Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I've got this year is that I know all the race- circuits. La t year I was coming here and I didn't know what way tum one went or the tracks." What is also helping him immeasurably is the status of both himself and the Promotor team in the eyes of the Ducati factory. Corser enjoyed de facto numberone Ducati rider status for the longest of times. It was only when Virginio Ferrari signed former GP star John Kocinski to the factory team that Corser's star was slightly dimmed, and then only barely. "He's just another guy out there on the line who I want to beat," Corser says of Kocinski. "It hasn't really worried me. Just because John's there doesn't panic me because the championship is going to be harder to win or whatever. It's just another Ducati out there that I've got to stay in front of." Even with Kocinski's arrival, the team has gotten increased backing from the factory and the results have been immediate. . "Obviously, this year we've had a lot less problems with engines breaking than we did last year. Last year in practice and qualifying it was nothing for me or for Andy (Meklau), we'd have three or four engines break in practice or qualifying building up to race day. Where now we might have one or two that might go a little bit bad, and not so much. Last year Carl (Fogarty) never really broke. He'd lose power, but he never really broke. And I think it comes down to the fine details that you've got to spend on the motor that it's dead right," Corser says. The team changes the engine in one of his bikes before the first qualifying session on Friday and changes the engine in the second one before the second qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. Each engine lasts about 180 to 240 miles before they "start to go a bit slower and get a bit doggy out of the comers. Put a new one in and you can go straight away," Corser says. As for the rest of the new 916, the biggest change for 1996 is the suspension, Corser says. The chassis isn't much different, but the suspension is revised and the team is using a different set of forks and shock and is experimenting more with the combinations of the new material. "Instead of using a longer spring, they might use more gas. We found that by changing the combination of the oil, gas, and spring compound in the front forks it made a big, big difference in the way the bike steers. Last year [ never really had to worry about trying different forks and shocks because they were all the same. For me, it wasn't so much of a problem because I didn't spend so much time on getting it perfect. I preferred to be out there riding, getting track time, because I felt I'd learn more that way." This year Corser finds that "we'll probably be able to make as much time off the track in the pits as we do on the track. "That's sort of how it was at Donington. I 'was quite happy with the bike, but it wasn't handling exactly right. It was moving a bit. And we made a change that we thought would fix the problem and it did straight away and that was the whole reason I could go faster." It had taken him some time to adapt to the new machine. The 1995 Ducati had been developed around double World Champion Carl Fogarty whose style differs considerably from Corser's. "I've noticed the difference a lot with the bike this year. When I first got on the bike it felt all funny because it was set up the way Carl liked it for faster corner speeds and all that. I like the faster corner speed, [ like it to steer reasonably quick as well, not that it worries me to rear-end steer it with the back end. But I prefer not to because I can save the tire, I'm not spinning up the tire. I always get it to try to steer on the front quick so I can go into the turn, pick it up, and get on the gas." If he has his way, Corser will be learning another new machine next year. "If everything goes well this year and I win the championship, which is what I want to do, then for sure I want to move onto a 500," he says, and there will be offers. There have been in the past. The first came back in 1994 when Lucky Strike Suzuki team manager Garry Taylor offered Corser the chance to fill in for Kevin Schwantz in the final few races of the SOOcc World Championship after the then World Champion injured himself at the U.s. GP. Because of his Fast by Ferracci contract, Corser had to decline. But he inight have declined anyhow. At the time he sensibly said it didn't make sense to jump on a works 500cc for the first time with no testing and no experience and go up against the likes of Doohan and Cadalora. Corser showed up at the Italian GP in Mugello earlier this year to have a look and let everyone know that his options were wide open. "I've pretty much had communications with all of them, basically to let them know that at the end of this year I have no contract for anywhere else and that I would definitely like to test on a 500 first, then get 'a ride on one and go from there," Corser says. Promotor Ducati team owner Alfred Inzinger is well aware of Corser's wishes and has said he would back Corser on a 500cc machine in 1997, while keeping his superbike team. Most recently, Corser's name has been linked again with the Lucky Strike Suzuki team. Then again, so has Chesterfield ApriIia's Max Biaggi's. It's all speculation at this point and the guessing game will likely continue right up until the ink is dry on the contract, wherever it might be. That he's part of the buzz says something of his stock. (There is a certain irony that Corser's name is linked to Scott Russell's spot on the Lucky Strike team. In what could well be another odd twist, Russell, whose welcome at Lucky Strike appears to be wearing thin, could easily end·up riding for the Promotor team. Promotor's Inzinger has said he thinks he'll work with Russell at some point in their careers.) There was a one-off test last year on the rapidly dated Cagiva 500, which was enough to give Corser a taste of the class, even at a reduced clip. "I felt the bike was a little bit underdeveloped, obviously because it has been sitting in the shed for two years, something like that. It wasn't SO much the bike, it was more I wasn't ready to go out and go fast on the bike. [ wanted to spend time to get the bike set up to where I'm comfortable with it before I have to go fast. "I almost crashed coming out of the back chicane. I was a long way out of the corners. I thought, 'All right, I'll go.' I put on the gas, it went waaaahh and put me over the handlebars. That's why I'm using this year to learn to get the bike set up because on a 500 there's twice as many things to get set up right." The grunt work of racing is testing, endless hours of racing against a clock using untested components or new tires or some combination that someon-e thinks may' work. Yet, often as not, that's where the races are won and lost. For riders like Corser, it's the only way to go racing, be it the superbike or the SOO. "I think I learn more doing it that way than someone who's just getting on the bike for a one-off ride, going out and trying to go fast. There's a SO-SO chance you'll just throw yourself over the handlebars because you're trying too hard. And a 50-50 chance that you're going to do yourself more bad than good careerwise, because everyone's expecting more from you. You can't really see what you can do for at least 12 months, before you actually get comfortable with the bike you've got. You look at Scott Russell. He's a perfect example. He can ride a superbike real fast. I'm sure he can ride a 500 fast, but he needs time to get up to speed and get comfortable with it." Whether Russell ever gets the chance is still up in the air. As for Corser, the future is now, and he's running with it.(]\'

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