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March 31, 2010
Is racing a 12-month business?
When the final round of the 2009 racing season came to a close in September, there was only a few short weeks of down time, if that, before plans started to take shape for 2010. Is this normal or is this to be expected because of BMW Motorrad Canada’s decision to make the jump from racing the traditional boxer twins in the Pro Sport Bike support class to racing the new S1000RR in the main Parts Canada Superbike Championship? I think this is normal because even in Canada, racing is a 12-month business.
Making the decision to race in the premiere class is not a snap decision just because BMW has a new bike that can compete in Superbike. This decision was actually made back in 2008 when rumours started to surface of BMW working on a new litre bike. The first move was made in December 2008 when former Canadian Superbike Champion Francis Martin, who had been riding for Suzuki, did not renew his contract for the next season allowing Martin to take the chance that BMW would be jumping into Canadian Superbike for 2010. The commitment was made to both Francis Martin and Michael Ferreira that if they stuck with the BMW team in 2009, for what was expected to be a very challenging year, that they would be rewarded with a coveted Superbike ride in 2010.
Competing in any sport can be expensive and competing in motorcycle roadracing at the Superbike level is no exception. The search for team sponsors was not only necessary, it was a key aspect to the decision to set up a Superbike Team from scratch. The search actually started at a lunch meeting with an off-the-cuff comment that was used to formulate an added project of filming a new Superbike team in its debut season and airing it as a documentary special. Cue up a title sponsor and fantastic promotional partner in High Fidelity HDTV with Rush HD, the extreme sport adrenaline cable channel. Next was to create a new race team sponsorship proposal and to start knocking on potential partners' doors. This is the process that takes the most time and is a never ending activity.
From a riders stand point, racing is the fun part of their job and the off season is the hard part. Trying to stay motivated, working out to stay in physical shape, wondering if they still have a ride (they never feel secure until contracts are signed), looking for personal sponsors, getting medical procedures performed (if needed) and making promotional appearances when required. All of these things take a toll on the mental strength of a factory racer.
Francis Martin:
Since the 2009 season ended early for Martin, due to a serious crash suffered during round six at Atlantic Motorsport Park, he has been busy getting back into racing shape. Taking time to recover from his crash, Martin also had a minor medical procedure performed to remove pins from his ankle that were in place as a result of a practice crash suffered years ago when racing for another manufacturer. Having these pins removed will enable Martin to have the needed movement and flexibility in his ankle that he had been missing for the past few years. Working out with renewed confidence and the goal of trying to win his third Canadian Superbike Championship, it is safe to say that Martin is a highly motivated professional athlete.
Michael Ferreira:
The longest standing team rider, Ferreira is now looking forward to making his Superbike debut in 2010. Motivation, it’s safe to say that racing against the best in the country with 185hp is motivation enough to be ready when the season starts. Ferreira is already known by his competitors as being a physically fit rider because of his dedication to working out in the gym however he did suffer from arm pump as the demands on blood flow increase in the body as a race progresses. With jumping into Superbike, Ferreira will have more demand placed on his arms as the races will be longer and more pressure to perform will be felt in 2010. During the off-season a medical procedure was performed on Ferreira to try and correct this condition that he and a lot of other racers experience.
Arm pump is academically known as chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS). At its most basic: arm pump is the failure of blood to leave your forearm fast enough. New blood is constantly coming into your forearm, and if the old blood is not removed, backpressure builds up. The forearm compartment is not elastic, so when the pressure does build up, other structures such as nerves and muscles get compressed and lose their ability to function properly. (Picture stepping on a garden hose…) This compression of important structures is what causes the loss of sensation and inability to contract your muscles. This is a serious problem for a professional motorcycle racer who depends on the feeling in his arms and hands to be able to control the bikes braking or acceleration functions.
Race Bikes:
Building race bikes is always a tough challenge however building race bikes from a new model that was only released to the public in street trim in December 2009 is a huge task. Having to get all race components designed and produced in time to race is tough but to get them earlier for pre-season testing is near impossible. The new S1000RR race bikes are well under way and looking like they will be ready in early April for the first pre-season test. The race bikes will be developed all year long with improvements expected each time the riders throw a leg over the bikes.
Racing, even in Canada, is a year round business. Stay tuned for further reports from testing and racing all season long here on the BMW Motorrad Canada race team web page or from our Facebook page.
The Rush HD/BMW Motorrad Canada Superbike Team would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support:
High Fidelity HDTV & Rush HD, Original BMW Parts, Joe Rocket, Pirelli, Acceleration Racing & Hotbodies Bodywork, Hindle Exhausts, Importation Thibault & Suomy Helmets.
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