Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot will start tomorrow’s opening MCE british Superbike race at Thruxton tomorrow but intends to sit down with his crew this evening in order to come up with a way to make tyre life longer at Britain’s fastest track.
The Yorkshire toasting fork’s Fireblade is already one of the kindest on its tyres as it doesn’t generate as much grip as other bikes on the grid - Linfoot’s sideways action over the last two days is testament to that - but it also favours the softer SC0 rear Pirelli which will struggle over 20 laps.
“Really happy that I’ve got another Superpole under my belt, I felt a lot more relaxed with this one than at Snetterton a couple weeks ago. It’s nice to be starting on the front row with the leaders but just thinking about how long the tyres last here tomorrow,” said Linfoot.
“Today’s job is done and we’re only a couple of tenths off the pole position. We’ll get together tonight and see about making the tyres last over the 20-lap races tomorrow.”
Team boss Havier Beltran is more interested in how the bike and tyres will perform towards the end of rhe race, especially as poleman Shane Byrne is planning on making an early break.
“Tyre life, and tyre wear, is going to play a big part in tomorrow’s two races. We have some things to try with the riders in warm up tomorrow to help evaluate final tyre choice and settings. It’s been a hot two days here and it’s quite possibly going to be anybody’s race tomorrow,” he said.
“As much as having a good strong pace at the beginning of it, we need to be able to maintain and have a good solid finish in both races. With that in mind we need to see what happens in warm up tomorrow and make sure we’ve got a good direction in the two races.”
