve been, since the start, working in Le Mand endurance races. We hope both sources lessons combined will help working faster. In any case, we’re working on.

3:30 pm

The lesson of the Commander gave its results. Max has just done his pit-stop with bike change. When it’s better prepared, it works better. The endurance specialists you are may find this normal. I say ‘endurance specialists’ because most of you have been going to Le Mans or le Bol d’Or. But for us, it’s not usual. Usually, when the bike is getting in, it’s straight in the garage for the guys to work on it. Only in 2003, we were still using large swingarms for pit-stops before qualifying tyres use. Since then, swingarms width has been reduced for stability and quick wheels charging have been banned.We may need to return to the drawing table to think again about it as the change can be for the bike or the tyres.

Today, for me, I’m finishing the video project for next Tuesday. We’ll shot a race bike and a roadbike 2009 with Melbourne city as landscape with the rising sun. Honestly, knowing nothing about, it takes more time to find all authorizations than the shooting itself. For most, a video crew venue means the arrival of a hollywood studio with 30 trucks and trailers in Melbourne streets with all what has to be done with. So they think we’re gonna take all local police forces, use all carparks around and need a secured space for an actor to land with his helicopter. Euh…No. One video camera, two bikes on stands, a nice rising sun and Melbourne city… that’s it.

The rest of the day should pull us away from Melbourne. I can not tell too mucha t the moment. I have to manage the surprise. But everything will be focussed on Australia, our riders and our bikes. We’ll tell you soon.

Sun is at his higher place. He’s then hurting everything moving. Even the tarmac is having pain. We know already that the yesterday’s laptimes with lower temperatures will not be repeated. Thinking we’ll have around 40°C next week in Melbourne… Shit. Shoes will stay again stocked to the boiling tarmac. I think I’m gonna start studing how to work in the big double glass fridge in front of my desk.

Red flag. Nori Haga took an other one. Same corner. Turn 2. I think he should go straight before turn 1 and carry on before catching the track before turn 3. Following like this, he’ll have ruin all his stock of fairing and leathers before race 1. Sykes also did not play any longer. Marshals were still bringing back parts to the pits 2 hours after. I think all was complete by lunch time. But even with adhesives, they could not have rebuilt it. We have to touch wood…

Now it’s Yuki’s turn to try to change bike. I’m following the way it’s prepared. Yukio’s checking which side is the best to get off and on the bike in a row. We’re preparing the special pit panel. Yukio is leaving on bike 1. Guys are taking their places. We started the second bike, we move dit back. Yukio is getting in pitlane. Neutral is never geting easily, the stop is brutal. The bike change is quick and mechanics are already pushing for restart. First gear lasted to get in. Some sprocket must have been noisily damaged… First gear in, Yukio restarted. Three seconds ans a haf… We can do it better. Both videos will be seen together to compare. Godefroi is already preparing this for chief mechanics.

Doc is asked again. Jeff has horrible spots on the legs. Doc said he’s been attacked by mosquitos. Watching the spots, this one must have been over 2 meters wide ! THinking last time at the workshop having this noisy small injury, I think he must ave been running out of voice not to have shout this time. Seriously, it’s scary. I’ve been right to kill the zeppelin which was flying in my room yesterday… Pfff.

6:00 pm

One more test…

With no crash at all, please. Only 4 of the 11 riders did not crashed and we are the only Team not to have damaged fairings. Lucky. In this season start, spare parts are not enough. And as crates are moving straight to Qatar, we have to limit extra shipments.

For results, only riders who played everything on one lap passed us. No stress. As mentionned before, we’ve been trying different things. No big issue cause all teams did not have the same tyre choice. Only next week will be important.

At the moment, we’re organizing the next few days, find time to rebuild bikes and find also some time off.

Harry will welcome us this evening and we’ll be already back at the circuit on tomorrow morning.

Promess, next Wednesday, we’ll check what has happened in those next two days.

Saturday February 21st 2009

10:30 am

Once again, the wild horses have rushed in the pit-lane exit. With about 200 hp each, it makes a lot of rolling thunder arriving, full open, in turn one after breaking the bang wall in the straight line. But with such riders, it’s not surprising. Watching carefully, some of them must have escape from a HSQ psychiatric service. You must really remove all breakers to release yourselve enough.

