This year’s RC Bike Worlds started the day I returned from Leipzig last year!
The planning for two trips (the first one being the Warm Up in May), which included booking for transportation and hotel, but also the technical details, like parts, tires, etc, started right then.
The reason for this, was to gather the necessary money slowly, so the big cost would not seem so big, if it was to be gathered in –say- 2 or three months only, but to equalize the savings during the previous 10-11 months. Thinking of this, I already started saving for the trip to the 2018 Worlds!
I have already said how I did the Warm Up: I flew with Ryanair, which was very cheap at 143 euros, while I stayed at the Camping, which was just 400 meters from the track, so I walked the distance most of the days, while for the transport to and from the airport which is about 7 km from the track, I asked local friends to help me. In all, the May race came out to be quite economical.
Preparation
For the Worlds, I started looking for room since the winter, but the camping was already fully booked, which meant I'd have to find a hotel far from the track, which meant I'd have to find my own transportation, ie rent a car, in case I would travel by air. Looking at air fares, I realized that the so called cheap Ryanair (and Easyjet, too) which fly direct from Athens to Bologna, were asking around 400 euros for a trip in August!!!
So, in the end, I started looking at alternatives, which would be tried and tested: My Motorcycle! Anyway, I’ve travelled before to the Worlds with my BMW: In 2010 it was Grenoble, in 2011 it was Lostallo and in 2012 it was Riccione.
I did a full service of the bike myself (oils, oil filter, sparks, valves) later and the big, old, good BMW was ready to load.
I also did a trial trip, fully loaded, in June, to check if I would forget something, or that I would take any unnecessary loads with me. I travelled to Argos, in Peloponnisos, which is only 140 km south of Athens, all motorway. Of course, I did it on purpose: There was an rc bike race at the local RC Maniacs track!
I have mounted a chip inside the BMW motronic, which I was offered to try by my friend John Gemi, so I also saw a significant decrease in fuel consumption, while at the same time the bike’s vibrations were lessened due to the changed maps in the BMW fuel injection system. More on the BMW, however, later.
So, I booked a ferry to Ancona, but I did it with the “wrong” ferry company, Minoan, which is notoriously known for being late! However, I had to choose them, because no other ferry was leaving from Patra the day I wanted.
The total mileage was supposed to be around 225 from home to Patra, and then about the same from Ancona to the track.
I booked at the B&B hotel, which is about 5.5 km’s from the track.
My other rc preparation, besides the Argos race, was a race/training day at my local track, FRT.
I bought a new bike last December, the JABBER 2017 and as soon as I had the bike at home, I gave the lexan parts, the rider and fairing to a friend for painting. The months passed and my friend still had it unpainted. So, in late June, I got my driver and fairing back in order to paint them myself. Thankfully, my friend had already covered the insides with liquid mask.
I chose to forego the usual MotoGP and WSBK rider schemes everyone, and me, were doing every year. Instead, I tried to make a replica of a Yamaha R1 which races in the Greek Championship, owned and serviced by Team Wolf-Motul.
So, I found the real bike’s owner, George Paraskevas, who kindly let me take a hundred detailed pics of his bike, then I painted the model a single red color and started making the stickers to stick on the outside of the bodyshell. I made the stickers with the help of my local shop stampotage.gr who finished my design of the logos, printed them in high quality nylon sticker sheet and also laser-cut them, so they are easier to apply.
What came out was very pleasing to my eyes, considering this was practically my first ever attempt to make a bodyshell from start to finish, myself!
The Race
I arrived at the track on Wednesday evening, so actually I didn’t run the bike on the track that day. However, I found almost everyone at the track, so we said our hellos!
On Thursday morning we start with controlled free practice, which means without marshalling, so I have to be careful and not crash (a lot!). Knowing the track since May, helped me a little, so I quickly found a good pace and started doing 25 to 26-sec laps, when not crashing!
Later, on Thursday, we did the Timed Free Practice. I am racing in the Stock class, which, this year had only 12 racers, so we run all together, fast guys and slow guys. I end up in the 10th place. Mind you, this class, in previous years has seen as many as 30 drivers race.
We also do the first of six Qualification run.
The National Teams presentation was done as usual in the afternoon. For some reason, the track didn’t have a Greek flag, even though I know that quite a few racers (with rc cars) have raced here before. Luca, gives me a plaque with Greece hand-written on it! No big deal!
Right after the parade, the classic Beauty contest is happening! Which is the nicest looking bike? Well… it was mine!
Lamberto Collari himself gave me the very heavy trophy! Let’s see how I can carry this on the BMW, now!!!
On Friday we do 5 more Qualifications. In general, I improve all the time, but so all the others. I am racing for the 9th or lower position. In the end I find myself in the 10th position of the final.
On Saturday morning, the finals day, the racing goes quite lightly, since we are very few racers, in total, this year. In stock class, as I said, there are 12 racers, so we all go into the A final. In Superbikes, there are 22 racers, so the TM and the race director decide to let the first 10 drivers in the A final, and the rest 12 drivers go to the B final.
The nitro drivers were also 12, so they were all in one final too.
So, we are all given a 20 minute free practice run, because the racing heats are quite few and the schedule is easy.
Running the finals proved to be an ordeal for me, since I was clearly 2.5 to 3 or more seconds slower than the 7-8 top drivers. The same was true for the other two last drivers.
