Action-Packed First Day In Macau As Michael Rutter And Stuart Easton Set The Pace

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

by Barry Russell

Like the Isle of Man TT, the Macau Grand Prix starts early. The paddock was buzzing by 7:00am ahead of the first practice session for motorcycles at 7:30. After a year of serving everyday traffic, the Guia circuit can be slippery and it always seems bizarre to me that they send bikes out first, when cars would clean the track and lay down much more rubber at less risk to the racers. One cynical old hand suggested that it is because the car racers don’t want to risk their paintwork and it didn’t really matter if a biker or two went down the road. If this event is unusual for mixing cars and motorcycles, I am starting to figure out why.

Michael Rutter was fastest on the AXA Ducati, ahead of Simon Andrews on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki, who is on only his second visit to Macau. Stuart Easton, winner for the last two years, was third on his Paul Bird Kawasaki, while American Jeremy Toye, the last man within a second of Rutter’s time, was fourth. Gary Johnson was 8^th and his teammate, James Hillier 11^th.

Both AIM Suzuki riders came to Macau with their BSB settings and were working to find the right base for the Guia circuit. Hillier noted that it had initially been a challenge to get to know the track again, particularly on the narrow, twisty part of the second sector where finding the right lines and rhythm is crucial to posting good lap times.

Johnson used old tyres because the track surface and his base setting wouldn’t have allowed him to put any more power down on new rubber from the highly tuned GSX-R engine. He found the white lines slippery and stayed away from them but was pleased with the way he got into the flow. “The tyres are bigger than I’ve used before so it’s hard work to get the bike turned. The set up was a bit vicious, so we’re softening the suspension a bit to try and calm it down, but only a little. The Paul Bird Kawasakis look really good: while I’m fighting the bike, they look like they’re on rails. I can match their pace, but I’m having to work ten times as hard,” he grinned.

“I’m pleased with the effort the team is putting in to get the right set-up for qualifying and we’ll be trying some new tyre compounds too. Tim Seed is a brilliant electronics guy to be working with and his work will make a big difference.”

With the feedback given to the team, the two riders and I took a stroll to the nearby Sands Hotel and Casino, where discussions on sector times, lines and gear ratios continued over a McDonald’s breakfast. The coffee was several quality levels above the brew that this chain normally serves up and clearly formulated to keep gamblers awake. It was very welcome after my 4:30am start.

Each pit garage at Macau has four motorcycles crammed into it. Johnson and Hillier shared theirs with Cameron Donald and John McGuinness. With an average crew of three for each racer and a tiny storage space at the back where the riders get changed, it’s not exactly glamorous, but does make for a great spirit between the riders and teams.

As I tapped a few notes into my laptop at the back of the garage, I began chatting with East Coast Yamaha’s Czech rider, Michal Dokoupil, who is on his first visit to Macau and first ride on the bike after two years on Irish and Czech roads and doing well, posting the 18^th fastest time on the East Coast Yamaha R1 in the first session. After he had gone, East Coast team mechanic, “Spider”, told me that Michal had been in a casino on the first night in Macau, put all his chips on his race number, 23, won HK$2,000 (US$260, or GBP160) and spent it on buying drinks for the team. Ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing else you need to know about the spirit of road racing.

With 30 minutes left before afternoon practice and qualifying, the riders returned to the pit garages and activity and tension levels shot up in tandem. The air and track temperatures were a lot warmer than the early morning session, so the riders left it until the last minute to change into their leathers while trying to work out which tyre compounds were likely to work best. As the last bike screamed out of the pit lane, a mood of quiet apprehension took over as teams and media huddled around timing and TV screens. Another 10-15 minutes, activity hit new peak levels as riders began to come in to make adjustments and change tyres.

Michael Rutter again set the pace, progressively moving down to the 2:25s with only Stuart Easton able to get anywhere near him and only six more riders getting under 2:30. Gary Johnson lead the rest at just a tenth over that mark, with James Hillier just behind him. Gary had worked hard and, despite being almost three seconds faster than in the morning, was frustrated that a great electronics package and one of the fastest engines out there were being compromised by chassis and suspension settings that were not matching last year’s, when only he and Stuart Easton had managed to break the previous lap record. He spent a while debriefing the team and sent them off on a mission to restore his 2009 settings before the final qualifying session at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

At the moment the battle for the top step of the podium on Saturday afternoon looks a straight fight between Rutter/Ducati/Dunlop and Easton/Kawasaki/Pirelli, unless someone else can conjure up a significant improvement.