Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Honda's crew chief Ray Plumb holds court with his young stars, Nicky Hayden (center) and Kurtis Roberts (rightl. What it meant was that the Yosh team was going to join Honda and Kawasaki at Sears Point on January 28-29, weather permitting. "That's going to be a tough one. You just never know, we could get a couple of sunny days, but it's still going to be cold: Mladin said. "I tried to push Suzuki to come down to Australia. " Up until late on Thursday, Mladin was the fastest rider at the test, but the time wasn't what he knew he was capable of. "I can't push the front like the old bike," Mladin said after clocking his best lap, a 1:26.9, on the new GSXR750. The time was slower than the those he'd done testing here last year and well off his best lap at Laguna, a 1:25.658 he clocked in qualifying for the 1999 AMA Superbike race. "I should be doing high 25s," he said. "It's holding me back a lot. I'm just not confident. The lap times will come when I get comfortable." The team was testing new engine parts, but the GSX-R750 was essentially the same machine he tested at Daytona. Mladin might have gone better, but he was still suffering from BRIEFLY••• Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom was doing something he'd never done before at Laguna, returning for his second season with the same team. Bostrom's rise has been quick and sharp, which meant he was usually moving ahead each year. Kawasaki wanted to keep him, so he's back for a second year. certain that there will be improvements over the inconsistency in Eric Bostrom was, once again, very, very fast on his 600cc Supersport bike. traction in 2000. At Laguna Seca, he said it was too early to tell if they were over the inconsistency. "Last year heat was a big factor," Bostrom said. When the tires and shocks got hot, grip went away. The team was in the hunt one weekend, and the next jet lag. He left his home in Australia, and arrived in California, on Saturday, January 20. "I was up at 4:30 this morning," Mladin said on Tuesday afternoon. For the first time in a long time, Kawasaki's Doug Chandler had reason to smile. The resident of nearby Salinas shared fastestlap honors with Mladin after the first two days of the test and he did it on an old tire. "We haven't been able to do that in a long time," Chandler said of the time that he turned on a tire with more than 30 laps on it, while running with teammate Eric Bostrom. "I'm happy with that. It's only going to get better." It did get better on the final day, but not appreciably, and he, like everyone, was held back b-y the weather. "It was awful," Chandler said. "The wind was blowing, but that thing was good. We tried some stuff that second day and actually went the wrong way, but we could still do low 27s, but it felt worse. It was just a matter of On Thursday, Bostrom rode Chandler's ZX·7 as a sort of sec· and opinion. "I let him go out on my bike. He thought it was pretty good, other than we don't have the same riding position," Chandler said, "If nothing else, when you do that, it opens your eyes and gives you some ideas to try. Then the weather got crappy and it started to rain again. He didn't get to try any of it on his own bike. ~ Yamaha's Anthony Gobert has had some of his greatest successes at Laguna Seca and understands the track, The Australian won a leg of the World Superbike race at Laguna in 1999 and also won the AMA Superbike race at La9una that year, Gobert still holds the outright lap record, a 1:25.507 tumed in qualifying for the 1999 race. "I remember going for 24's. I knew I had it in me," Gobert said. "Every time I put a qualifier on, I'd push too hard and run too wide. I knew I had it in me. I couid've done a 24.8. I always kept running wide, getting in too hot and running wide. The key to a quick lap around is not pushing too hard. You Despite some let lag, Mat Mladln sU11 emerged from the tests as the quickest of the Superblke men. putting it back and confirming the thing." Daytona is the only race where Chandler will race the 600cc Supersport class and he was busy at Laguna getting the smaller bike up to speed, "The thing had a chatter in it and I was riding it just to get it ready for Daytona, basically," he said, "If we can get an idea how to fix that, when we go to Daytona and have trouble, we have an idea of what to do instead of chasing it around there." eN tested the bike. "The bike seemed slow and we were struggling with the handling of the machine," Gobert said of his first outing on the Yamaha. He was also critical of the haVing to ride the 600 at Daytona, but was more agreeable now. "I was kind of pretty bored out there on the 600. It takes forever on the banking. I was kind of getting a bit frustrated. Now, after being here, I'm excited to run the 600." The VZF750 seemed quicker at Laguna Seca to Gobert, the motor felt stronger, and it seemed to handle better. The 600 was improved as well. "It looks good on both bikes. I think Eric Bostrom is going to be tough on the 600. I think Mat [MladinJ is tough to beat. I think Mat's really smart in how he goes about the championship. It's going to be tough to beat him. Hopefully, we have what it takes to do it.' At Laguna Seca, the first order of business for Gobert was getting the bike it set up for his riding style. "It seems like it's set up for a Japanese rider," Gobert said. "They changed that around and it made me more com· fortabie. " Yoshimura Suzuki's Aaron Yates got off his crutches and onto his Superbike, supposedly so the team photographer could shoot promotional photos. Then he realized he had two left gloves. That crisis was solved and he went out to ride around for pictures on a motor- weekend they were in the pack, Bostrom ran away with the Superbike win at Pike's Peak, but fell just short of winning the 600cc Supersport titie at Laguna Seca. During the December Dunlop tire test at Daytona, Bostrom was the fastest 600 by miles, He was fastest again at Laguna Seca, lapping faster on the stopwatches than anyone had ever gone. Bostrom had a full plate at this test. Not oniy was he testing both his ZX-6 and ZX-7, but he was one of only a few riders to test both in the rain. like his teammate, Doug Chandler, Bostrom believed the team had made significant progress on the frame, "It feels like the chassis is the best we've ever had," but there was work to be done on suspension. "I have trouble trying to get the suspension planted. The Superbike's got a vagueness that leaves you guessing out there. It's not where I want to be. It's when you're getting on the brakes, to letting off the brakes. " 2. Anthony Gobert is starting to gain confidence in the Yamaha. screw up your run to the next corner and it takes time to recover. The best way to get a good lap is to be smooth and not push too hard. Here it's really important to wait for it and drive hard off the comer." Gobert likes Laguna Seca because it's a proper racetrack where you use proper tires, unlike Daytona where he first cycle with a Daytona set-up on the gearing and suspension, not optimal for Laguna Seca. Then Yates got a whiff of the other riders and started picking up the pace, ending up only .8 of a second off Tuesday's fastest time. "It was a real surprise for him," Yates' manager Cliff Nobles said. "Our target was to have him show up and get some pictures and get off the bike. For him to get out Aaron Yates· hobbling but still there and ride around, fast. cue I e n • e _ s FEBRUARY 7, 2001 21

• Cover