planetearth
There Can Be Only One
Number of posts : 3271
Registration date : 2007-02-03
 |  Subject: Ellison looking for home boost - EXCLUSIVE.  Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:40 am | |
| - Quote :
- by Russell Atkins
While James Toseland is blazing a trail in World Superbikes so far in 2007, fellow Brit Dean Ellison has been struggling at the other end of the grid – but he is adamant he will not remain there for long.
The Lancaster-born ace spent a number of years in British Superbikes before making the leap up to represent his country on the world stage, and it has been something of a baptism of fire, with a best qualifying position of 18th and finish of 15th place from the opening two rounds. Not, he insists, that he had anticipated any different.
“It's been tough,” he admitted to Crash.net. “World Superbikes is by far the hardest thing I've ever jumped into. The biggest thing has been going to new circuits on a bike that is still pretty alien to me, having to learn the tracks and trying to get the bike set-up and adjusted so I feel more comfortable on it while at the same time trying to beat the best riders in the world, or at least get up to their pace.
“I knew it would be hard to go out to Phillip Island and Qatar and get on the pace the top guys are setting. I hadn't ridden the bike for the whole of winter; I only did a couple of cold tests at Valencia, while the likes of (Troy) Bayliss and Toseland were all out in Qatar and Phillip Island doing tests on the race tyres we are using. Everybody had a real upper hand over me, so I knew it was going to be hard. The bike is new to me too. It's got loads of power and is a real quality machine. It takes a lot of work to get it working right.”
One surprise is the 29-year-old's assertion that the quality of the field, although extremely high in WSBK, is not massively different to that in BSB. He is also settling in well at Team Pedercini, an outfit where he says despite the initial language barrier, he felt immediately at home.
“BSB is full of world-class riders,” he underlined. “That's always been the case. I don't think you can say WSBK riders are any better. The only difference is I've got to learn new tracks and get to grips with a new bike and tyres too. The Pirellis are fantastic and really work well, but they also make the bike handle differently to what I'm use to. The difference is me; I've got to learn new things.
“I've been learning Italian, and the team members have all been going to English lessons as well which really helps. Luckily Lucio Pedercini speaks almost fluent English, so I've never had any issues there, and my main suspension guy from Andreani who I talk to most about the bike is also fluent. For me it isn't a problem. I like the Italians, their food and their passion for racing. It rubs off on me.”
With his home meeting of Donington Park up next this coming weekend, Ellison is clearly keen to make a strong impression in front of his fans, and he hopes a good performance may just be the kick-start his season needs to get things on-track.
“It has been difficult,” he admitted, “but there have also been a lot of positives come out of the first two rounds. I've come away with a point and two new circuits in my head, and that will all stand me in good stead next year.
“I've got my own personal goals for the campaign, and I want this to work. I'm hungry for good results because I know the bike is capable of them and I know I am too, so I've got to keep pushing and improve every time I get on it. I've also got to sort out whatever is slowing me down at the moment, but I think we've got to the bottom of that now. We struggled with the bike set-up for the first two rounds but by the time I get to Donington I will be full of beans.” Crash | |
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