AMA TEST FONTANA, CA

Working with On The Throttle (www.onthethrottle.tv) as their technical reporter we went to the Fontana test to look at the factory teams 08 effort, inspect the 08 race bikes and talk to the riders. Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki were there along with Attack Kawasaki, Matsushima, Jordan and Corona. We were also working with Amar Bazzaz and his traction control wizardry on a Jordan Superstock bike with Aaron Yates let loose for the on board cameras. Talk about an amazing product -just go read about it for yourself! http://www.bazzazperformance.com/

Day one was a slow start with high winds and cold track, so about 10am teams started rolling out. With all new bikes, new tires, and a slew of parts to test, for many riders this was going to be a long 2 days. Ah, such is the life of a professional racer.

We filmed all the riders throughout the morning making sure that we got sufficient footage we needed based on an Excel spread sheet shot list. Seems as though that would be easily done..... not at all. Riders don't dress, ride out, ride a few laps, dismount and spend set amounts of time with crew chiefs. There's a lot of running around and a spotter makes things incredibly useful. It is not all it is cracked up to be, but many know that. The OTT film crew got some amazing on track footage and Bazzaz's traction control unit is very audible with the plugs being cut out as the rear wheel starts spinning.

We had an oportunity to look very closely at Yamaha's R1 superbike, the new Honda CBR1000RR and the new 08 GSXR 600. Look to the OTT web site for websiodes on what we saw including quick change equipment for Daytona, new technology in abundance and interesting tips on 'how to's' on the new bikes.

Day 2 was gorgeous right from the get go, so for those who followed times on Roadracing World and AMA Superbike, they could see how quickly riders started hammering on lap records. Seems as though it is par for the course as the bikes and tires get better every year, so the lap times fall. Personally I think this will be a banner year for the Supersport class with hopefully racing much like we saw in the Boxer Cup Series a few years back at Daytona with several riders going at it bar to bar. Chaz Davies might come out on top for 08 if his finishes are consistent and look for him to build on his 4th place from last year in the Daytona 200.

Daytona is but a few weeks away, and all teams continue to test and prepare. Almost time to unleash the hounds :)