Radical Changes gives Mladin the boost he needed

A decision to make wholesale changes to his new 2001 Suzuki GSX-R750 Superbike has resulted in Australian Mat Mladin being able to drop his lap times by over a second a lap during a two-day test session (Feb 14 & 15) held at the Willow Springs International Raceway in California.

Mladin's Yoshimura Suzuki team were joined by fellow American AMA Superbike Championship contenders at the test, including New Zealander Aaron Slight, who looks set to race in the American series with the Competition Accessories Ducati team.

A decision was made early on the first day of the test, that some significant changes were needed so that Mladin could get more feel from the bike, especially with the front end.

"I came in after a few laps and told the guys straight away that we have to make some serious changes that I felt would allow me to get my lap times down to where they should be," said Mladin. "We ended up moving my riding position about 100mm further forward, which meant moving the seat, footpeg and handlebar positions. Once we did that, I then had to spend the rest of the day changing my riding style, which was fine as the lap times were coming down and I knew we were heading in the right direction. It put a lot more weight on the front of the bike and that is what I was searching for."

With the information gained, Mladin's Yoshimura Suzuki team packed up early and headed home to begin fabricating the necessary parts before the teams next and final test session next week (again at Willow Springs) before the season opener at Daytona Beach on March 11.

Even while chasing a completing new set up for the Suzuki, Mladin was consistently the fastest rider at the test, setting a best time of 1:19.55. Steve Rapp (Competition Accessories Ducati) set the fastest time of the test, with a 1:19.31 in the closing minutes. Next were the two Kawasaki's of Eric Bostrom and Doug Chandler and the Ducati's of Larry Pegram, Slight and Scott Russell.

As the defending champion at the Daytona 200, Mladin's final pre-season test next week will be vitally important if he wishes to repeat his 2000 results.

"We'll be testing a whole heap of stuff that Suzuki has prepared especially for us for the Daytona race," added Mladin. "As it is the only race of the season with pit stops and tyre changes, we have had some parts made which will hopefully allow us to get the important pit stops done as quickly as possible."

While the teams were testing at Willow Springs, championship organisers, the American Motorcyclist Association announced that the Willow Springs promoters were having difficulty in raising adequate sponsorship money to hold the round. A decision as to their position is set to be made in the coming week.