Quarterley Racing On Track Development Looking Forward to VIR
Quarterley Racing On Track Development had a relatively successful weekend at MotoAmerica’s round one of the Liqui Moly Junior Cup Championship at Road Atlanta. The team came away with two second-place finishes and a fourth among its three riders. But there were two crashes over the weekend, one in the last corner of the last lap of a race.
Regrouping after the race, all three riders, Dallas Daniels, Teagg Hobbs and Jamie Astudillo, met at team co-owner Dale Quarterley’s house to go over strategy and lay the groundwork for even better results at round two of the series at Virginia International Raceway this weekend.
Dallas Daniels:
“The results this year at Road Atlanta were a lot better than last year, when I came away not finishing either race. I was happy with two second-place finishes this year, but I was happier with the second result because I closed the gap to Rocco Landers at the end from 16 seconds in race one to four seconds in race two. He was a little better in the middle of the corner than I was. He was able to get in and get out better.
“Since then Dale and I have been working with David Behrend of Fast Bike Industries and Teagg from Nitron shocks. We’ve been working on the forks and we definitely found something just with the settings. The bike is planted way better than it was before. I’m confident it will give me a better front end feel in the flat corners at VIR.
“I’ve also been going to the gym a little bit more than I have and talking with my physical trainer. I’ve been going more days and doing a greater variety of exercises.
“I’m planning on getting to VIR on Thursday night so I have all day Friday to set up bikes and all Friday night just to relax myself for the races. Relaxing for me is talking with friends and family and acting like a normal person for the day.”
Teagg Hobbs:
“Overall Road Atlanta was good. I got adjusted to the new team and made a lot of progress with the bike. Race one was good; I came in fourth. But in race two in the last corner on the last lap Sam Lochoff and I came together and both of us fell.
“As a first race with a new team everything went really well. This was my first time working with the whole team. I had only met Dale and one mechanic in pre-season testing and I knew Bob Robbins before that but this was the first time working together. When I gave any feedback the team always had a plan and a solution right off the bat. It wasn’t what I was expecting for the first time with an entirely new team. I thought it wasn’t going to go as smoothly. I think it has a lot to do with the overall level of experience of the team. My mechanic, Ron Barrick, crewed for Dale back in the 90s.
“After the races I went to Dale’s house with Jamie and Dallas and we reviewed video of both races and the qualifiers to prepare for VIR. We also watched the videos of the Junior Cup races from last year and also the year before of the KTM Cup. Dale makes specific remarks and takes it very seriously. He pointed out a few things for each of us and gave us a path to follow for the next round. In Dale’s training he stresses how important it is that we do certain things in a specific way. Everything you do has to have a purpose for how you do it. He was even changing the way I hold a dinner fork
“For me the focus for now is working on body position and also making the mental switch from club to pro racer. Dale coaches a lot on attitude and approach, when and how to say and do things. He gave us a lot of things to think about.
“I’m going to be flying to VIR with my Dad. We’ll be getting there Thursday night and that gives me time to get comfortable. That way you’re never rushing and can stay focused. I’ll spend Friday helping the team set up.
“Since Road Atlanta I’ve been watching a lot of videos from VIR, looking at lines, braking markers, acceleration points. I was only there once last year and we struggled with limited track time. A huge part of it is just track familiarization. There are a bunch of elevation changes and every type of corner.
“The night before a race I always like to eat pasta, often at an Olive Garden, and make sure I go to bed by 8:00. I always stretch the night before and the morning of each race. This year I’ll also try to get more in touch with everything that’s going on with the team.”
Jamie Astudillo:
“Atlanta was definitely rough. I crashed in practice and didn’t get back to the track in time for the start of the first race. So I had to start race two from seventeenth on the grid and I did get up to ninth by the flag. It was a decent performance, considering everything, and I salvaged some points.
“The whole weekend I wasn’t on my usual pace and I didn’t finish where I thought I should. It was due to a lot of things, mostly that I didn’t get many laps in before my race. In the first qualifying session we had a problem with the clutch after six laps, and in the second session I crashed after only five laps.
“In race two I was going faster than I had all weekend but it still wasn’t enough to run with the front guys. I have a problem putting together a fast lap on my own, and I was held up on first lap, which let the lead group get away.
“After Road Atlanta all of us, Dallas, Teagg and myself, were all at Dale’s house for four or five days. We watched the videos of the qualifying sessions and the races and watched the guys who were going faster than us. Dale would show each of us what they’re doing that we aren’t. You learn a lot from your competitors. We actually watched a lot of Ashton Yates last year, just trying to pick up what he was doing since he was one of the ones to beat all season long.
“Since the race I’ve been doing more cycling and more cardio. I’m excited about how far I’ve come in the last few weeks.
“I’ll leave for VIR from a training facility in South Carolina. From there it takes about three hours to get to the track, and most of my family will be coming along. On Friday I’ll help the team set up and we’ll do the track walk with Dale, which we always do. My goal and expectation for VIR is to be in the top five every time, in both the qualifying sessions and the races. I haven’t proven to be too consistent so far, but when the switch is on I can definitely pull out a top three. A podium is definitely possible.”
Quarterley Racing On Track Development sponsors for 2019 include Inter-Tech Supplies, Fast By Ferracci, Inc, Yoshimura Research & Development of America, Inc., Wiseco Powersports, Motul USA., Regina Chain, BrakeTech USA, Inc., Ferodo Racing, Matt & Jesse, Scott Powersports, Inc., Defiance Lifestyle, Woodcraft Technologies, Dynojet Research Inc., Beta Tools of Italy – USA, RoadracingWorld.com, Drippinwet.com, MOTO-D Racing, Fast Bike Industries, VAN DYK Recycling Solutions, Earl’s Racing Team and Kiwi Classic Moto