MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news FIM Superstock 2006 - Round Five - Silverstone - Qualifying 2 - Beowulf Racing (Nick Henderson)
May 27th, 2006
 MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news

Like the rest of the riders in the 2006 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, Beowulf Racing’s Nick Henderson failed to better his Friday qualifying time at Silverstone today. Running the Beowulf Suzuki with a dry set-up on a wet track meant that Henderson finished today’s second qualifying session at the bottom of the timesheets and 17 seconds off the pace. Whilst the situation might seem like a disaster at first glance, it actually forms part of the team’s strategy for tomorrow’s 15-lap race.

This morning’s half-hour free practice session was run on a mainly dry track in overcast conditions. Lapping a third of a second slower than yesterday, Henderson experienced problems stringing a consistent lap together – particularly struggling at the Brooklands complex of hairpins which is perhaps more suited to a go-kart track than accommodating 180mph+ racing machines.

With the afternoon timed qualifying period directly following a torrential downpour of rain, the team realised there would be no way that Nick could better his Friday times set in the dry. Instead of playing to the conditions, the squad elected to send the Australian out with a dry set-up, which automatically relegated him to the bottom of the scoresheet.

Afterwards Team Manager Andy Stone explained the decision: “We ran Nick in the wet during the Friday morning free practice session and with the track the way it is now there was no way anyone was going to go faster than they managed yesterday afternoon. Although the weather is predicted to improve tomorrow, I’ll be surprised if it will be good enough to allow a clear-cut decision on tyres and suspension. If we’re caught in a position where the track is slightly damp, or there’s just a little bit of rain, we’ve got the data that will help us decide which way to go. Plus, Nick now has the experience of riding a “dry” bike on a wet track – and that’s a position every rider finds himself in sooner or later.”

With no rider in the field bettering his Friday times, and Henderson’s lap times tumbling as the track finally began to dry at the end of the session, the decision appears to be vindicated. The weather still has its part to play in the outcome of tomorrow’s race but Beowulf Racing may just have rolled the dice in a slightly more cunning fashion than their opponents.
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