Braselton, GA

MotoAmerica 2017MotoAmerica – Round 1

The progress continues

Braselton, GA – Patience is perhaps the mantra of 2017 for the Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda team this season. After an opening round that saw the newly minted Honda CBR1000rr SP2 snag a third place and a DNF, the team was cautiously optimistic. With a yet undetermined electronic issue that was believe to have been resolved during a Dunlop Wet Tire Test in Birmingham, AL, the first practice on Friday morning would be very telling. Had the gremlins been exercised? Would the data from COTA show a clear path forward in the set-up of the new bike? Would a track that the team has typically performed well at provide any positive feedback for the 32Crew? All these questions would be answered in one 50 minute practice session.

It didn’t take long to get those answers. What happened that session was something 180 degrees from history. Jake headed out for his first few laps and everything seemed okay. His pace was off but that’s expected until his confidence comes back. After three laps, Jake pulled into the pits. It would appear that the gremlins had not been chased out, they had in fact relocated. Laptops were plugged into the bike and Jake waited while new maps were loaded. Jake was sent out and immediately pulled back in.. Rinse and repeat for almost the entire session. By the time the first session was called, Jake had only completed a handful of laps and was down on the timing sheets.

It was a flurry of activity during the break before the second practice slated for the afternoon. It would be another 50 minutes and this time, track time was the focus. Coming up with an intermediate solution for the electronics, it was decided to just let Jake turn laps and collect as much data as possible. This would prove to be a solid plan forward as Jake got comfortable and his confidence came up. His lap times got quicker and quicker. Still off the pace from where they would like to be, it was enough for Jake to qualify for Saturday’s Superpole. With a chance to move up the starting positions looming, the hardest working crew in the paddock worked through the night to continue to hunt for resolutions.

Saturday morning was a dull and overcast morning. With the threat of rain for the afternoon, the goal for the free practice session was to ride, come in, make small adjustments and head back out for a few more laps. At the conclusion of the 30 minute session, there were no major issues but also no major solutions. “Good” was the attitude going into Superpole. A super quick 15 minute all out sprint against the clock, wherein the riders utilize the new Dunlop Pre-Qualifier for the first few laps then change to the super soft Qualifier for full-on flying lap. The goal is to go as fast as physics will allow and put your machine in the best possible starting position. Jake’s attempt at this landed him in the 10th starting position. Outside of the fourth row… Smack center of the starting grid.

Race one was only an hour and a half after Superpole, so the time to make last minute adjustments was precious and fleeting. The “Middle Ground” approach was again decided as the best solution for the race. Jake would be left to his own devices in order to get his Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda around the 2.54 mile Road Atlanta Circuit. Meaning, the electronics had been set to “0”, Off, Null however you want to say it. Jake would have to channel his inner Moto-crosser to finesse the big bike through race one. As the lights went off and the grid raced through T1 and up the hill to head down the famous S’s (turns 3-5), Jake would be holding steady in that mid-pack grouping. For all the drama that was developing at the front of the race, Jake would find himself alone after the fifth lap and holding steady. As the fighting between Toni Elias, Cameron Beaubier, Roger Hayden, Josh Hayes was going at a fever pitch with bikes and riders bumping and bouncing off each other all the way to the line, Jake took the checkers in P10 overall taking the final Superbike position. That afternoon / evening, after rider – crew chief debrief, it would be a silent night in the pits. Only the sounds of ratchets spinning and tools clashing on aluminum workbenches broke through the Georgia night.

Visors come down, gloves are adjusted for the final time and then revs come screaming to life. The lights go out and for the final time this weekend, the 16 riders all dash for the apex of Turn 1. The entire group stayed close together for the most part of the opening laps. However, as the race progressed, another lead group developed around 5 main riders who were pulling away from the chasing pack. By the halfway point, Jake was once again riding solo. Josh Hayes would send his bike off the track in a manner more befitting of NASA than a Superbike and two other retirements helped to move Jake up the standings. At the line, Jake brought the Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda home in P7 Overall and P6 in class.

While the results were not what anyone on the team had hoped for or feel were commiserate with the amount of effort put into the event, all was not lost. Despite the issues, the general tone was optimistic. The difference between Saturday’s race and Sunday’s was over 20 seconds in total time. That is a massive positive step forward and when factored in with faster trap speeds and a more confident feeling on the bike, Jake and his crew are looking forward to VIR. Ever mindful that they are developing one of the rarest bikes on any national or international stage, they carry forward and remain determined to get closer to the top of the box before mid-season.

