VOL. 55 ISSUE 22 JUNE 5, 2018 P43
SUBTLE TWEAKS YIELD BIG RESULTS
A
pair of new chassis' and a
simple but important body-
work change took the credit for
Jorge Lorenzo's first front row
and win this year on the Ducati,
where he missed a first pole for
the marque by a slender 0.053
of a second.
The latter change was the
most visible: an extension to the
fuel "tank" (actually, the fuel is
carried lower down) made of
foam, and covered with non-slip
nubbins. This is to address his
growing complaints of fatigue in
the second part of races be-
cause of a lack of body support
under braking.
"The ergonomics of the new
bike have been giving me prob-
lems in this point," he said. "I'm
satisfied with the work we've
done. The new fuel tank
helped a lot with confi-
dence but mainly energy,"
he said.
The revised chassis
improved midcorner per-
formance, helping with his
smooth riding style. He'd had
only one chassis at Le Mans,
which hindered his progress in
getting set up, but having two at
Mugello meant easier progress.
Others also had fruitful modifi-
cations.
At Movistar Yamaha, Maverick
Vinales' crew had shortened the
bike, making it less stable but
improving rear grip with greater
weight transfer.
Suzuki also had a revised
chassis, with carbon-fiber clad-
ding that altered stiffness ratios.
Honda not only had its new car-
bon-fiber swingarms, reserved for
qualifying and race day because
they are still in short supply, but a
slippery new redesigned seat unit
for both factory bikes.
Michael Scott
Jorge Lorenzo's new "tank"
gave him the stability under
brakes he needed to score
his first win.
RECORDS
TUMBLE AT
ISLE OF
MAN TT
J
ust as Cycle News went live with
this issue, the 2018 Isle of Man
TT had run three motorcycle and
one sidecar races, with Michael
Dunlop taking the Superbike and
first Supersport TT wins, Peter Hick-
man triumphing in the Superstock TT
and the Birchall brothers taking the
first Sidecar TT victory.
We have a full recap of these
races on our website, which you can
view by clicking here. CN
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
IOMTT.COM
