Founds vows to beat frustration; Moment of promise at Monza.

Byline: NEIL MACDONALD 

MOTORBIKE racer Chris Founds struggled through another weekend of frustration as he battled to complete the Italian job in Monza.

The Wirralbiker,and his passenger Stuart Muldoon, finished 13th to pick up their first three championship points.

However Chris believes they should have finished higher, but for a disastrous qualifying session and then another mechanical breakdown as in the previous round in Valencia.

He said: ``It was a difficult trip because luck seemed to be against us.

``In qualifiying we only made 18th place because the session was cut short. We were 10th fastest after the first session and in the second session everyone went faster, which pushed us down to 18th when it was our turn.''

After touring the circuit with Stuart and discussing the correct plan of attack,Chris hurtled as the fastest bike over the first and second sectors.

But calamity struck in sector three when an oil spill forced him to abort the lap and then the cancellation of the third and final qualifying session.

``We were really going well and I had never been the fastest bike before so it would have been interesting to see what would have happened,'' Chris rued.

``But then when the oil was dumped, the yellow flags came out and it ruined the lap. I was not best pleased and my mood did not improve when they cancelled qualifying.''

Starting from way down the grid,Chris knew he would have his work cut out to reach the top 10 place he wanted and decided to try and give himself an edge.

He explained: ``Monza is a fast,bumpy circuit with a lot of trees, so I decided to wear my glasses to try and help me out with my visibility.

``I don't normally wear them for racing and I won't be wearing them again because they kept on slipping off my nose.

``I was seeing three corners at once sometimes so that was a bit ofamistake.''

After taking his glasses off, Chris had managed to climb to 13th when his bike started to lose power,as in Valencia.

Despite having changed two thirds of components in a bid to prevent it happening again - including the fuel pump he blamed last time - Chris will be working to switch everything else in time for the next race in Oschersleben this weekend.

He said: ``I thought we had fixed the problem after last time,but it re- occur ed and now we have to takeacloser look at the bike to see what could be causing it.

``It happened two or three laps from the end which is a distance you would never replicate in practice, so it could be that something is building up over a race like excess heat or fuel starvation and that makes it fail.

``I don't think it is insurmountable and hopefully with the changes we will be making in the next few days, we will solve it for good.''

Despite the team's difficulties in Monza, Chris is feeling confident about the trip to Germany - boosted by renewing the team's sponsorship from the Village Hotel in Bromborough, new race suits from Carrerra Leathers and helmets from ARAI,Europe.

The team are also establishing more links with local companies, such as Aleo Plating in Liverpool and RDB Cables in Ellesmere Port, in providing product and manufacturing support. These are supporting existing relationships with the liks of Trustland Construction Ltd,of Wirral.

It all adds to the team's positive feeling for their trip to the circuit, just outside Hanover, which is one of Chris's favourites, not last because Team Founds will alsobemeeting up with their German fan club en route.

Chris explained: ``They are just a group of bike fans who used to follow my dad at the TT races and now that has passed on to me.

``We stayed there last year and they help raise some funds for us which is a great help,as is having local support at the circuit.''

Chris and Stuart will also be looking to extend their preparation by touring the circuit again and deciding on a strategy for eachcorner, which they hope will lead to better qualification and race times.

``It is basically about Stuart and I riding around the track on the pit scooter and stopping here and there for a chat,'' Chris explained.

``Stuart is a top class rider himself and I feel I benefit ted from his suggestions at Monza. If we do that from the start instead of just jumping on the bike and having a go, it could makeadifference.

``Certainly if I want to finish the race in the top 10,I have to qualify there because otherwise I will have to lap faster than the riders in those positions just to catch them up, which would be abigask.

``I finished sixth at Oschersleben two years ago and qualified high up last year before someone took me out on the first lap, and both Stuart and I are both confident that level of performance is there for us this time.''

To find out more about Team Founds racing, contact the team website, www.teamfoundsracing.com

CAPTION(S):

HIGH SPEED: Chris Founds and Stuart Muldoon hang on at Monza and (right)Chris Founds MAIN PIC: WWW.WALZPICS.COM