Russell Holland (HANNspree Honda Althea) talks us through his mid-season switch
0 Comment Author Tristan time: 9:25 PM
Australian rider Russell Holland has proved to be fast and competitive since the start of his new experience in World Supersport, despite having to learn a new track every weekend in his rookie season. After three races and one test session in Vallelunga with the experienced HANNspree Honda Althea team, Russell Holland illustrates his season so far and what the future holds for this promising young Australian rider."This year is certainly an initiation for me... new tracks and a new lifestyle in living in Europe by myself on top of World Championship competition has been a real challenge but I'm trying to appreciate this experience as I know everyone here has had to go through it and in the future I'll be laughing about the challenges along the way".
Tell us about the latest round at Brands Hatch, England..
"Well, this was a weekend to forget in many ways. For our team it is incredible the bad luck we had. But the circuit was amazing and I can say I really enjoyed riding it although it's a track that takes some time to link the turns together and get a flow going. On Saturday afternoon we caught the worst of a small rain shower that interrupted qualifying. I was on my best lap when the rain came and then in the final 5 minutes when the track had dried we just couldn't find a gap in the traffic and couldn't improve. So on Sunday we were set to start from 15th but on the warm-up lap I had a clutch failure, just pure bad luck. This forced us to start from the spare bike and from the back of the grid in 37th place. We got a great start in the race but from the third lap it began to rain and got heavier in the next 5 laps. On the 8th lap the race leader Robbin Harms crashed then I crashed on the same turn whilst in 15th place... The race was red-flagged immediately after this, my bike was too badly damaged to return to the pits as the rule says you must. Because of this I could not restart even on my spare bike. A frustrating end really".
About the loss of Craig Jones
"After retiring from the race in Brands I witnessed Craig's crash and you cannot imagine a crash like that happening, it was very strange. I knew him reasonably well and he was one of the boys and a nice guy. It is sobering when something like this hits someone you know. My heart goes out for the family and close friends of Craig".
Back to business, how did the partnership with HANNspree Honda Althea come about?
"I started the year in the Superbike class and we achieved some promising results early on when we had a chance to test on the circuits. I'm proud that we finished in the top ten (9th) at the 2nd round, my home race in Australia. It was not so easy as the championship moved back to Europe but we did manage three more point scoring finishes before the mid-season (13th Valencia, 13th Monza, 15th Utah). I'm now really happy to be competing in the Supersport class with HANNspree Honda Althea. It was strange to change classes mid season but my superbike team's future was not clear and the Althea team needed a rider after Tommy Hill was injured. This change was a positive one for sure because I can continue with Honda and the Althea team has experience running at the front in Supersport".
What was your debut like? How did you feel about the new experience?
"I think the debut at Misano was a good lesson in Supersport. Launching straight into a race meet and learning a new bike is pretty exciting. I was riding with too much of a superbike style initially. We just kept chipping away and by the finish of qualifying we were 7th... ok for the first go. Unfortunately in the race I crashed out being too eager to catch the leaders after a bad start. I lost the front end on a turn we'd had trouble with all weekend. Had I been more patient we probably could have made a great result there as the race pace was not so fast".
What about the Vallelunga Test, how much did it help?
"Obviously every track this year is new to me and Vallelunga was a very challenging circuit so I'm glad we could test there. The first part of the track reminds me of Assen a little with fast change of directions. We achieved a lot there with me adjusting to the bike better and just general set-up too".
Let's talk about Brno, your best finish so far this season...
"This year has been full of 'frustrating Fridays' for me as I learn a new track every weekend whilst trying to give constructive feedback to the team. Brno was just like this so it was really good to finish the race and get a good result for the team and myself (7th place). I didn't really get a good feeling with the front there but we made a fairly smooth race and moved forward in the final laps, to finish 7th in the second race with HANNspree Honda Althea was fairly satisfying and I feel it has set us up to finish the year well".
What are your expectations for next year and the rest of this season?
"This year was always going to be a learning curve. The rest of the year will be no different but I believe I can continue to improve my performances and I will be working hard to get on the podium this year! I know I can make a strong championship next year whether in Supersport or Superbike. I have not made plans for next season yet. I have a great team right now and I'll do my best to use that to my advantage".
