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23-02-2010, 06:12 PM
Checa Fastest On Day One of WSBK Test At Phillip Island
Sunday, February 21, 2010
These just in:
Checa sits on top after first day of testing at Phillip Island
Phillip Island, Sunday 21 February 2010
Privateer Ducati rider Carlos Checa set the quickest time of the first day of track action at the official tests in Phillip Island, taking his Althea Ducati to a 1'31.959 lap time. His pace was less than one second slower than the track best in this class, 1'31.050, which was set in qualifying for the 2009 race.
The official Ducati Xerox machine of Michel Fabrizio was second quickest in the opening sessions, 0.390 seconds behind the flying Checa around the 4.445km circuit in Victoria.
Both top riders set their best times in the afternoon session, when track surface temperatures reached, 46°C, but in the slightly cooler morning session Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) was still fast enough for third in the combined times, with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) fourth.
Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) pushed his machine to fifth place, just over half a second behind leader Checa, while another British rider, Shane Byrne (Ducati Althea) was sixth.
After suffering many injuries in 2009, Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) proved himself fast and focused on day one, going seventh, heading off Max Biaggi, on the leading Aprilia Alitalia machine.
A top day for the private Ducatis in general saw Jakub Smrz ninth on his Pata B&G Racing 1098R, while DFX Ducati rider Lorenzo Lanzi rounded out the top ten.
Leading Yamaha rider was James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha) 11th quickest while the top Kawasaki lap was set by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), 13th fastest of 23 riders.
Top local rider proved to be Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and the local favourite was also the highest ranked BMW competitor, in 14th.
Carlos Checa: "A very good start, quite positive. We didn't expect this performance this early and especially not at this track, which is not easy. But we know that the Ducati can work quite well here and we arrived in Phillip Island after a quite good job in testing at Valencia. The team's understanding of the bike is good, and also they helped me a lot to understand how to ride this bike in the right way. The feeling on the bike is special and so far it is a good experience to ride it."
Michel Fabrizio: "We went quite well but the pace of Carlos Checa was very, very fast. I have a new engineer and we are working well. We made things better as we changed more and more on the bike but we just ran out of time in the afternoon session. We did not so bad, and I am sure we can improve tomorrow if the conditions remain good."
SP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.959; 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.349; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'32.484; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'32.518; 5. Rea J. (GBR)Â Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.544; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'32.671; 7. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.735; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1'32.832; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'32.912; 10. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.979; 11. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'33.135; 12. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'33.190; 13. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.222; 14. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.299; 15. Crutchlow C. (GBR)Yamaha YZF R1 1'33.444; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.498
****************
BMW Motorrad Motorsport
Infront Motor Sports Test at Phillip Island.
Day 1 - Sunday, 21 February 2010.
Weather conditions: Sunny, with a sea breeze.
Temperature: Air: 23 - 27 °C, Track: 28 - 39 °C
Number of riders participating: 24 from 14 teams
Fastest lap overall: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:31.959 min
Circuit length: 4.445 km
Programme:
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport today focussed on the basic set-up of Troy Corser's (AUS) and Ruben Xaus' (ESP) BMW S 1000 RR. With the first World Championship race weekend just ahead, the riders spent a lot of time out on the track. During the second session, Ruben crashed in turn 10, but was able to return to the team garage and to continue testing. The team did not face any technical problems.
Troy Corser:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Test kilometres today: 347 (78 laps)
Fastest lap free practice 1: 1:33.766 min / Fastest lap free practice 2: 1:33.299 min "It is always nice to come to Phillip Island as it is my home race. The bike is quite different to when we came here last year. Today we were testing different tyres and worked on the balance of the bike. We tried to find grip and made adjustments step by step."
Ruben Xaus:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Test kilometres today: 316 (71 laps)
Fastest lap free practice 1: 1:34.246 min / Fastest lap free practice 2: 1:33.498 min "Compared to last year's season start, the bike feels a lot better. We found a lot of grip. I fell off the bike in turn 10 today. However, I was able to bring the bike back to the garage and we could improve our lap time later. So it was not a big issue."
What comes next:
The team will continue testing at Phillip Island Circuit on Monday.
**************
HAGA AND FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) SET STRONG PACE ON DAY ONE OF TESTING AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Phillip Island (Australia), Sunday 21st February: in very warm conditions (air temperature 26°, track 34°), the Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio made the most of the track time during this, the first of two days of testing before the championship opens here next weekend.
In the first of the day's sessions both riders were immediately comfortable, setting some very fast lap times right from the start. The team worked with Noriyuki and Michel to find a strong race pace and understand which tyres will work best in the Australian heat. Having completed more than 40 laps each in the morning, Noriyuki and Michel closed that particular session with the second and third fastest laps respectively, followed by the three private Ducatis of Checa, Lanzi and Byrne.