And it was an ordeal, because quite a few times, seeing the little fast train of 5 fast drivers right behind me, made me very nervous, in order to let them all pass AND not crash with them at the same time. The track being quite narrow, I voluntarily sent my bike straight into a marshal, just to let the fast guys pass easily…
However, when I was alone on the track, I was running 23’s and 24’s… Not very bad!
So, I finished 12th. Out of 12 racers. OK! I will say it: I finished dead last! And this does not mean I didn’t fight as much as I could…
Let’s see it in a positive way, then: I made the A final and I got a trophy! Wow!
Not to mention that everyone back home were shouting to me “bring a trophy”! See… I brought two! Not just one!
Staying in the race things for a while, there are a few notes I took: Team JABBER was very visibly missing from this even, as well as the usually big teams of German and Austrian drivers. The former World Champion Stefan Polydor was also present every day in the pits, but he didn’t race. He was taking pics and helping drivers (and me, among others!).
Speaking of National teams, absent were the British and the Spanish drivers, as well as a few Swedes and others.
As far as my bike went, I was troubled with the updated forks, which were most of the time stuck either fully extended or fully compressed. So, I reverted to the kit fork legs, which were, to say the least, mediocre in performance. Despite my many crashes, I only broke a carbon plate costing a mere 25 euros!
One more point worth noting was the GRP pricing strategy. GRP had set up a tent, as usual, in the pits, selling the tires at a more expensive price than the one that was advertised on their site, until now. I was wondering why they did that, because at the Worlds they usually do discounts for the racers…
As for the other teams, RG dominated all classes, naturally, its bikes being 80-90% of the racers. There were a few Faor bikes, one of which managed to snatch the Stock Class World Championship!
In, all, the race, despite the few racers, compared to previous years, where the racers were almost 100, was done immaculately, thanks to the efforts of the track team, while the track offered very high traction, no matter what day, weather or time it was.
I think it was a narrow track, but then again I am used to the huge FRT track I usually race and practice!
The BMW Log!
Well... the GPS said I did 1223 km's, but being an old (2003) Garmin 2610 model, it loses the satelittes in the tunnels, so it may record accurately the length, but you have to add a few tunnels to it!
The bike odo said I did 1297 km's.
Also, bear in mind, that when the speedo shows 140, the bike is actually doing 132 km/h. At 150 it's doing a nice 138...
On the way to Italy, I did the trip through Attiki Odos, then the new motorway to Patras... about 225 km's.
From Ancona to Bologna, the GPS said it would be around 215 km's.
On the way back, I first tried the Autostrada, but being an August Sunday morning, almost all Bolognese people were out there in their cars, travelling south at intergalactic speeds between 0 (yes, Zero!) and 30 km/h.
So, a few km's down the Autostrada, I moved off of it, found the nice SS9 and followed it until Rimini.
Then, I did the rest on the Autostrada, at a quite good pace.
On Monday, around 1.30 pm, I got out of the boat, at Igoumenitsa. Spent half an hour at the city, trying to pass between stopped and badly parked cars, in order to find an ATM! After I found it, took some cash, then tried to fill up at the only BP gas station near the exit of the port. The guy said no 95 gas, only 100. At what price? 1.850 per liter?! Get out of here!
I rode about 17km's up on Egnatia, then got out at the first exit, towards Karteri. I filled up (at 1,420!) and then got back to Egnatia.
At the 54th km of Egnatia I took the exit towards Ionia Odos, the new motorway going from Ioannina to Patra.
Great new road, boring, if you ask me, low speed limits, mostly 90 and 100, and rarely 120 or 130 for very short stretches, but everyone was doing 130-140... I was doing mostly 100-115... enjoying the scenery too!
(So far, only two toll station operating. Two or three more to start soon).
At Antirrio, I went off the motorway and hopped on a ferry (1 euro for bike and rider!) and 10 minutes later I was at Rio.
The rest of the road to home, was a two hour 225km drive, which I did nonstop.
Total Fuel used: 63,4 liters.
If my calculations are correct, I did just 5,1 liters/100km/h using the GPS mileage!
(It calculates to 4.9 l/100 km if I use the bike odometer!)
Oil consumed? Almost nil!
Not bad at all, I would say. All motorway km's and always fully loaded, and always between 100 and 135-140 km/h (GPS showing).
Things I need?
First I removed the Touratech spoiler that I had mounted on top of my windshield. It seems this spoiler created turbulence. After removing it, turbulence was almost nonexistent and the bike handled the side winds a lot better.
I need new gloves. The current ones were sticking to the grips!
I need a new jacket, which will have buttons on the arms, so that they dont flap around so much!
I need new boots, so my little fingers don't ache and... burn after three hours of riding.
I need to retrim the seat, and probably add new foam, because it becomes almost unbearable after three hours on it!
I need a 6th gear, so I don't have to cruise at 140 (odo), at 5000 rpm (redline is 7700). It whould have a little fewer vibrations.
Speaking of which, I have mounted John Gemi's chip (stage 9) and I believe strongly that the vibrations are a LOT less than before, plus the fuel consumption was siglificantly better than before!
Passing power is absolutely fantastic.
Time to do that dyno run, now that we are back home!!!
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