Ducati Sporting Club UK > Sport > Trackdays & Race Schools > Thomas Luthi and the DDC

[Andy Ibbott]

Hi Guys,

Well with the DDC well underway I thought you might like to know what I have been working on with Thomas Luthi in the GPs.
I have to say first off that he is a good kid and really beileves in the CSS techniques. He has gone from a crash king last season to currently 2nd in the Championship this season.

The biggest breakthroughs we have had sitting in the truck working out the non perfect corners have been:
Throttle Control, getting it on as early, not as hard as possible.
Vanishing Points, all the different kinds and how they appear. Walking the track with him and looking for them has been a major help to him.
Relaxing on the bars. Suddenly the bike has fewer chatter problems!

There are the main ones but there is still work to do. His outside arm on rights is still too high and his 2 step timing a little out. However, with so little time on the practise and qua;ifying sessions you canot try too much!

Assen next followed by 2 days of testing in Brno. I will not be in Holland as we have a School in Greece but will fly direct to Brno to teach him suspension set up and deal with those less than perfect points like the outside arm.

Best of all is what I'm learning from him and how a GP rider thinks and looks at riding a bike that fast, it's amazing the sheer level of recall he has.
But the biggest thing I have learnt is even at this level, only work on one thing at a time, and that's the strongest advise I can give to you DDC boys!

All the best

Andy

[TP]

I've been watching this kid since I saw you on Eurosport in his garage. Thanks for the update.

My riding isn't as good as when we were in Spain, lots of stuff to work on ....

aaah, bah humbug .... he's been practicing the circuits on his playstation ...

[JPM]

Andy,

I must admit to watching him at every race now (thanks Eurosport for all the race classed aired) and knowing he is under your wing, you can see at every race he's getting stronger and stronger, barring mechanical failure, bad luck he has to be a tip for the championship.

Great work!

[Andy Ibbott]

I think the title will be between him and Kallio, maybe Simoncelli. He picked too soft a rear in Catalunya which is why he went from 3rd row to 1st and then all the way back to 7th. Mind you, he finally used the feet up ASAP technique for starting and we all saw what effect that had!

A

[TP]

Originally posted by Andy Ibbott
I think the title will be between him and Kallio, maybe Simoncelli. He picked too soft a rear in Catalunya which is why he went from 3rd row to 1st and then all the way back to 7th. Mind you, he finally used the feet up ASAP technique for starting and we all saw what effect that had!

A

So why are my starts so rubbish then?

Oh, because I'm rubbish .... fair enough then.

[JPM]

Simoncelli had a storming ride on Sunday, poor start but recovered well, if he'd of had the start it might well of been a different story, but his loss I guess, more points for TL

[Andy Ibbott]

TP,

I didn't ask you this on Friday but what do you look at when sitting ready for the off?

A

[TP]

Originally posted by Andy Ibbott
TP,

I didn't ask you this on Friday but what do you look at when sitting ready for the off?

A

Are my eye's supposed to be open? I'm too scared for that.

I'm looking at the lights. I've since heard that it's best to pick that up with your peripheral vision and look ahead instead?

Is this what you recommend?

[Edited on 15-6-2005 by TP]

he looks at Butch to make sure he isnt pointing his front whell at his kill switch or head .... at a guess .. hey TP ??