Valentino Rossi has warned Dani Pedrosa not to expect Bridgestone tyres to instantly transform his fortunes as the Yamaha star expressed his surprise at the Spaniard’s shock switch.Rossi needed three months of winter testing and the early part of the season to fine-tune his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 to Bridgestone tyres, and said Pedrosa shouldn’t be banking on the Japanese rubber to be a miracle cure.
Rossi, who also orchestrated his own switch to Bridgestone after a torrid 2007 campaign with Michelin, said: “I was in exactly the same position last year but sincerely I didn’t think to try the tyre during the season.
"The potential of Bridgestone is very high but it is not like you put a Bridgestone sticker on the bike and like magic you go faster. You have to work a lot and you have a lot of pressure because at he beginning my performance was not much faster than Michelin and people were questioning my decision.
"It is a risky move for Dani, and a move like this at this time is quite strange I think.”
Shinya Nakano was the second fastest participant in Monday afternoon´s post-Misano testing session, lapping 0.794s behind Dani Pedrosa as the factory Honda rider undertook his first laps with new tyre suppliers Bridgestone.Although the Japanese rider was not 100% sure about what effect Pedrosa´s sensational change will have on him, in the short term, he remains optimistic about the current situation.
The two riders now have a similar factory Honda RC212V package, but whilst Nakano believes they can help each other he is insistent that he will dictate the set-up of his bike, while accepting guidance from HRC.
Having completed 53 test laps at Misano in preparation for Indianapolis and Motegi, Nakano declared, `Dani´s switch to Bridgestone is a big surprise for us because you don´t see people changing tyres in the middle of the season very often. I don´t know exactly what is happening but the good thing is we can share information. They are a factory team and they get much more help with the bike and the tyres and as I have a similar bike I think this is a good point. On the other hand we have to give over information so I don´t know yet if it is definitely good for us or not.´
As he continues developing 2009 satellite RC212V, a similar spec to Pedrosa´s current 2008 spring valve factory model, Nakano believes the development of his prototype machinery is firmly within his own control.
The 30 year-old Japanese competitor stated, `We have a factory bike but we adjust everything by ourselves. Of course we ask for advice from HRC but anyway we have to build the bike ourselves and of course it is up to me. We are a satellite team and they are a factory team so I don´t think it will affect things too much. Maybe in the near future if they find something very good (the factory team), like a frame or something, I would like to try it too.´
For the time being it is expected that Bridgestone technician Klaus Nohles, who has worked with Nakano throughout the 2008 campaign to date, will split his time between the Repsol Honda and San Carlo Honda Gresini boxes at the next round at Indianapolis, working with both riders on behalf of the Japanese suppliers – just as he did during Monday´s test session.
As detailed by MCN, BMW will use the newly developed 1000 cc in-line four-cylinder motorcycle, and will partner with the Alpha Technik GmbH team based in Stephankirchen near Rosenheim at the Paris Motorcycle Show in September.
Peter Müller: “By entering the Superbike World Championship we will be competing against manufacturers and teams which are many years ahead of us in terms of experience in a segment which is new to us. We know it won’t be easy. With alpha Technik GmbH we have found a partner with a lot of development expertise and over 10 years of experience in superbike racing. We anticipate that we will be able to establish ourselves successfully within the strong international competitive field with our new motorcycle.”
quote:MCN
Repsol Honda factory team rider Nicky Hayden worked on chassis development and tyre testing today. Once happy with the set up of his RC212V the 2006 MotoGP World Champion went out on track to set the fastest lap of the day on Michelin qualifying tyres, the fastest of the three-day test. His time of 1m 38.848s was half a second faster than pole position time set for the Spanish GP at Jerez last year.
Hayden’s team-mate, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa is still carrying a hand injury sustained during testing in January. But the determined Pedrosa returned to the track today after sitting out the wet day on Sunday. Pedrosa and his team technicians worked on his RC212V to try set up variations that would ease the stress on his injured hand. The injury has hampered Pedrosa’s pre-season test programme but the tough young man from Barcelona will be in better shape, but not 100% ready, at the next MotoGP test, at Qatar on February 28-29, the final test before racing begins in earnest at Qatar on March 9.
Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1m 38.848s - on lap 81 of 82.
