The pace has been flat out since the Easter Thunderball, as we get ready for the UEM Main Event at Santa Pod at the end of this month. It seems the faster you go, the more attention to detail is spent between rounds and it just sucks the time up.

As mentioned in previous blogs, we bent an inlet valve in taking the win at the Thunderball and as a result the motor came down to the last nut and bolt. We had planned to do this anyway – we had some new ideas in there already, and also we learnt some things during the meeting, so we wanted to use Easter as a test, then get some more development work done.

Straight after the meeting, the motor was down and with some help from crew member Richard Cawthorn and good old FedEx, the components were in the US the same week. The top end has been in Professor Paul Gast’s workshop, not only to replace the valve, but for some subtle but important modifications to be carried out. Paul’s guys worked all last weekend to get this done and it was fully rebuilt and ready to drop on by early last week. To show what commitment the FBG team has, Paul Gast himself even jumped in the car and drove the head to FedEx in order it could get back to us a day early. As well as the head, some trick clutch parts also made their way over from the FBG Grand Island workshop.

Down in Florida, Eric’s top-notch team were all over the block and pistons, installing some new liners and pistons with some trick new coatings. An uprated Falicon crank was also sourced as well. Mike Berry let us have some upgraded parts for the vacuum pump, plus some new ceramic bearing parts courtesy of Dave Conforti’s Worldwide Bearings have made their way into the mix. Don Plesser of PR Factory Store is working with us closely on some ignition modifications. We have even gone to the lengths of spending a lot of time discussing oil and lubrication with Steve Clark at Nimbus Motorsport.

While in themselves, these are all tiny improvements, I’m hoping that together they can give us that all-important edge. As I have said many times, the rest of the guys haven’t been sitting around all winter, as evidenced by PBs from Martin Bishop, Kalle Lyren and Jesper Thiel in the Hungary round.  Here we are with four top-flight players having run a personal best at their first meeting of 2011. This isn’t going to be a season where anyone can sleep.

So this weekend has been all about painstakingly putting the number one motor back together. And it doesn’t finish there. The backup motor was also treated to some new parts, so once the record setting motor is back together, then another needs stripping and rebuilding.

None of this has come for free and I have to thank Dom Trickett of team lead sponsor TVR Power and Stephen Moon for stepping up in a big way with financial support. Thanks very much guys, we wouldn’t be racing this year without your backing. As well as this support MTC Engineering, Fast by Gast, PR Factory Store, Worldwide Bearings, Nimbus Motorsport and VP Fuels have all stepped forward with expertise and parts, or in some cases both. I’m very fortunate to have the backing of these top quality people.

I spent hours and hours looking at the data from the Easter meeting and I really think we have a fast motorcycle here. As always, Paul Gast was happy to step forward and look at the data in some depth as well. His view was that other than a very small possible change to a clutch setting, the bike was as close to spot on as it could be and he felt it would have run well into the sixes if fielded at the Gainesville NHRA opener. It’s great that Paul takes the time to look at the data, and it gives me a lot of satisfaction when one of the world’s best tuners tells me I have the tune up in there.

Only two weeks to go now! The plan is to give the motor a gentle half pass at the Peak Performance Day on the Thursday, then spend Friday taking the motor down and checking it all out, prior to the first qualifier on Saturday. And when we line up on Saturday, I am giving it everything, we are showing up fully loaded for the win.  It would be nice to challenge our new European best of 7.06 as well, but for now, let’s focus on the win.