Blog.alstare

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.

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Sorry, this post is only available in Français.

Sorry, this post is only available in Français.

Sorry, this post is only available in Français.