The Superbike riders returned to the track at 3.30, the asphalt having reached 41°. Despite the heat, both riders continued to make fast laps and towards the end of the session Michel was able to improve on his best time set this morning to close day one with the second fastest time overall. Nori spend the second part of the session testing Pirelli's different solutions, and finished today in fourth place, just two tenths of a second behind his team-mate.
Noriyuki Haga
"It's been a positive day. We tried various things, making changes to the rear suspension setting and testing the different tyres on offer. The problem is being able to identify a direction during these test days that will also work next Sunday, it's difficult to predict how the conditions will be in a week's time. Anyway we've worked hard today and made some good progress."
Michel Fabrizio
"It hasn't gone badly today. We've worked mainly on tyres, trying to find a good race pace. We're not quite there yet but we've made a good start and know what there is to do tomorrow. It's very hot but after our recent cold and wet tests in Portimao and Valencia we can't complain!"
TIMES - DAY 1 - Checa (Ducati) 1m31.9s; Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.3s; Haslam (Suzuki) 1m32.4s; Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.5s; Rea Lanzi (Ducati) 1m32.5s; Byrne (Ducati) 1m32.6s; Neukirchner (Honda) 1m32.7s; Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m32.8s
******************
The Yamaha Sterilgarda WSB Team complete the first day of testing in Phillip Island
British riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow completed their first day of testing on the Phillip Island circuit in Australia today. The day was without incident barring a small crash by Crutchlow in the afternoon session. This was the first outing for the riders on the 2010 bike, both Toseland and Crutchlow focussed with their team on setting up the machine ahead of next week's season opening race.
James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (11th 1'33.1)
"A steady day for us today. We've been focussing on getting the new chassis set-up right, so not been trying to break any lap records, just solid track time to fine tune the bike. I'm looking forward to getting back out tomorrow and improving on today."
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (15th 1'33.4)
"Not the fastest day I've had, it doesn't feel natural to be that low on the times, but I know we'll improve on that tomorrow. It's only our first day on the new bike so we're really working hard to get the set up right so we can hit the ground running."
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
"Today was our first running in session for the new bike. The riders have been working to dial in the chassis for the Phillip Island circuit, and we will continue to do so tomorrow. We received valuable feedback from both James and Cal through both sessions and will use that to fine tune for tomorrow. Cal had a small crash this afternoon, but luckily received no injuries so can carry on as normal.
***************
Aprilia
SBK: FIRST DAY OF TESTS AT PHILLIP ISLAND
A beautiful southern late summer day is the setting for the first day of In Front Tests on the Phillip Island track where Friday the 26th the first round of the 2010 SBK season will be held. The excellent weather conditions and the track allowed the riders and the teams to do their best work from the very start. At the end of the day Carlos Checa on Althea team's Ducati held the best time at 1'31"959.
Eighth for Biaggi with 1'32"832 at 0"832 behind the Spanish rider. Max concentrated his work on finding the best balance for his RSV4, also trying the new cam drive gear engine propulsion. Twentieth place for Leon Camier with 1'33"852 at 1"893 off Checa's best time. The young English rider is making his debut here at Phillip Island, so he had to memorise the difficult Australian track whilst at the same time trying to find the best base setting to work on in anticipation of the race.
Compared to the races at the end of last year's season, the situation is a little bit different - stated Biaggi - this is a peculiar circuit where you have to be in good shape to stay up front. We are still suffering in the deceleration phase where we need to mitigate vibrations and skipping coming into the turns which hurts safety, and we need to do it with the materials which are available to us here. Tomorrow we will work on this, trying to resolve it as best as possible".
It was a very intense day - Camier said - it was the first time for me here and I had to learn the track, which is not complicated to memorise, but it is really difficult to ride fast on straight away. I'm consistent enough, although the pace still needs to improve quite a bit, but I'm lacking in the single lap which is very important for the qualifiers since a good position on the grid will help me run a good race. Considering that this is the first day, I'm at a good starting point. I'm sure that there is still a lot of work to do but I'm very confident".
*********************
HASLAM 3RD ON PHILLIP ISLAND OPENING DAY
Team Suzuki Press Office - February 21.
Briton Leon Haslam ended the first day of the Infront Motor Sports Phillip Island World Superbike tests with the third fastest lap just behind Carlos Checa (Ducati) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati).
Despite missing his flight due to a snowbound Birmingham airport, and only arriving in the early hours of this morning, Sylvain Guintoli managed to stay awake all day and finished a very creditable 12th.
