Sudden decrease in gravity and loss of traction were something Smrz needed to call a medical professional about. image by jimola imola

Talk about timing: moments after being ejected from his Ducati Superbike in a vicious highside, Soup interviewed Jakub Smrz. Our chat was scheduled before the crash, and we figured he'd probably cancel after such a big get-off. But Smrz, who landed on his back and was clearly stiff from the crash, shrugged it off and invited me into his garage.

"What's positive from the crash was I know it was my mistake, so we don't have to look at the set-up. I was just trying to go a bit faster," Smrz laughed. "It wasn't a nice crash—for the first ten seconds I didn't know where I am, and my ass really hurts, but the bike can be fixed easy, so no problem."

Jakub, who rides for the privateer Pata B&G Racing Team, was philosophical about his chances in the race, and in the Championship. He's had some some stunning qualifying performances in 2010, including a brilliant 4th in Superpole at Miller this weekend. But his bike is well below the spec of Haga and Fabrizio's machinery, and likely the privateer Althea team as well.

"The factory Ducatis have more revs, maybe 500 rpm, but the biggest difference is the ride-by-wire (which Smrz's bike doesn't have). It helps with grip at the end of the race but also in normal qualifying it's easier with ride-by-wire because you can go harder on the gas—and not highside!" In qualifying, when the riders are more spread out trying to get a good time down, Smrz can be fast. In the race however, his privateer bike's lower straight line speed and off-corner acceleration makes it very difficult to achieve a good result.

The 3 kilo weight reduction the Ducatis have been allowed starting at Miller hasn't changed the feel of the bike much for Jakub. "We don't really have a way to make a 3 kilo weight reduction so we knocked off 1.5, maybe two kilos." Smrz is not a rider who been blessed with top level equipment, in fact he's had to make due with less than current machinery for most of his career."Hey, I'm not complaining...if I were a complainer, I would have been complaining for the past ten years already," Smrz smiled.

"So I just do the best with the bike I have. At the moment we're doing better than I think anyone expected, and we hope for the best."