Posted on Monday, January 17, 2005 - 09:07 am:

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What do you have to do to get a paid ride around here? Second fastest 600 of the test on a two year old Supersport bike... MikeE

MICHAEL BARNES DISCUSSES DAYTONA TIRE TEST

Riding an ex-factory Supersport 2003 Yamaha YZF-R6 owned by David Knapp, father of 17 year old AMA competitor Taylor Knapp, Michael Barnes completed three days of tire testing at Daytona International Speedway with good results. The invitation to participate in the test was extended to Mike by east coast Pirelli dealer "Moose" of Trackside Racers Supply. "Moose gave me a call last week and let me know that Dave Knapp had two R6's that were going to the test, one that his son Taylor was riding, and another that was available", said Mike. "It was a great opportunity to get some development time in for Pirelli and also ride the new track configuration that I had provided input on."

After the first day of testing, Mike managed a best time of 1:46.342, fifth fastest in Supersport, slightly less than .1 seconds behind factory rider Damon Buckmaster. Because of delays in getting to the track, Mike was only able to complete twelve laps. “I had a good idea how the track layout was going to be, so learning the course was not that difficult. The biggest issue initially was a dusty track from the fresh construction and paving, so I tried to get up to speed quickly so I could think about the changes over night”, said Mike.

At the end of Tuesday’s testing, Mike had logged the fastest Supersport time with a 1:44.955, almost a second and a half improvement on the previous day.
Mike said, “Tuesday I continued familiarizing myself with Taylor's bike and tried a couple of different new compounds from Pirelli, which I was pleased with. Once again I didn't complete that many laps, this time due to a front end issue which we were getting close to dialing in. We had planned on doing an endurance run, but we put it off till Wednesday due to Mladin’s incident shortening our schedule a little. I'm glad he is mostly alright, it sounded worse at the time.”

By the end of the test on Wednesday, Mike was able to further reduce his lap time to a best of 1:43.548, again the fastest Supersport time of the day.

“We went out for a morning session 20 lap run or so, and logged some very consistent times, I looked forward to the afternoon when I could try a softer tire for a quick lap”, said Mike. “After lunch I went out for 6-8 laps on what I thought was a soft tire, which is when I did a couple of 43's the better being a 43.5. Later that afternoon I went out on what I thought was a race tire and not pushing that hard tried to get another consistent run in. Around lap nine or so the tire was sliding around a bit going into corners, so I backed off a little for a lap or so to let the tire cool a bit. Around lap 11 or 12, trying to finish my 20 lap stint the rear tire came around on me and I high sided in the new turn four. When I saw the tire, I knew that it was the softer tire that I thought I was on earlier. This in a way was kinda cool, because that meant that the tire I did my fast lap on was really a race tire!”

Mike’s view of the track changes and new layout at Daytona were positive.

“The changes will definitely help the tire wear problem here by eliminating one section of the banking. The new layout is technical but fun. In traffic, it will demand your complete attention and require patience, as Daytona always has. There are only a few areas that need some attention, like the ripples and dip in the new transition to the banking, but both the AMA and the track are very responsive and completely on top of it.”

Regarding plans for the 2005 season, Mike commented “My plans are not yet firm, but it appears as if I'll probably be riding a Buell for Rich Cronrath’s team starting after Daytona, which means I need to find a Formula Extreme ride for the 200. I am talking to someone about Daytona, but this is not yet firm. Thanks to all at Daytona for their help at the tire test, especially Gary Van Voorhis and Ron Barrick.”

From Frank Angel

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