Hello from the WEC

[Berkyboy]

Just spent the last 3 days driving by myself to Valle de Bravo and the Mexican round of the WEC.

2317.5 miles from GoFasters to the WEC parc ferme.

What an expierence.

Especially getting shaken down three different times by the policia for a total of $300 to let me go with out having to go to the station and do the proper paperwork. Great little scam they got going.

But anyway I'm here with a bunch of parts and 2 chase bikes to support Christophe Nambotin, and his 2010 EC300r, in his quest to move into first place in the E3 class.

Met up with Boni (head 2-stroke engineer for GasGas) and Eduard (Nambotin's mechanic) last night and went our for a couple of beers.

Note to self - Never go to a Mexican karoake bar with 2 Spainards when all of the songs are in Spanish. I wish I would've had my video camera along.

More later.

 

[eff]

Good luck!

 

[rpduc]

Hey Steve,
Thanks for the report. Looking forward to more. Good luck to Nambotin.

 

[stay_upright]

Thanks for the update lets hope everything goes well.

 

[Skidad]

Drill those guys for every bit of info they can provide and aboutthe 2010 bikes.

Good luck to Nambotin, he's really been on the Gas (pun) the last few rounds. Great experience for sure...except dealing with the Gestapo Mexican police Have fun

 

[roostafish]

Chase bikes huh? How come when I mentioned that I was berated and called a cheater?

 

[eff]

Chase bikes huh? How come when I mentioned that I was berated and called a cheater?

I think you mentioned it in reference to the ISDE? Maybe?

 

[Rick]

Looks like in the WEC chase bikes are "ok" Your looking at the IDSE....I'm sure a different format....roost

 

[Berkyboy]

Chase bikes are allowed during a WEC event.

Mechanics are also allowed to work on the bikes during all of the service checks unless that check is designated fuel only than nobody but the rider can work on the bike.

The bikes still have some marked parts that can not be changed

The riders are the only ones that can change their tires at the end of the day.

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Day 2 of bike prep went very well. Considering the elevation (roughly 6500ft) and the poor fuel available we where able to get Nambotin's EC 300 to run close to the way it does in lower elevations.

92 octane is the best thats available down here and all of the European teams are struggling to get their jetting right.

Luckily I was one of the few that drove down and was able to bring some 110 octane fuel along that has paid some big dividends when mixed with the local fuel. The higher blended octane was a big enough advantage that a higher compression head was instlalled to compensate for the higher elevation.

Final jetting (remember we are at 6500 feet elevation): a cut #10 slide (I don't even know if they even make a #10slide, Boni actually modified a #9 with a file to get that angle) with a 38 pilot jet and a 162 main jet.

To top it off we installed a FMF Q Stealth silencer that really put a smile on Nambotin's face when he tried it.

________________


As far as changes for next year (2010) it looks like the following:

Microfusion frames

New and improved Sachs fork design to eliminate the harsh brake in being experienced. Sounds like Sachs made some big changes, remember this is only their 2year producing forks for GasGas

New engine cases, with a smaller volume, for the 125 and possibly the 250 and 300 when exisitng inventories run out.

Wave (type) rotors

New crank for the 250 and 300 (they still share the same crank) where the crank used on the 300 will have a set of weights (stainless steel machine scews actually) that can be added to offset the larger piston mass thus making the 300 run smoother.

Red hubs

Black Rims

New shroud and rear fender design

New "one piece" fuel tank in natural color

and after today possibly a FMF Q Stealth silencer in leau of the FMF silencer they were considering.

Sorry guys it's been a long day gotta get some sleep.

I'll add more tomorrow.

 

[SpeedyManiac]

Looks like I'll be getting a 2010 model!

 

[Skidad]

Now I'm wondering if the 300 E-start will come with these new smaller/lighter?cases. Hope they keep the 6 speed tranny. 2010 sounds nice.

 

[skid jackson]

2010's are sounding pretty good!!

 

[Berkyboy]

All electric start models need new cases. The e-start cases are unique for that feature and at this time are not reduced volume.

I need to emphasize that the smaller volume 250 / 300 cases are being considered and it is not uncommon for the factory to move slow on these kind of changes.

Another change is the large clutch cover is 5mm narrower and the water pump cover is thinner as well with a more efficient design. Which will give more room between the pipe and the radiator hose.

_____________

Nambotin came close to setting the faster times on Friday night's SuperTest but a near highside get off, that he made a good recovery from, cost him a good 4 seconds.

With all of the journalists down here good bandwidth is hard to come by so photos will tkae a while to get up and running.

 

[Berkyboy]

The 2010 model also has new top and bottom triple clamps

The biggest change for the top clamp being the two pinch bolts are rotated forward and the finish is now polished like the bottom clamp.

The bottom clamp is also new with the "pinch" area of the clamp being 10mm lower to better grip the forks lower on the tapered area of the fork to allow greater adjustibiliy of fork height.

Both clamps should be slightly anodized.

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Nambotin came up just short of a class E3 win on Day-two being overtaken by Cervantes on the last lap of the day, each of the four loops lap had three tests each.

The last lap was a killer for Nambotin, and many of the other riders as well, as the effects of the 6500 foot elevation physically took it's toll especially the last two tests of the day (and each loop as well) were basically back to back tests and left very little time for the riders to recover.

Just like Day-one, Day-two's top three overall riders came out of the E3 class.

____________________

Sorry for the delay in the followup post as I'm making this post from Minnesota after the grueling 2300 mile, 2 and a 1/2 day trip back home.


___________________________

 

[mariogt]

Excellent report !!!

I read in the WEC site that the carburation was the BIG issue in Mexico, the altitude and the weather (and perhaps the gasoline ?), Ahola`s bike dont work well in the morning . Do you know what jetting settings work for the nambontin`s 300 in this conditions ?