Off The Track

Tom Larson is one of the most experienced members of the BMW Motorrad Motorsport squad. The Danish Australian used to race himself and has since spent many years at the cutting edge of two-wheeled motorsport, including stints with the Castrol Honda WSBK factory team and Honda Racing’s British Superbike teams. Now working as Crew Chief to Troy Corser, Larson is based at Alpha Racing’s headquarters in Rosenheim, Germany.
Since starting work with BMW, Tom has already seen the team go through highs and lows in the first half of its debut season but is convinced that the great progress and good results achieved so far wouldn’t have been possible without the experience of seasoned campaigners such as Corser and Xaus.

“We’ve had our ups and downs already this season but generally things have gone as expected. We were all pretty high at the start of the season and the main reason for this was down to Troy Corser’s experience. Since then we’ve been able to gather loads of vital information and now that we have this info, we need time to react and time to test. We haven’t tested anywhere near as much as our competitors – many manufacturers have permanent test teams – and we have parts that we need to make, not to mention budgets to work to! Fortunately, the people involved in this project are highly motivated and passionate so the current results are realistic and when we get the bikes more dialled in, we’ll be able to prove the bike’s potential even further.

One of the many difficult things about bike racing is that there are so many variables and with the increased use of technology, the back of the pit garage at races is packed with computer monitors feeding back data from the S 1000 RR’s performance at any chosen part of the circuit, including front and rear wheel speeds, rpm, throttle position, throttle demand, suspension, tyre temperature, a multitude of engine management functions, gearbox temperatures and pressure, engine and water temperature and pressure, and many more besides.

When mapped to various parts of the circuits, the team is able to analyse strengths and weaknesses of the bikes and riders, compare ‘like for like’ and effect subtle changes to machine set-up and even riding styles in order to make up the crucial fractions of a second per lap that can be the difference between the front and back rows of the grid.

Entering this championship without the benefit of circuit data gathered from previous years puts you at an instant disadvantage compared with your rivals; however, things have also moved so quickly in terms of this debut superbike project that Tom and the team have sometimes been caught out by their own progress!
“With so many things affecting bike set-up, we’ve fallen victim to our variables a couple of times. For example, we tested at Monza early on and were pleased with the progress we made – the lap times achieved would have put us second on the grid in 2008. However, when we returned with the same bike for this year’s races, everything had changed because the S 1000 RR had evolved so much in a short space of time, forcing us to rethink things!”

For Tom, one of the highlights of 2009 has been seeing the WSBK project gather pace behind the scenes and then feeling the excitement within the factory – from both the management and the employees – for this new era in BMW Motorsport.
“It was just great to make it to the first race, to be there to see it happen and the excitement of not knowing where this year would take us. There’s a great feeling coming from Berlin too, as traditionally the company has made great touring bikes and prestige cars, but this is a whole new step for them. Everyone involved knows that this has to be a long-term project – especially when there’s an important series production bike due out soon – but for now we’ve been gladly accepted and welcomed into the Superbike World Championship and our rivals are glad to have us there, as it makes a strong series even stronger.”