James Ellison hoping for chatter boost in Qatar

James Ellison is hoping his dream return to MotoGP action in Qatar this weekend isn’t ruined by a chatter issue that severely hampered the British rider during the recent final pre-season test in Jerez.

The Cumbrian battled chronic vibration with his Paul Bird Motorsport Aprilia machine in Jerez and is desperate for the issue, which occurs on the brakes and corner entry, not to hinder him when the new 1000cc era gets underway in Qatar on Sunday night.

Chatter plagued Ellison during his last season in MotoGP in 2006 when the problem prevented him from showing his full potential on the Tech 3 Yamaha, which ran on Dunlop tyres.

And he told MCN: “I am looking forward to the first race but I’d have been happier leaving Jerez a second or half-a-second quicker. I did the same time as I did when I first rode the bike, so when you come back you expect a big jump and 0.5s would put us around the top 15.”

Asked if he was worried that the chatter would follow him to the floodlit Losail International Circuit for Sunday’s night race, the 31-year-old added: “I was a bit down at Jerez and probably sounded a bit miserable but I don’t want a repeat of what happened last time because chatter was the main issue in 2006.

“We tried everything and I just really hope we find a solution because I couldn’t do another season like in 2006. It is restricting and frustrating when the bike is just bouncing on two wheels and frustrating to come in and see yourself down near the bottom of the timesheets.”

For a special Q and A with Ellison in our special 16-page season preview, see the April 4 issue of Motor Cycle News.