Our trained World Superbike reporter, Kent Brockman, has his eye on the World Superbike Paddock, and is ever vigil for the next big braking breaking story.
Submitting a lengthy preview of what to expect from the 2017 WorldSBK season, we have broken it up into two parts in order to make more money whet your appetite ahead of this weekend’s season-opener at Phillip Island.
If you missed it, you can read Part 1 of his WorldSBK season preview here, other continue on for Part 2 of this opus. -JB
Can the real Tom Sykes step forward?
There are few people on the face of the earth more competitive than world-class motorcycle racers. To be a champion, it means that you need a single-minded focus and an ability to believe that you’re the best in the world.
It’s galling when your teammate is the reigning world champion and as a former champion it must be even worse for Tom Sykes.
The 2013 World Superbike champion knows how difficult it is to climb to the top of the mountain, and in the wake of Jonathan Rea’s dominance of the last two years, he’d be forgiven for being downcast.
Speaking during winter testing, however, Sykes is fired up, albeit realistic, about the challenge he’ll face this year.
“I can put my head on the pillow at night knowing that even if I’ve been beaten, I’ve tried my best,” reflected Sykes. “Things aren’t what they used to be here at Kawasaki, and the bike isn’t the bike that I developed.”
“With the changes in rules, we’ve had to come a long way away from the bike that I won my title on. It’s no longer what I would consider the pure race bike that I was riding in the past. That makes it easier to take.”
“I think, all things being equal, if I was able to develop the bike exactly what I had a couple years ago, I’d be lot stronger than what I am now. Having said that, the bike is what it is, and it has been causing me some problems.”
“This generation of bike doesn’t suit me and my riding style like it does for Jonathan. He and the bike are at one, and they’re has been a harmony between him and the bike for a couple of seasons now – that’s just the way it is. That’s just racing though, and things have changed.”
Over the course of the winter, Sykes and his crew chief Marcel Duinker have tried to continue evolving Sykes riding style.
The Yorkshire native has a unique approach to riding that has been hugely successful at times in his career, and has allowed him to sit on the cusp of claiming the record number of Superpole victories – but race wins have been harder to come by.
Sykes needs just six poles to overtake Troy Corser as “Mr. Superpole”, but with 17 wins since claiming his title in 2013 the proof of the pudding is in his lack of consistency on race days.
On the other side of the garage, Rea has claimed 23 victories since joining Kawasaki two seasons ago. When Sykes won his title, it looked as though he could run rampage on the class and lay down his status as a WorldSBK legend. Does it frustrate him not to be seen in that light?
“At the end of the day people are entitled to their opinions, and I’ll just do what I can. I know in the past in 2013 and 2014, when the bike was more of a racing bike, I was able to win races by ten seconds or more in dry conditions, which you don’t often see.”
“So that’s the most frustrating bit for me, but I’m not bothered about the recognition. My only concern is about my own goals and my own feeling. That’s what’s frustrating for me, rather than what people’s opinions are.”
“Having that bike in the past where I could ride to my maximum for 20 laps, and now not to be able to get the best from myself for the 20 laps. That’s what’s really frustrating.”
Sykes is an honest and straightforward man, and he has generated a band of loyal followers within Kawasaki. Apart from Duinker, it is Danilo Casonato, his data engineer, that is the closest member of the crew.
Their work in trying to find a solution to the problems that Sykes has faced in the last few years rarely goes unnoticed by the rider and it’s something that once again he stressed during testing.
With the change of regulations once again leaving him feeling on the back foot, Sykes commented that the bike has improved consistently with more time and development.
“Having a good environment and a good relationship with my crew is so important to me. I’ve no doubts that all the mechanics and engineers are probably the best team inside the paddock. I’m very lucky in that respect, and Danilo has done a great job to keep improving the feeling from the bike for me.”
“For 2017 I’ve got some goals and the main target is to try and put some gremlins to bed, between me and the bike and get back to my true form.”
“That’s my main target because if we do that we can try and win the championship. There’s no question that for sheer speed we’re potentially the fastest on the grid. I need a few more Superpoles to overtake a great rider like Troy Corser, and that would mean something to me.”
Damage Limitation in Early Rounds for Hayden
It was hard not to think of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” when the Honda WorldSBK team had their first public running of the new Fireblade last month.
It’s hard to imagine a more eagerly anticipated bike, but it’s also difficult to remember one whose first four days of running left those present more deflated.
With the bikes having only arrived at the Ten Kate workshop in early January, there was precious little time for the team to get the bikes ready. As a result, the bikes ran with a multitude of 2016 parts that will be replaced in the coming months.
