T&J Racing’s Gessner Completes First Pre-Season Test
T&J Racing’s John Gessner, age 15, completed his first pre-season test on his Yamaha YZF-R6 with two days at Buttonwillow Raceway Park on Feb. 16-17. This was the team’s first visit to the track, and in addition to learning the track layout, Gessner worked closely with CT Racing’s Chris Maguire to test Pirelli’s Diablo Supercorsa tires.
“The Pirellis felt really good at Buttonwillow, and once I learned the track and started to get up to pace, I was able to stay on the throttle mid-corner during a slide a lot longer and more aggressively than I’m used to,” said Gessner. “We ran a single set of Pirelli SC2’s for two solid days, going faster every session, to test setup and duration on the tires and to get a feel for when they start to slide. We only changed tires for the last session of the second day to try a few different things, and we’re very impressed with the grip and durability. I can’t wait to test the Pirellis at a track where we already have set-up data, to see where we can improve. It was great to have a chance to work with Chris, he was a great help explaining the tires to us, and helped us a lot with everything. At the end of the day, we were able to reach our lap time goal, and got a lot of setup data for the race weekend.”
In addition to tires, the team tested several new items from team sponsors, including XT Racing’s GPX Pro 8 data acquisition system, Gessner’s new Vanson Leathers Mk 3 racing suit with the new hydration system, and Sidi Vortice Air boots from Motonation USA, to deal with the anticipated heat during the AFM series at California tracks during the summer.
Gessner plans to continue testing ahead of the AFM season opener March 22-23, working with CT Racing’s Maguire and KFG Racing/GP Suspension’s Barry Wressell to help him get up to speed at the tracks he will race at in 2014.
John “The Stalker” Gessner races for Bellingham, Washington based team T&J Racing, Gessner and the team would like to thank sponsors Vanson Leathers, Vacationland RV Bellingham, Constructors Racing Group, KFG Racing/GP Suspension, Forever 45, The California Superbike School, Arai Americas, XT Racing, Speeddealer Motors, Motonation USA, Spider Grips, Impact Armor, Flexi-Glass and Skagit Powersports.