My second Q run wasn’t quite so good. I was on a very good lap, but then made a small mistake in the last sector which cost me a few tenths. Unfortunately, I was at the back of the timesheets by the end of the session. Not that it really bothered me too much, but it just would have been nice to have a couple of names behind me. At least I knew that the people who were just in front of me were at their limit and I was still improving every time I got on the bike.
One thing that I was feeling on the bike was the sheer strength needed to muscle it around. I can ride a 600 all day, but a rip-snorting
MotoGP Ducati is another beast! It’s all about just riding the bike more and more, as eventually your muscles get used to it. I was good for around ten laps but then, after that, my upper body muscles didn’t have the endurance to keep me at my maximum. I was having to back it off to the point where I was comfortable.
I never do any weights for Supersport because I don’t feel that I need to, but a journalist told me that I shouldn’t be admitting that I wasn’t strong enough for the bike. I told him there is every reason for me to admit I’m not strong enough, and there‘s no point in lying about it. The fastest bike I’ve ever ridden is my R6, and the last time I rode that was almost four weeks ago. I never expected to get asked to ride a MotoGP bike and Laguna is probably one of the most physical tracks on the calendar. Add to that the point that, in the early part of the weekend, I was probably making it harder work than it needed to be until I got fully comfortable and had adjusted my style to suit the bike.
Fitness wasn’t a problem - my lungs are more than capable and I’m sure I'm in better shape than quite a few of the riders out there - but I just didn’t have the endurance in my upper body. If I was to ride a MotoGP bike full-time, then that would definitely be something that I would work on.
Chaz#157
Next time: Chaz tells us exactly what it was like to make his MotoGP race debut on one of the most daunting tracks on the calendar...
