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Why the Donington test was a proof of concept for one BSB team
Bimota BSB boss Nigel Snook feels his team’s performance at the Donington test was a proof of concept.
The Donington BSB test was a kind of proof of concept for the AJN Steelstock Bimota team, owner Nigel Snook thinks.
The FS-3 team has generally been one that has looked to young riders in BSB. Lee Jackson, Rory Skinner, and most recently Max Cook are all examples of this.
Cook was arguably the star performer of the Donington test, finishing fastest and lapping in the 1m27s in four out of six sessions in the Bimota KB998’s first official outing in BSB specification.
“What they [Kawasaki] were looking for [from the Bimota] was better stability under braking, more accuracy of steering, and just generally a tighter bike,” said Snook, speaking to Crash.net at the Donington BSB test on 4 April between sessions two and three.
“Max [Cook] rode it for the first time at Portimao [on 9–10 March] at the World Superbike test when the weather was a bit ‘iffy’. When he got off the bike he was asked by the Kawasaki engineer, the Provec [Racing] chief engineer, to describe the bike in a very simple way. Max just smiled and said ‘It’s a race bike’.
“[The engineer] said ‘That’s good, that’s what Alex Lowes said the first time he rode it’.
“Max came up the Moto3 route: here [British Talent Cup], Red Bull Rookies, Junior World Championship. Max says it’s like a Moto3 bike on steroids. He said it goes where you look, it stops, and he said ‘I can’t stop smiling when I’m riding it’. He said it’s a complete bike.”
Snook added: “We’re very aware that there’s one or two new Ducatis on the way with Scott Redding and what have you, but if you’d have offered this test six weeks ago when we were still waiting for parts we’d have bitten your arm off.”
While Cook was topping the times, his rookie teammate Joe Talbot, who was brought in this year to replace 41-year-old Christian Iddon, was around a second slower, which Snook said was initially a disappointment to the 22-year-old.
“Max is showing his true potential, he’s stepping up to be – not that we call it team leader, but he knows he’s the senior rider,” Snook began.
“Joe [Talbot] has been very calm, very focused. He was looking a bit sad yesterday because – you could sense – he thought he should’ve been doing a bit better.
“But we pointed him out that he was one second off of Max, Bradley Ray, Ryan Vickers.
“Obviously, he thinks he should be 0.3 seconds off. But he’s been very calm, he’s not getting frustrated – he realises now how much there is to learn.
“Before, he thought ‘You get on a bike, you crack the throttle, you jam the brakes on, and the rest…’ But now he’s learning to work with an engineer properly, with a suspension technician properly.
“All of his data is looking good, he’s learning the right techniques.
“We’ve got Alex Lowes in the garage giving them hints and tips – as much about attitude as riding the bike, […] you aren’t going to go faster by getting frustrated, you’ll go slower.”
Ultimately, the performances of Cook and Talbot were, to Snook, evidence that the way he wants to run his team is a valid one.
“So, to have an apprentice come good, and to have a new apprentice [starting well]… at FS-3, that’s what we’ve always done,” he said.
“It’s partly because I don’t want to pay 40-year-olds loads of money to go round and round in circles, I want to pay kids who desperately want to win, and that’s what we’re doing.”
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Bimota BSB boss Nigel Snook feels his team’s performance at the Donington test was a proof of concept.
The Donington BSB test was a kind of proof of concept for the AJN Steelstock Bimota team, owner Nigel Snook thinks.
The FS-3 team has generally been one that has looked to young riders in BSB. Lee Jackson, Rory Skinner, and most recently Max Cook are all examples of this.
Cook was arguably the star performer of the Donington test, finishing fastest and lapping in the 1m27s in four out of six sessions in the Bimota KB998’s first official outing in BSB specification.
“What they [Kawasaki] were looking for [from the Bimota] was better stability under braking, more accuracy of steering, and just generally a tighter bike,” said Snook, speaking to Crash.net at the Donington BSB test on 4 April between sessions two and three.
“Max [Cook] rode it for the first time at Portimao [on 9–10 March] at the World Superbike test when the weather was a bit ‘iffy’. When he got off the bike he was asked by the Kawasaki engineer, the Provec [Racing] chief engineer, to describe the bike in a very simple way. Max just smiled and said ‘It’s a race bike’.
“[The engineer] said ‘That’s good, that’s what Alex Lowes said the first time he rode it’.
“Max came up the Moto3 route: here [British Talent Cup], Red Bull Rookies, Junior World Championship. Max says it’s like a Moto3 bike on steroids. He said it goes where you look, it stops, and he said ‘I can’t stop smiling when I’m riding it’. He said it’s a complete bike.”