“It’s definitely been a really positive and productive three days. We had high hopes coming here because when we tested here in November the bike worked pretty good and Michelin tyres normally work good at Jerez, so this is a good track for us, also there’s no big long straightaways. The wind here has made it tough, the conditions haven’t been easy, but I do feel more comfortable on this year’s bike in the wind. The team really worked hard and made some good moves and good decisions. We didn’t make a lot of big changes, we just got closer to race settings, tried a couple of qualifiers and did a 25 lap run. The chassis seems to be working good and also the tyres are working good. We tried a few different tyre options, and we’re still checking data between the 16 and 16.5 rears. But the show hasn’t started yet, we’ll find out what everybody’s really got and what we’re in for when we get to Qatar but we leave here pretty happy. At the Qatar tests we’ll see how it is under the lights and dial everything in for the first race.”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1m 41.699s – on lap 33 of 35.
“After this morning’s rain we were finally able to do some laps and it’s been a pretty good day for us. We were happy that we were able to test in the dry after yesterday’s rain and we did similar work to what we did on Saturday. My right hand feels the same as it did on Saturday. We’ve been trying to make some changes to the bike to make it easier for the hand and that’s been positive. But we weren’t able to try too many things because it’s been so windy, which makes it dangerous to ride fast, so it’s been difficult to improve. I don’t think the hand will be 100 per cent when we get to Qatar but I hope it will be better than it is now. We have ten days before the test, so we’ll do as much therapy as we can in order to be ready for the tests and for the race. The last test at Qatar will be difficult, especially for us because we still have a lot of work to do. And it will also be tough because we’ll be riding under floodlights for the first time, so we have to adapt to that. I hope the track conditions will be good at night and the rack temperature not too low.
Ambient temperature: 19 degrees
Track temperature: 16 degrees
Humidity: 57%
Test Times:
1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'38.848
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'39.252
3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'39.313
4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'39.351
5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'39.568
6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'39.727
7. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'39.845
8. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'39.932
9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'40.333
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'40.442
11. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'40.576
12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'41.026
13. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'41.177
14. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'41.292
15. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'41.311
16. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'41.699
17. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'42.160
18. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 1'42.970
19. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 1'43.496
20. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'45.597
A flurry of late qualifying runs shuffled the timesheets on the final afternoon of practice with Valentino Rossi ending the session as the fastest rider on Bridgestone tyres with a time of 1m39.568s. Several other Bridgestone riders were present in the top ten over the course of the test with some solid performances on race tyres. However, the final timesheets show that Bridgestone’s qualifying performance still needs to be further improved ahead of the season start in Qatar in three weeks’ time.
Q+A with Tohru Ubukata - Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Race Tyre Development
What has Bridgestone managed to achieve over these three days with the mixed weather conditions?
“It was a difficult test for everybody with tricky track conditions over all three days. After the dry first day, we were able to carry out some wet weather tyre testing on Sunday, which was the first occasion for some of our riders to sample our wet specifications. In spite of those conditions, Casey did an exceptional job to set the quickest time and to win the car. On Monday, we had a brief shower at the start of the morning, but from then on it stayed dry, although with some quite gusty wind which was not helpful. We worked on evaluating tyres with a lower temperature compound range compared to the last tests in Sepang and Phillip Island to prepare for the Qatar night race and the Spanish GP in Jerez. We also continued to look closely at our qualifying tyres with many riders conducting detailed evaluation of different specifications.”
Has Bridgestone obtained all it needs from this test?
“Of course, we would have preferred a dry day on Sunday, but our riders worked really hard to get many laps in over the three days and we are grateful for their efforts. Today in particular we have seen some progress that we are sure will prepare us better for the race in March.”
In what specific areas does Bridgestone still need to improve qualifying tyres?
“We are quite happy with the durability of the qualifying tyres at this circuit, but it is clear that we are still in need of more grip to allow our riders to make an important step up in terms of lap time. Although our rivals continue to be very strong in this area, I believe we have made improvements since last year and even since the first test of this year. We tried several different specifications on Monday with different riders so we are sure that the variety of detailed feedback will benefit our development in this area.”
What is the plan for the next test in Qatar?
“Qatar test is going to be valuable, not only because it allows us to prepare our tyres for the opening race of the year at the same circuit, but also we will be following a night schedule for the first time. We will understand more clearly exactly what track temperatures we are likely to face and how that will affect our tyre performance by racing so late into the night. This will aid the tyre selection process on the Thursday of race weekend when our teams and riders must finalise the 22 rears and 18 fronts that they will have at their disposal according to the tyre restrictions.”
Published by Tasha Crook
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