RT Motorsports IDM Nurburgring
GPR Mailing List
Dealers
Jun 1st, 2010
Last Thursday the RT Motorsports Team traveled down to the famous Nurburgring beautifully situated in the Eifel, but also notorious for unpredictable weather. This proved to be no different this weekend. After many problems with the Ohlins suspension and despite repeated testing and after two IDM events in which the team could not find a suitable setting, the decision was made to change to another manufacturer. The package does not appear to fit with our drivers and it is clear, despite many settings / adjustments and shim stack changes, it was difficult to settle on a setup to work with our Honda CBR1000RR motorcycles.
Through our contacts, we were tipped off to K-Tech. Ultimately it was decided to take this step and begin using their product immediately.
Last Thursday night Chris Taylor from K-tech fitted closed cartridge forks and mounted the new K-tech rear shock to both Gareth and Jed’s bikes and after close consultation with the team members along with Chris from K-tech, we decided upon a solution to start practice with.
The free practice sessions on Friday were very productive. Gareth and Jed used good Pirelli rubber, and set up the bikes with the new suspension quickly and effectively. The riders were quite impressed with the new K-Tech suspension.
Gareth and Jed says the following about the new suspension: “The K-Tech front closed cartridge gives a much better feeling for what the tires do and how far you can push it which has lead to improved confidence. The K Tech-closed cartridge system has lots of settings and allows us to find the right settings. The K-Tech rear shock gives us the option of significantly higher cornering speeds and much more stable acceleration on hard acceleration.”
Under dry conditions, the qualifying on Saturday resulted in a starting position of P12 for Gareth Jones. The times were very close. Only .4 of a second would have meant a second row start. Jed Metcher had a little difficulty in qualifying and would have to start from P21, the young Aussie made good progress with each session on track.The weather conditions were Tricky on race day but luckily both races were held in dry conditions, although the first race was halted just short of the finish due to rain. Gareth rode in two races for a perfect ninth place, with the prestige of his lap times, comparable with the Top 5, we conclude that the right choices are made.
Rookie Jed Metcher rode two perfect races even though the final results do not show the progress made, P18 in race 1 and P17 in race 2 were nevertheless acceptable because he turned lap times equal to the top 12. A busy but successful weekend in which all team members have done their best, the result is the bonus for the whole team and sponsors to reach our goal.
Gareth currently occupies the 12 position in the standings and Jed is 20th. The coming weeks will be used to prepare the engines and try to improve the package in line with our goal of being further toward the front.
We look forward to the fourth round of the IDM championship on the 18th through to the 20th June at the Sachsenring.