Snook added: “We’re very aware that there’s one or two new Ducatis on the way with Scott Redding and what have you, but if you’d have offered this test six weeks ago when we were still waiting for parts we’d have bitten your arm off.”
While Cook was topping the times, his rookie teammate Joe Talbot, who was brought in this year to replace 41-year-old Christian Iddon, was around a second slower, which Snook said was initially a disappointment to the 22-year-old.
“Max is showing his true potential, he’s stepping up to be – not that we call it team leader, but he knows he’s the senior rider,” Snook began.
“Joe [Talbot] has been very calm, very focused. He was looking a bit sad yesterday because – you could sense – he thought he should’ve been doing a bit better.
“But we pointed him out that he was one second off of Max, Bradley Ray, Ryan Vickers.
“Obviously, he thinks he should be 0.3 seconds off. But he’s been very calm, he’s not getting frustrated – he realises now how much there is to learn.
“Before, he thought ‘You get on a bike, you crack the throttle, you jam the brakes on, and the rest…’ But now he’s learning to work with an engineer properly, with a suspension technician properly.
“All of his data is looking good, he’s learning the right techniques.
“We’ve got Alex Lowes in the garage giving them hints and tips – as much about attitude as riding the bike, […] you aren’t going to go faster by getting frustrated, you’ll go slower.”
Ultimately, the performances of Cook and Talbot were, to Snook, evidence that the way he wants to run his team is a valid one.
“So, to have an apprentice come good, and to have a new apprentice [starting well]… at FS-3, that’s what we’ve always done,” he said.
“It’s partly because I don’t want to pay 40-year-olds loads of money to go round and round in circles, I want to pay kids who desperately want to win, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The Donington BSB test was a kind of proof of concept for the AJN Steelstock Bimota team, owner Nigel Snook thinks.
The FS-3 team has generally been one that has looked to young riders in BSB. Lee Jackson, Rory Skinner, and most recently Max Cook are all examples of this.
Cook was arguably the star performer of the Donington test, finishing fastest and lapping in the 1m27s in four out of six sessions in the Bimota KB998’s first official outing in BSB specification.
“What they [Kawasaki] were looking for [from the Bimota] was better stability under braking, more accuracy of steering, and just generally a tighter bike,” said Snook, speaking to Crash.net at the Donington BSB test on 4 April between sessions two and three.
“Max [Cook] rode it for the first time at Portimao [on 9–10 March] at the World Superbike test when the weather was a bit ‘iffy’. When he got off the bike he was asked by the Kawasaki engineer, the Provec [Racing] chief engineer, to describe the bike in a very simple way. Max just smiled and said ‘It’s a race bike’.
“[The engineer] said ‘That’s good, that’s what Alex Lowes said the first time he rode it’.
“Max came up the Moto3 route: here [British Talent Cup], Red Bull Rookies, Junior World Championship. Max says it’s like a Moto3 bike on steroids. He said it goes where you look, it stops, and he said ‘I can’t stop smiling when I’m riding it’. He said it’s a complete bike.”
Snook added: “We’re very aware that there’s one or two new Ducatis on the way with Scott Redding and what have you, but if you’d have offered this test six weeks ago when we were still waiting for parts we’d have bitten your arm off.”
While Cook was topping the times, his rookie teammate Joe Talbot, who was brought in this year to replace 41-year-old Christian Iddon, was around a second slower, which Snook said was initially a disappointment to the 22-year-old.
“Max is showing his true potential, he’s stepping up to be – not that we call it team leader, but he knows he’s the senior rider,” Snook began.
“Joe [Talbot] has been very calm, very focused. He was looking a bit sad yesterday because – you could sense – he thought he should’ve been doing a bit better.
“But we pointed him out that he was one second off of Max, Bradley Ray, Ryan Vickers.
“Obviously, he thinks he should be 0.3 seconds off. But he’s been very calm, he’s not getting frustrated – he realises now how much there is to learn.
“Before, he thought ‘You get on a bike, you crack the throttle, you jam the brakes on, and the rest…’ But now he’s learning to work with an engineer properly, with a suspension technician properly.
“All of his data is looking good, he’s learning the right techniques.
“We’ve got Alex Lowes in the garage giving them hints and tips – as much about attitude as riding the bike, […] you aren’t going to go faster by getting frustrated, you’ll go slower.”
Ultimately, the performances of Cook and Talbot were, to Snook, evidence that the way he wants to run his team is a valid one.
“So, to have an apprentice come good, and to have a new apprentice [starting well]… at FS-3, that’s what we’ve always done,” he said.
“It’s partly because I don’t want to pay 40-year-olds loads of money to go round and round in circles, I want to pay kids who desperately want to win, and that’s what we’re doing.”
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