Monza
CAMERON STRONACH REPORTS ON ROUND THREE OF THE SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP AT MONZA
MAY 9-11th 2008 
FRIDAY
I am ready to take on Monza, round 3 of the World Superstock FIM Cup. I was lucky to be at Monza a week before for the Italian championships giving me valuable time learning the fast circuit.
During my first practice session we have been having trouble getting the ZX10R stopping so we try out some new brakes and unfortunately they are worse than what we have been using. I do some laps and try to find some better suspension settings as the rear is sliding early on in the session.
We put in another set of new brake pads for the first qualifying and I find that they are good on the first grab but as you slow down more and more into the corner the bike just keeps going. This is frustrating as Monza is all about exit speed but I cannot pull the bike up in time for the very slow chicanes in order to get a good exit. I do the best I can but am still not happy with my lap times.
About 20 minutes into the session I come in and change my rear tyre. Throughout the session I adjust my brake lever to stop it coming into the bar and as the mechanics change my tyre the brakes cool down. I am out again and on my first fast lap I head into Lesmo 1a right hander and when the brakes cool down the lever becomes very stiff and has no feel. I tip in trailing the brake and hit a small dip in the track and before I know it I hit the ground sliding on the tarmac till I hit the gravel trap and tumble in a cloud of dust. I pick myself up and look around to find the bike but the marshals are quickly on the scene and take my bike away. The damage is minimal but my session is over with still 15mins to go.
SATURDAY
We have something new to try with the brakes but still no luck and it makes it difficult to get around Monza without good brakes, I try to brake hard but in turn this affects my exits. We have a long talk and the decision to go back to standard brakes for the second qualifying session had an immediate impact as I started to push and get close to the times I want.
Monza is a good track to slipstream another rider and gain some time so when a rider comes past me I sit with him for a couple of corners. We head down the back straight and into the last corner, as we start to roll on the throttle I see him slow down and head into the pits. With little time left in the session I too quickly head into the pits to make changes to the front and I head out with the chance to get maybe 3-4 laps in. The front works perfectly and I find I can brake a lot later with the front tipping into the corners and holding the line, however with one alteration making the front good it made the rear worse and I spin up coming out of the corners. I have a big lose coming out of Ascari right where my dad is watching nearly giving him a heart attack. I improve my time from Fridays qualifying but is still not enough and I qualify 36th but know I can do better and await the race.
SUNDAY
The red light goes on and it seems like an eternity before it goes out. My launch control has been switched off and I do a big wheelie clicking second gear, not the best of starts but at least I am consistent. I can’t see turn one so I just wait for everyone to brake before I grab the brakes. All of a sudden I see bikes tumble in front of me. With no way through it I have to cut the chicane, I clip another rider and my brake lever is bent up in the air causing me to almost crash on the grass before getting back onto the tarmac. I manage to adjust my lever and continue in the race.
With the first 2 rows taken out on the very first corner I come through for my first lap with no-one insight. I am 15 seconds behind making it a very long and boring race lapping 11 laps by myself. Finishing the race in 21st position is a good position for me but I am unhappy with my lap times and the setup we have. We now have a 4 week break where the Team and I will review the first 3 rounds and find a better setup for Germany.
Until then,