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PJ Jacobsen’s WorldSBK Learning Curve

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PJ Jacobsen’s rookie WorldSBK campaign is one that will be defined by small steps. The American, racing for Triple M Honda, knows that making progress is the key, and that it will only be in the second half of 2018 that we truly see his potential.

The season opening round of the season at Phillip Island came too soon for Jacobsen, with the team still dialling in its electronics package after a difficult winter.

A vicious highside at Lukey Heights left a lasting impression on the paddock about the task facing the team this year. However, Thailand was much improved with the 23-year-old making progress session by session.

With the electronics more sorted and predictable, Jacobsen was able to fight and battle before claiming the first top ten finish of his WorldSBK career.

“Thailand was a good step for us,” said Jacobsen. “To finish in the top ten was good, and we’ve come a long way from Phillip Island.”

“The electronics and chassis are going well together, and it’s been a huge step. The team is brand new, but everything has just gelled together. In Race 1, I was able to have our first real race fighting with someone, Yonny Hernandez, and it was good to do that again.

“It was important to get the experience of how the bike is reacts in a real race.”

“Race 2 was even better and our pace was not too bad. I saw Lorenzo Savadori in front of me, and I really wanted to hold onto him, and try to get to the end.”

I am really happy for the team because they started out two months ago with literally nothing and they have built this whole team, which is absolutely amazing.”

The New Yorker was buzzing after a strong weekend and joked that “I wish we had a third race” to put the lessons to good use.

Some of the lessons that are being learned by Honda aren’t applicable to the Triple M squad though, with the Red Bull Honda team still using Cosworth electronics.

It is expected that the factory outfit will switch to the Magneti Marelli electronics in the coming weeks, but a definitive date has not been forthcoming yet.

Having had a difficult test in Spain, weather wrecked havoc for two days, it’s clear that the Red Bull squad will take as much time as possible to make their decision for 2018 electronics, but the clock is ticking.

Honda needs to homologate an ECU for the season at the next round of the season, short of being given a dispensation by the FIM and Dorna, and it’s clearly a topic that has been on Jacobsen’s mind.

“We are working on improving the bike in terms of Marelli electronics and also the chassis. There are many factors that work together to reduce the gap, and I still have to get used to the superbike style and how to ride it.”

“I need to get the bike up earlier because at the moment I’m riding the Honda more like a Supersport motorcycle with more lean angle.”

“I need more experience of how the tires behave over the distance. In Thailand, I would like to have driven a third race because we would have certainly taken another step forward. We’ve just got to keep learning and improving.”

While Jacobsen will try and learn as much as possible about the electronics, it still remains to be seen what Honda plans to do for the 2018 season.

The Red Bull Honda team had been expected to make a switch to the Marelli electronics over the winter. Production delays have made it impossible for the team to make the switch and now questions are being asked if it will happen at all.

Honda needs to homologate its ECU for the season at the next round of the championship, and it is uncertain if they will be ready for making the transition.

A two-day test in Spain was hit by rain last month, but the team did spend a day last week testing at Assen. For Chris Pike, Honda’s Operations Manager for WorldSBK, the switch is weighing on his mind, but his target for Jacobsen is just to make progress.

“Triple M are a new team, but they seem well-organized,” said Pike. “For them, and PJ, they’re new to the Superbike so the goal is to start seeing some steady progress in another few rounds time.”

“For Honda, the only goal that we’ve set is to keep improving and to keep the momentum going from the winter tests and these early rounds.”

“We’ll try to build a good base for 2019, to try to make the next step forward. We still don’t know when we’ll switch the electronics to Magneti Marelli.”

“It’s not a simple thing of just switching to the other electronics package,” continued Pike. “We need to have enough parts for all three bikes and enough spares. There’s still delays on some parts and the only schedule that we have is ‘as soon as possible.’ Some parts are coming through but we’re still short of where we want to be.”

“We tested the Marelli unit and it was OK, but the weather wasn’t great, and that kind of put a hand brake on the couple of days for us for what we could have achieved.”

“We did some positive things, and at least the engineers in the Red Bull Honda team did get a lot more of an understanding of the Marelli system, and what it can do. It’s very different to the Cosworth system so they need to understand it and adapt the Marelli system to make it a bit easier to work with.”

While a decision regarding Honda’s electronics is yet to be made, one important decision is rumoured to have been made; Jacobsen will return to the Suzuka 8-Hours this year.

Confirmation is still to be had, but for the American to have been in the frame for the ride already confirms the faith that Honda have in him.

Some of Jacobsen’s previous superbike experience came at the Japanese race, when he was on the pace from the outset. In what is sure to be a challenging rookie campaign in WorldSBK, the Suzuka deal could be a key marker for his progress.

Photos: Honda Pro Racing

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