A major engine upgrade is also planned for the Aragon round when WorldSBK returns to Europe. That upgrade can’t come soon enough, but in the meantime there may be only small upgrades before the start of the campaign.
Last year the Dutch squad outperformed expectations throughout the campaign, and impressed everyone by finding new ways to eek performance from an aging bike.
It had been hoped that the new bike would offer an immediate step forward, but that was perhaps an overly optimistic expectation.
At the Jerez and Portimao tests it was clear that edge grip was the primary concern with the riders, Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl; both clearly ill at ease on the bike. The team also needs to get a better understanding of the demands that the new engine will place on electronics.
The 1,000cc inline four-cylinder engine is quite different to the outgoing model and the torque, power, and traction control maps will all need to be adjusted. This is an upgrade that should be available from Phillip Island.
“The team didn’t have a lot of time to prep the bikes, but they did a great job of turning the bike into a race bike after only a few weeks,” said Hayden.
“There is more potential compared to last year and already the new bike is better coming out of slow corners. At the moment this bike is so early in it’s development that we’ll improve elsewhere with the upgrades that we get.”
“The engine is now at the start of it’s development rather than last year when it was at the end of it’s development.”
“We’re really struggling with edge grip and the bike pumping and not being stable on the exit of the corners. It’s clear that we’re a long way off, so we’ve got to stay focused and try and come up with a solution.”
“I hope that as we start introducing the new parts, we’ll see some progress because it’s not ideal to have a hybrid bike out there that is half one thing and half another. It’s difficult to make that work, and we hope that some of the new parts will start to help us find a solution.”
With two days of testing in Australia before the opening round, there will be time to get the bike dialed into the Phillip Island circuit. Hayden has always been strong at the track, and came close to opening his first WorldSBK season with a rostrum finish last year.
The flowing nature of the track should mask some of the issues that the team was having in testing – with a new engine map also potentially filling some of the holes that Hayden has been feeling in the power delivery.
The Thai round will likely be quite a challenge for the team, but with their upgrade packages expected from Aragon onwards it shouldn’t be long before the bike goes as well as it looks in it’s new for 2017 Red Bull livery.
“The season comes quickly in Superbike, and I’m looking forward to Phillip Island because I love that track. I don’t know what to expect for Australia, but the team will look at the data and try and improve the mapping to smooth the power out, and then we’ll see how it is. I won’t make any predictions yet for it.”
While Hayden wouldn’t offer any predictions for the opening round, he did offer an opinion on the new for 2017 grid regulations. With the race winner set to start from ninth and the podium finishers lining up on row three, it’s a change that the American is positive about.
“Maybe as a pure racer, I don’t love the changes, but I think they’ve done a pretty decent job finding a good mix. This isn’t a completely backwards grid. I think what they want to accomplish is to make the second race a bit different than the first race.”
“It penalizes the guys who win, but there’s a lot of things in life you get penalized for; I don’t like paying the taxes I pay! I don’t really think at the end of the races it’s going to change a whole lot. We saw Chaz win races from second row last year. I think the fast guys will still get to the front.”
Whether or not the former MotoGP champion is at the front will depend on the development of the Honda, but he is sure to be digging deep to get the most from himself, his team and his bike.
The Golden Rule
What’s the most intriguing intra-team rivalry in WorldSBK 2017? Entering their third season, it’s clear that Jonathan Rea vs. Tom Sykes has all the makings of a great rivalry, but given Rea’s dominance, it’s never lived up to the hype.
Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri will be interesting, but we’ve already seen them scrap it out for team honors when they were partnered at BMW. Stefan Bradl and Nicky Hayden are both Grand Prix champions, but it will take time for Honda to develop their raw Fireblade into a consistent threat.
The Yamaha battle, on the other hand, looks poised to be a classic. Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark have long been seen as the two top young riders in the class, and now they go head to head.
When the season kicks off in Australia at the end of the month it should be Lowes that has the upper hand, based on his experience of the bike from 2016 – but it shouldn’t take van der Mark too long to get up to speed.
The dynamic between the two riders will be a key subplot throughout the season, and just like leaves blowing in the wind there will be a force of nature, and a battle of wills, never far from the surface of the garage.
“What are our targets for this year? We want to be as close to the Kawasakis and Ducatis as possible,” said Lowes. “The Aprilia is a championship-winning bike and will obviously be very strong also.”
“Yamaha’s target has to be to try and be considered as close with them guys rather than being nearly up there. That’s what we try to achieve.”