Jake Gagne – Superbike

“This whole weekend was a struggle, we kinda knew that coming into the event because we didn’t really have time to figure out what happened at COTA. We thought we found the solution at the Dunlop Tire testing facility but we couldn’t be sure until we got out on track.

We lost a lot of time during practice so we kinda fell behind heading into the races. Race one was a real struggle. I haven’t struggled like that for an entire race in a long time. So we regrouped and came into race two feeling more positive and believing we made some progress. I knew we had a better bike and we proved it. While the result wasn’t what we had hoped for, we did find some extra speed and I was over 20 seconds faster than Saturday. So we’ll take those positive steps and keep building and head into VIR with a clearer path forward.”

Danny Walker – Team Principal

“This was a tough weekend for the team to be sure. I think though that it’s important that we all remain aware of what it is we are trying to do. We are working on developing a new race bike while racing. We don’t have the luxury that other teams have had with running a motorcycle that is further down the development path than we are at the moment. We didn’t get much testing in so we are literally figuring this bike out as we go, which is difficult because the successes are overshadowed by perceived failures which happen in front of everyone. There’s no hiding what we are trying to do. At this stage of development, even the mistakes are positive as we learn from them and zero in on the correct path forward.

What’s important for me is to keep that intent, the purpose of what we are doing front and center when dealing with my crew. Scotty is that rare guy who is not only a top tier racer but translated his career into the technical crew chief role. He’s probably even more driven to succeed that Gagne is and it’s hard to temper the racer in him when the results aren’t there. For Jake’s part, I know it’s not easy. When you’re used to winning championships to come off a season like we had last year, it can seem like an eternity since you last stepped onto the box.

The reality is we are doing well, not awesome, but where we sort of knew we’d be. We are in constant contact with Honda and their partners feeding them data and information that they are using to continuously develop parts and parameters for us to try. We all remain very encouraged by our partner’s actions and also by the fans that constantly come by to tell us how happy they are that Honda is back on the grid and to keep blazing a new trail. It’s only been four races and we remain determined to sort out the problems and push through. That’s how you develop a winning machine. We have a goal to be running up front by mid-season. I’m confident that with Jake’s ability and Scott’s insights we’ll get there. Our partners are with us and our fans have been extremely supportive. With those things in mind, we move onto VIR and continue to improve, continue to develop this awesome bike and continue to make positive strides.”

Scott Jensen – Crew Chief

“We came into Road Atlanta hoping to build on our opening weekend progress at COTA.

The team managed to get in a partial day of testing on the Tuesday between events to try to sort out our electrical issue from COTA. We were all optimistic leaving the test that we had it sorted, but we quickly found out at Road Atlanta that we had not rectified the problem.

When the race weekend starts off with an issue in the first session, you spend the rest of the event playing catch up. And this is unfortunately the situation we found ourselves in. Luckily, with a rider like, Jake the focus is always on going faster regardless of the situation and this is exactly what we did all event. As we did at COTA, we learned a ton on how to make the bike faster and more competitive in the near future.

Bring on VIR!!”

More, from a press release issued by SBS Brakes:

Putting the Brakes on at MotoAmerica!

Reading, PA – April 30, 2017 – SBS is proud to support our racers who ran last weekend at Road Atlanta in the WERA Triple Crown support event. Billy Ethridge took home the top podium step and Nate Kern followed up in third place after a great battle with Brad Burns. Ethridge set the pace from the first practice session and ran a race of his own after Tim Bemisderfer disappeared from the timing screen. Ethridge, Kern and Burns were all on SBS brake pads of course.

Chris Jensen, SBS North American Market Manager states: “Congratulations to Billy on the win and a fine podium effort by Kern who raced a BMW S1000RR street bike that was prepped last minute Friday night – still had the factory lights and kickstand installed. The only factory race parts used were the SBS Dual Sinter brake pads which are identical to the ones used by Althea BMW in the World Superbike Championship. The crowd cheered when Nate’s bike was parked on its side stand in winners circle. Any racer looking to order SBS pads now or in the future can find their closest authorized SBS Racing Dealer at: www.racingbrakesusa.com”

About SBS Friction A/S

SBS is a world leader within the development, production and sales of disc brake pads and friction solutions for motorcycles, scooters, motorsport and special applications. Based on our vast friction experience, we supply both the OEM and aftermarket and offer a full range of compounds for all riding styles. Made in Denmark, SBS Friction is part of the SBS Group.

SBS – The Power to Stop You!