During the three days we had in NC, the team was chasing dry dirt. Mud makes for poor SX testing. One day we drove to a home SX track with a sandy base in South Carolina, and basically Grant had more time to get used to the snap and response of the nearly stock-motored FI bike, so he could get his timing solidly down. And the end of the day there he commented that he was ready for more power.
Ported and polished race heads...
Ported and polished race heads lined up and ready to go. In final form the heads will have micro-polished cams and DLC-coated buckets.
This special engine dyno measures...
This special engine dyno measures power by the electricity the engine generates.
Joe Gibbs is a busy guy, but...
Joe Gibbs is a busy guy, but he came down to visit with Grant and be part of Grant's intro video for Supercross opening ceremonies. Gibbs claimed his heart was in his throat when Grant's bike sucked a bale cover into the rear wheel while leading Anaheim 1 in 2009. Grant won that race.
On our final day, the time crunch of the January 9th season start and a 100-percent chance of rain and snow forecast for the following day forced the team to JGR's Mark Barnett-built SX track. It was a given that the expensive track would take some abuse, but it couldn't be helped. Grant pronounced the track too wet after a few exploratory laps, so he sent his muddy bike off with Shawn Ulikowski to get a 10mm lower subframe, a race piston and a new Dean Baker-modified head. While Ulikowski washed and tore down the YZ, Bloomer attacked the track in a small skid-steer to pack the surface with the rubber tracks. Grant fired up the dozer and helped force the track into riding condition as well. Eventually nearly the entire team was on hand as well as three reps from JRI. There were seven or eight trucks (Toyota of course) and the team's testing transporter and trailer. Grant spent over an hour on the dozer, and finished up on the track before the engine rebuild was complete, so one JRI shock went on Brayton's machine, and he put enough laps in to break the track in a bit. His bike went back for a shock change, so Brayton went into the skid-steer for more track work until Grant's new top end was ready for break-in. With the track further dialed in, Grant was tasked with testing three variations of FMF exhaust. Then it was Grant's turn to test a JRI shock, but first Jonny Oler and a JRI tech revalved it from the Brayton test setting. With darkness just about at hand, Grant went out for a final test session. He picked up enough speed to have trouble making the turn after the stadium whoop section.
The next day NC was clobbered with a snow storm, and testing was pretty much halted until after the Christmas holidays. In 2009 the team had all SX testing completed in early November, but events this year will force them to continue testing during the season between races. But back at the shop work continued: Parts shipments to put away, finish details on the transporter and trailer, spare race engines are assembled, and the actual SX race bikes are being built up from parts. Apparently it is easier and cheaper that way when so many of the parts and all of the hardware would be replaced. At the end of the year the race bikes will be reduced to parts again.
A modern 450 is more bike than the vast majority of riders can fully exploit or even need. But at the level of the top riders, things are very different. Much of what is called the R&D process has to do with personalizing a machine for a particular rider, but performance is a big part as well. For sure the suspension end is probably more important, but many riders demand added engine performance as well. Brayton claimed, "When I was on the 450 KTM last year, I kept asking for more power. Finally it was over 60 horsepower on the dyno, and the tech said that was all there was in a 450, and I loved having that power." The two JGRMX team riders are supported by 13 full-time staff in addition to part-time assets they draw on from the JGR car side. Remember that iceberg? There is a lot going on under the surface to support a rider and machine at the cutting edge of SX. Two years ago the Joe Gibbs Racing MX team was an oddity: located near Charlotte, NC, all of the team members living near the race shop and a unique way of doing things. But from what we saw-a virtually new bike developed race ready in mere days-the team has a lot going for it. Next step: its own indoor track.