Last year, Yamaha’s return to WorldSBK was a trying campaign for the Crescent Racing-run squad. The team capped their season with Sylvain Guintoli standing on the podium at the penultimate race in Qatar, but overall it was a disappointment.
It was an injury-marred campaign for both riders, with Lowes starting the season with a badly injured shoulder that limited his running in testing to a maximum of seven laps per stint.
As a former British Superbike champion, it’s been a tough three years in WorldSBK for Lowes with a trio of podiums the highlights for his efforts. Going into his second season aboard the Yamaha, he’s confident that this season could see an upturn in his fortunes.
“Of course, it’s been tough to come here, but you can’t take it personally. I’ve learned so much since coming here, and it’s been clear from when I first came to WorldSBK I was fast and that I had the speed.”
“I think that at times I haven’t sort of dealt with difficultly as good as I could, but I also think that’s all behind me now, and that I’m a better person for it. I’m enjoying my riding as much as I ever have. I’m as motivated as I ever have been. I’m fit and healthy and looking forward to this year.”
“The guys I work with are fantastic. I’ve got confidence in the crew. We work really well together. I’ve got a good relationship with them. We’ve got a couple of new guys come in the team that structurally we’ve got a bit more of a plan now.”
“That obviously gives a rider confidence. So I feel confident, but I’ve just got to be realistic as well and take each weekend as it is and get the best result that I can.”
Having won the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hours and raced for Tech3 Yamaha as a replacement rider last year, it’s clear that the factory has a lot of faith in Lowes. He will know that the first step to maintaining that faith will be to beat his new teammate.
For van der Mark, the 2017 season marks his first season not on a Honda in the WorldSBK paddock. The former STK600 and Supersport champion has a great curriculum vitae, and like all up and comers, the 24 year old knows that he needs to beat his teammate if he is to keep impressing.
Last year saw him finish ahead of Nicky Hayden in the championship, with six podiums and a pole position the highlights of a strong campaign in what he expects to be a very competitive field.
“To be honest I think at the moment there are so many strong riders, strong bikes. It’s good for the championship, but I don’t know what to expect,” said the Dutchman.
“I think it will be even closer than before. I think all the teams need to make another step this year to get closer to Kawasaki and Ducati, who have been in front so much over the last few years.”
Like his teammate, Van der Mark brings with him a champion’s mentality and having gone two years since winning in WorldSSP, he is growing impatient to taste success once again.
“I just want to win. I think the last time I won something was a karting race! For me, I think our main goal is to be on the podium consistently. I think we can be there, but I just want to win. I have confidence in the team and the people around me.”
“Obviously there’s work to be done, and we have to get used to each other, and I also need to speak English all day but it’s getting more comfortable and we’re all working well together. With Alex and myself, I think it’s good for us to have two young riders. We’re both young and we both want the same thing.”
That same thing is to win races and beat each other. It’s almost time for lights out, but the fireworks from the Yamaha garage could illuminate the coming season.
New regulations for 2017
The 2017 season sees some significant rule changes for WorldSBK. The most high-profile of these has been the switch to a shuffled grid for Race 2 that will see the podium finishers start on the third row of the grid.
The Superpole qualifying sessions will define the grid positions for Race 1 as well as the grid positions for Race 2 of riders who finish tenth or lower in Race 1. The top nine riders on the grid for Race 2 will be based upon the results of the opening race of the weekend.
The podium finishers will start in reverse order on the third row of the grid, while the finishers fourth to ninth will make up the front two rows of the grid. Superpole results will determine the starting positions for riders who finished in tenth or lower in the opening race.
The opening rounds of the year will potentially see some confusion for fans, but it looks set to certainly offer a lot of excitement as the fastest riders are forced to battle through the field.
In 722 WorldSBK races, the winner has started from the third row of the grid or back on 59 occasions. Winning races can happen from the midfield, Noriyuki Haga achieved the feat a record nine times, but it is a huge challenge for riders.
Reaction has been mostly positive from the WorldSBK grid, and the opening round of this experiment at Phillip Island will certainly be hotly anticipated.
Another change for 2017 sees the banning of split throttle bodies. This will force teams to reconfigure their engines, and it will lead to a much greater challenge for some riders.
The split throttle bodies allowed teams to engineer their bikes so that they only opened one or two cylinders at a time in a bid to offer the rider more control in a corner.
The improved feel and smoother power delivery helped Leon Camier to some exceptional performances in 2016 but the MV Augusta rider looks set to be one of the riders most heavily punished by the change in regulations.
Photos: © 2016 Steve English – All Rights Reserved
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