Christian Iddon: BSB column

Iddon’s back from spinning laps on his new steed. Here’s how it went down…

I’ve been about a while now and as such I’ve been in a team or two and to reel them off in order that list would be; SMT Honda, Tag Triumph (BSS), ParkinGo MV (WSS), Alstare Bimota (WSBK), Halsall Suzuki, Tyco BMW, PBM Ducati, Hawk Suzuki, Moto Rapido Ducati, FS-3 Kawasaki and now finally Swan Yamaha.

With all those teams and all the personnel that come with them, you would think by now I would be pretty good and relaxed about meeting a new crew, but being as socially awkward as I am and with the never ending nerves of riding a new bike for the first time, that apprehension of a first run out with a new team has never lessened for me.

For the first time since 2019, I’ve just had the opportunity to get out with my new team before the new year begins. This is super important because as much as this is an acclimatisation for me to the bike, it is, equally importantly, a chance for everyone to get to know each other and to understand how we all work in our separate ways and then to understand how to work together. It’s as much a bonding exercise as a test, to be honest, and getting that out the way early and without the pressure cooker situation of doing it in competition or in the gaze of an official test helps everything to be more relaxed.

We had a couple of days at Andalucia to begin with and once I got my head around the quirky track layout once again (It’s a tough but incredibly rewarding place), I found the R1 to be very user friendly. I’d been told this was the case and witnessed it whist racing against it, but of course, it’s always nice to feel that between your legs and as the pace increased a little and I started to push more, that sensation continued and I could further understand why the Yamaha has been so successful in recent years in the BSB Championship.

It has a very docile engine characteristic that helps to generate grip and with no lumps in power it makes it very good at keeping the front wheel on the ground, all of which are super important on our undulating circuits. However, as much as I’d like to think this bike is going to ride itself and that I’d just jump on it and be a championship contender, things are never that simple but, we have the bike that just won two years on the bounce so there is zero question around its capabilities.

We didn’t do too many changes during the test itself because a lot was to get myself comfy on the bike. We fitted a thumb brake, with a scooter brake yet to be added, and tried loads of seat, foot-peg and bar configurations which again is all mega simple (if not a bit tedious) things to get through but they are all jobs that have to be done so getting them sorted before the new year is a massive box ticked.

After wrapping up a productive few days at Andalucia we made the enormous journey (around 300 metres) to Almeria for another few days and it was here I was hoping to get stuck in a little bit more. Now with some time under my belt and a little bit of confidence with the bike, I was looking forward to digging in a bit more and pushing the bike to that next step (with me on it) but the weather and a much busier track didn’t really allow for it.

I’ll be honest, it was a frustrating couple of days. In the first test we had been treated to perfect conditions and a near empty track, but a sandstorm and a particularly slow fast group made it tough to take anything meaningful from the Almeria side of riding, but even so, lap on lap, I learned the R1 and got more and more sensation with my new steed… so all in, it was a positive first run out.

Things will tail off a bit now, but there will be loads going on behind the scenes. The team will take the bike back to the workshop, strip and check her over and start having seats, bars, rearsets and brake set ups fabricated and configured to my liking ready for getting back to it in the new year.

Then, from my side, I think the purchase of a little R6 track bike is on the cards so I can continue to adapt to the Yamaha DNA, ready to hit the ground running. Before that though, it’s finally time to have a bit of downtime and a slight change of pace and that change of pace is a chunky one this year. If anyone needs me over the next week, you can find me at Cbeebies land!