2007 season on its way (a week in the mud to get started) February 21, 2007
Posted by paulwalton in : Uncategorized , trackbackBy Paul Walton (team Mechanic)
13th to 20th Feb 2007British Midlands and Wales
After a long time off the bike due to injury, Fabien decided that he wanted to get some early season training done to improve his skills in the wet. I though this would be an ideal time to test some suspension changes and bike modifications for the upcoming season. We decided there would be no better place than the UK and with the very kind offer from Tracy for a place to stay, we packed up our stuff and headed for the airport.
Obviously, trying to travel on a tight budget with 80Kg of luggage is not so easy, so the sweating started early because we did not have any coins for the trolleys, it then continued well into the flight due to the heated discussions at check in. We got airborne on 13th and exchanged sunny Nice for Rainy Birmingham!
Tracy had a good schedule planned for the week so I got straight to work prepping the bikes as soon as we got to her place.
Day 1, we were heading for a well known Track in Wales, Rheola – luckily Steve Jones was there to help us get permission to ride the trails and use vehicles in the forest. I also had the opportunity to risk my life driving his van up and down the WRC track. Things went perfectly all day and even the sun was shining on us, we got plenty of testing done and the suspension modifications worked really well.
The second day was equally efficient as Tracy and Fab managed to tire themselves out on a short track just up the road from Steve Jones’ house. Fabien managed to be the first person to beat Jonesies record, so we had to go out and celebrate that evening. Chris Porter from Mojo came along to help with the drinking and turn the night into a very interesting one…..
Friday was a rest day for the riders, so we got a bit of a lie in and I managed to get the bikes prepped for weekend race. The UK mud really kills the bikes so it was a full service for both of them.
We headed over to the race in Ludlow and were welcomed by a very wet track, the melted snow and rain had really brought what we were looking for - thick, sticky mud. The days practice saw us changing between Wet Scream and Swampthings and playing around with the suspension to get optimum grip and rolling. The transport was well organised but the number of riders made it tough for Tracy and Fab to get lots of runs in so we had to make sure we got there early on Sunday to get some more practice time.
Sunday brought a little warmer weather and the tracked dried a little to make things very sticky indeed. Tracy did her first run and was a bit off her usual pace due to a late night at the BCF awards evening. She had a clean run but was slow on the power sections. Her aim was to be up with the boys and she did that by getting a 2:41 which was about 20sec off the fastest time. Fabien had a different goal, he wanted to ride consistently and cleanly testing his foot and skills against the track, not the other riders. Luckily this made for a good smooth run and posted the fastest time of the day.
Tracy managed to eek a few seconds off her first run and finish up with a 2:38, winning the ladies and being up with the men. Fab decided to take it easy in his second run and his main opposition, Marc Beaumont and Julien Cammelini improved on the first runs, so the gap was closed but Fabiens first run still stood on top. Marc was on the same second 2:17 but the splits were in Fabiens favour. Julien also put in a good effort and made a 2:21.
This was an awesome start to the season for Fabien and Tracy, Fab was really pleased to be ahead of such talented riders and especially Marc because of home track advantage.
Week over and back in France now, time to get some high speed testing done and hone the bikes for the world cups. This was the perfect start to the season and hopefully the success will continue throughout the season for Fab and Tracy.
Next stop Maxxis Cup in Gouveia (Portugal) 17 March
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