In pits this morning, i twas looking like a tuning bike contest where spectators, teams mechanics, were watching closely, one per one, all exiting bikes to comment their respective final designs with smiles or laughs. Alstare design made its effect. Was there really a competition…

This morning, as yesterday, clouds were are here, but bigger. Temperature made a drop down and I’m regretting not to have taken a jacket. I cross fingers to see the sun shining quickly et stop the cold south wind.

So, the crisis arrived to the Team. They are no more drinking water… Nothing. They did not even turn in ‘Cereal killers’, killing whisky malt.

Talking about the crisis, I’ve never seen so many expensive roadbikes over 50 000 euros on and around circuits. Italian V4s built like GP machines that owners do not hesitate to put on track with very expensive racing parts… with all risks included.

While that time, I’m preparing a report about marshals, those talented guys who are watching more than closely their living passion and their pleasure from the track side. You’ll know more about soon.

02:00 pm

The Corser family has starting to arrive. It’s crazy. Feeling the cheerful way and the strong shook hand, it’s like Imola 2005 just happened yesterday. The Wollongong kid want his chat with us, crossing the paddock to visit us, talking about crocodiles in north Queensland streets with overfloading rivers or about his family. This has no price.

The lunch, useful relaxing moment, cutting a non-stop riding day with a nice meal served with smile, has been shortened.

One of the mechanics, skilled, has smashed his left inch under his hammer. After first attempt to have his finger cured by artist who would put straps on a wooden leg, i took him to Karl. Doc’ is a simple guy but really involved in mechanical sports. Responsible of medical collège of the FIM, of medical services for aussie national motorbikes championships and V8 Supercars, responsible for medical organization for the last Singapore F1 Grand Prix (just this…), doctor well-known and appreciated in his Melbourne suburbs hospital, Karl Lee is THE doctor. Last year, he was scanning my ankle and stiched me after bitten by the ‘great white’. This year, it’s Julien’s inch after having also sorted last year an infection for Max. He’s now like the Alstare family official doctor. Thanks Doc’…

But the most beautiful thing, even wounded, they never giveup. Julien returned to his bike to finish with an inch looking like my leg. And my leg… It’s like some years before, one of the mechanics left for Donington with a broken colarbone after a bicycle crash. They never gave up. Respect.

5:45 pm

Testing day 1 will soon finish.

As a bloody idiot, I’m starting to feel the sun burn on my head. By not watching the opening sky, I did not felt the warming weapon falling on me. My sun cream was not even far…

Riders are giving comments about their day.

With nearly 200 laps done, we can say they’ve really been working hard despite sessions stops. Haga, Corser, Checa, Fabrizio, Foret have been cutting the two sessions of the day, the morning one and… the afternoon one (just in case…).

In the end, with a restricted choice of tyres, we’ve been trying to work on consistancy rather than performance. We finished 1st and 3rd of the day. It’s a bit too early to say it’s good for next week-end as teams have been testing different tyres solutions. As said before, only next week’s results will be important. Keeping the led on this 2 days test will just be good for minds. With same tyres, we’ll see next Sunday who made the right choices.

For this evening, it smells italian cheese and tomato if you understand wht I mean.

We’ll speak again tomorrow with warmer conditions about those crucial choices in those conditions which will bec loser to next week.

Friday February 20th

Opening the curtains this morning, a light cloudy sky was covering Melbourne bay. In that case, you’re not betting anytime that the sun will come over because the weather can really be strange, spreading, no joke, rain, snow, wind and great sun on the same day. So you’ll take your sun cream and your rain coat when you’ll go to work.

Back to the circuit, engines are already roaring.The track, like yesterday, is rented by private customers who are competing for a fake wonderful victory on their every day’s bikes. It brings me back few years ago when I was thinking about overtaking Fogarty, Edwards and Haga in the last lap of a dream race after delaying my breaking point.

But they never saw me on track.

Today, those customers have cleaned their bikes knowing, since yesterday, that Superbike Top Teams would be here. Take a moment to think you’re on that track and that your spectators are the riders of the Championship. Because they are fan, they have bought the bikes according to their favour to a rider or an other, or a supposed religion which link them to a manufacturer dreaming one day they’ll get paid to ride those bikes.

