James East put in two good finishes in his first 1000cc Races in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at Brands Hatch and Thruxton.
Brands Hatch Round 1
2013 is a go.
After some freezing cold testing followed a similar set up day at Brands Hatch, putting the all new Idaq Garage Up along with the hospitality area, in the snow.
James East as well as Peter Ward and Paul Curran all sat out Friday practice due to the freezing and wet weather, progress with the set up of the motorcycles would not of been achieved in such track conditions and wasn’t worth the risk.
For Qualifying 1 James eased in to the session, this being the first time James had ridden in anger feedback from the bike made him all the more certain that a lot of changes would need to be made to get the bikes 190-200BHP to the floor and turn. He would end the group B session in 19th place on a 49.181 lap time.
Qualifying 2 The improvements made to the bike helped James find the grip needed to take 1.1 seconds off of his lap time. He gets down to a 48.068 to put Him 13th in session.
With 58 entrants in Superstock at Brands Hatch the class was divided in to two groups ‘A’ and ‘B’
The two classes are combined by fastest times and put together James has a final qualifying position of 22nd next to his team mate Paul Curran.
James – “ We made a big improvement for Qualifying 2 and this showed in the lap times, I was still not able to get the power to the floor early enough so we will trawl the data and see what improvements can be made to try in warm up”
Warm-Up
After changing the way the bike sits the position helps Easty to find the grip he needs, this will help for the race with not only pace, but tyre conservation also.
Race
James gets a good launch for his first race start on the 1000 and James stays out of trouble on the first few short laps.
By lap 6 he is up to 18th place and closing down on the pack to the points positions.
He battles his was from this moment on in a close race. On lap 18 he moves in to a point scoring position of 15th and holds this until the flag.
James “ I am happy to work from 22nd to put myself on the championship board in my first 1000cc race. Winning is why I race and in such a tight class in terms of talent I know I need to learn to race the 1000 the right way to do so. We will work hard towards this from now on. Thank you to my team Idaq Motorsport for a great package, PCR Performance for building a great motorcycle, my mechanic Dave Hopkinson for putting in 110% from the start of the weekend and most of all my personal sponsors for making it possible for me to compete. “
Thruxton
Round 2 is at the fast and flowing Hampshire circuit and again mixed weather is on the cards from the met office.
James enjoys the circuit a lot with some success in the past with Pole positions in superstock 600 and cup podiums in Supersport, however the circuit will prove a lot more technical on the powerful ZX10-R Kawasaki.
Free Practice
WET – James gets grip from the abrasive surface and gets to work on the set up. Big changes are needed to deal with the flat high speed direction changes and long stretches on the power.
He ends the session in 8th place on a time of 1:25:082.
Qualifying 1
Dry with some damp patches. James pulls his lap time down to a 1:19:989 Putting him 10th in session but frustrated as he wasn’t able to get the ZX10’s power to the floor. Suspension changes including springs were changed after the session to change the way the bike would transfer its weight under power.
Qualifying 2
Torrential Rain. James with a lot to learn on the 1000 but good past knowledge of Thruxton Circuit’s unique grip levels took to the track to try some different settings on the water logged circuit.
He ends the session safely in 8th position.
Warm Up
Sunday morning was bright but damp from Saturdays down poor. James dodged the puddles and ended the session in 11th place. East returns happy after the session realising that the changes made on the previous day worked, making the bike more reactive, finding more grip.
Race
James gets a good launch cutting to the inside of the pack for turn 1. Bikes are everywhere in the first braking area and James gets forced wide by a rider having to sit up to avoid an incident. Nevertheless Easty ends lap 1 in 18th. In a close race swapping paint James switches positions and stays out of trouble until he makes a move on lap 6 up to 15th. James closes down a pack of riders and moves up to 13th on lap 10 with a view of 10th position but the race is red flagged and stopped after a crash involving 3 riders.
East Finishes 13th beating his Qualifying time by nearly a second. 1:19:040.
James – “ I enjoyed the race, despite being hindered by a knee slider flying off in the early part of the race, I was gutted when the race was stopped as I had been calm the whole race, staying out of the trouble around me, So I had good grip. I was confident I could push through the group I was in to 10th place then once on my own lapped a good amount faster given the race had gone full difference.
My mechanic Dave and I have worked hard this weekend, trying many different settings to get a good feeling with the bike so I am able to push and we achieved this by race day.
My inexperience on the ZX10 hinders me at the start of the weekend as I do not have a setting from the start I can go fast on, so qualifying is tough. This will change in time because piece by piece we are getting faster and more a custom to the 1000. We are testing now before Oulton Park so I am aiming to get a leg up on the settings before the next race meeting. If this is successful hopefully we can qualify better and run further up the order. ”
East – Championship Position – 15th
James would like to thank his personal sponsors for their support
Homechoice Carpets-Leeds
Idaq.com
GHM Services
ToiletSpares.co.uk
Cougar Leathers
Bikers Division Ltd
R&G Racing
Samco Sport By Racebikebitz Ltd
Paul ‘Noddy’ Brown