It reminds me of a 2002 trackday when, leaning on my GSX-R tank, I was drafting behind Chili, famous rider who got use to ride this kind of bike for Suzuki. Think about that dream. How couldn’t you think, forgetting the cold fears whn trying to follow him, I was thinking about overtaking him when braking, which would have made me congratulate by Frankie… Wouah !… The one who’s not dreaming can not live in reality.

Back to kangaroo’s land.

After spending time yesterday to salute all the people working at the circuit, I’ve been welcome this morning as if I would have been alway there. When we’re telling you those people are doing everything to make you feel like at home.

Finaly, the sun is there. If it start warming, I’m gonna check how long i twill take for the guys to dring the 96 liters of water cooled in the fridge. It’s always very impressive. Watching them working, I’m wondering how they find time to drink a little. But I know already that tomorrow, I’ll have to go back to the supermarket to recomplete the stock. It’s llike in the army, someone has to do the ‘water job’. Finaly, jobs are neraly all same.

Emails are arriving from the organization.We start talking schedules, stickers for marking tyres and permanent passes. The big fight is on his way. This feeling become concrete by this paddock being built all around. Usually empty, guys are building tents everywhere for the national riders of the support series.

Today, the Team will have completed most of the work on the bikes with a lot of new small parts like brake hoses arrived from the country of the rising sun. And this is just an example.

This day will not last any longer. Some riders of today must be still gathering the broken parts that some optimism will have thrown away in the gravels.

Team will move to our german cooker’s place, a Max’s fan, who’s not been refusing to re-study a lower price to his menu knowing a happy customer will come back again.

Tomorrow, slick tyres will replace road ones. The animals will enter on track. We’ll keep you aware.

Thursday February 19th

It doesn’t seem but we’ve spent 22 hours in a plane once again.

Return to The country, our second home, Australia.

Return once again in this wonderful place like no other despite injuries due to forest fires which damaged forever the lanscapes and gave the australians a guilty idea of the muderers who started those fires which let 200 persons forever locked in flames and those families in tears. Just think about 3000sqkm reduced to nothing, homes turned into ashes and people without any clue of their lives.

The Team is feeling very concerned by this tragedy and shares the pain of all those aussies, those end of the world cousins who have always done their best to welcome us with their unbeattable smile.

A single chat at the workshop, in the head office, put down the bases of an auction never seen before in our team’s life to make a donation to the Australian Red Cross who needs to give so much now.

Finding helmets and race suits of our riders, you’ll get soon the possiblity to find those online on Ebay. You must know already that what you’ll give will be greatly appreciated. For those who know Australia, you know what I’m talking about. Nothing’s more natural to give to people who are never passing their turn to put together all you need to feel like at home.

We’ll let you know soon how this will be done.

But next week-end you’ll see some details which will prove we are together with those friends from south hemisphere.

Sad news appart, the sun welcame us for our first day with more acceptable temperatures for an aussie summer. With 20°C less than during previous weeks, air has become more breathable even if 28°C made a huge gap with polar temperatures in Europe.

Team is then preparing the last winter meeting this week-end. In one week time, we’ll talk laptimes as only those will be considerate. The 2009 Championship will have horned the start of the bikes  on Gardner Straight.

So, for the last time, riders will be focussed on possible secret evolutions made in Belgium and Japan. No pressure even if most of the Teams will take part to this nearly official training. Comparision of time sheets between riders will be a warning for some of those who will have then few time to find out the right solutions to be more competitive for the first race.

This quiet day, helped by the easy assembly of the garages equipments, allowed us to start changing important parts on the 4 bikes. To avoid any last minute problem like the possibility to fix the new displays in those tiny garages, we saw we’ll have to re-think the final layout of all displays due to a rolled metallic curtain upon our heads. When I told you everything has to be tested before the D Day.

The 6 tons of parts removed from the crates, the garage has become a very busy place where there was, despite being tired from travelling mixed with the jetlag, a friendly atmorsphere combined with serious matters. The sunrise very early has been followed by most of the mechanics who could not stay asleep after 6 :30 am despite a late arrival to hotel few hours before. But the view of the sun will have given some more boost to un-woke up people to give them a smile as an aussie going to work.

The end of this busy day has thrown everybody on pillows.

Think it’s time for me to do the same.