Leon Haslam - 3rd, 1:32.484:
"I am really happy because we got through a lot of stuff and also managed to work through some of the tyres that we may use in next weekend's race. I feel we've got a good bike set-up and good ideas which directions to take tomorrow and it has all been very positive so far.
"Phillip Island is always hard on tyres because there are so many left-handers, so you really have to choose your tyres carefully. The teamwork today has been very good and we are all getting along great. Tomorrow we'll set up the two bikes the same and then do a back-to-back test using different tyres."
Sylvain Guintoli - 12th, 1:33.190:
"I felt fine in the morning session, but the afternoon one was a bit of a struggle towards the end. My flight was cancelled because the airport was more or less closed and so I only arrived this morning. But, I like this track and I like riding this bike at this track, so I enjoyed myself despite the jet-lag. I felt very comfortable on the bike today and now I just want to race it!"
*******
ENDS
Sunday, February 21, 2010
These just in:
Checa sits on top after first day of testing at Phillip Island
Phillip Island, Sunday 21 February 2010
Privateer Ducati rider Carlos Checa set the quickest time of the first day of track action at the official tests in Phillip Island, taking his Althea Ducati to a 1'31.959 lap time. His pace was less than one second slower than the track best in this class, 1'31.050, which was set in qualifying for the 2009 race.
The official Ducati Xerox machine of Michel Fabrizio was second quickest in the opening sessions, 0.390 seconds behind the flying Checa around the 4.445km circuit in Victoria.
Both top riders set their best times in the afternoon session, when track surface temperatures reached, 46°C, but in the slightly cooler morning session Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) was still fast enough for third in the combined times, with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) fourth.
Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) pushed his machine to fifth place, just over half a second behind leader Checa, while another British rider, Shane Byrne (Ducati Althea) was sixth.
After suffering many injuries in 2009, Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) proved himself fast and focused on day one, going seventh, heading off Max Biaggi, on the leading Aprilia Alitalia machine.
A top day for the private Ducatis in general saw Jakub Smrz ninth on his Pata B&G Racing 1098R, while DFX Ducati rider Lorenzo Lanzi rounded out the top ten.
Leading Yamaha rider was James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha) 11th quickest while the top Kawasaki lap was set by Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), 13th fastest of 23 riders.
Top local rider proved to be Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and the local favourite was also the highest ranked BMW competitor, in 14th.
Carlos Checa: "A very good start, quite positive. We didn't expect this performance this early and especially not at this track, which is not easy. But we know that the Ducati can work quite well here and we arrived in Phillip Island after a quite good job in testing at Valencia. The team's understanding of the bike is good, and also they helped me a lot to understand how to ride this bike in the right way. The feeling on the bike is special and so far it is a good experience to ride it."
Michel Fabrizio: "We went quite well but the pace of Carlos Checa was very, very fast. I have a new engineer and we are working well. We made things better as we changed more and more on the bike but we just ran out of time in the afternoon session. We did not so bad, and I am sure we can improve tomorrow if the conditions remain good."
SP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.959; 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.349; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'32.484; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'32.518; 5. Rea J. (GBR)Â Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.544; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'32.671; 7. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.735; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1'32.832; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'32.912; 10. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.979; 11. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'33.135; 12. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'33.190; 13. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.222; 14. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.299; 15. Crutchlow C. (GBR)Yamaha YZF R1 1'33.444; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.498
****************
BMW Motorrad Motorsport
Infront Motor Sports Test at Phillip Island.
Day 1 - Sunday, 21 February 2010.
Weather conditions: Sunny, with a sea breeze.
Temperature: Air: 23 - 27 °C, Track: 28 - 39 °C
Number of riders participating: 24 from 14 teams
Fastest lap overall: Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) 1:31.959 min
Circuit length: 4.445 km
Programme:
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport today focussed on the basic set-up of Troy Corser's (AUS) and Ruben Xaus' (ESP) BMW S 1000 RR. With the first World Championship race weekend just ahead, the riders spent a lot of time out on the track. During the second session, Ruben crashed in turn 10, but was able to return to the team garage and to continue testing. The team did not face any technical problems.
Troy Corser:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Test kilometres today: 347 (78 laps)
Fastest lap free practice 1: 1:33.766 min / Fastest lap free practice 2: 1:33.299 min "It is always nice to come to Phillip Island as it is my home race. The bike is quite different to when we came here last year. Today we were testing different tyres and worked on the balance of the bike. We tried to find grip and made adjustments step by step."
Ruben Xaus:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Test kilometres today: 316 (71 laps)
Fastest lap free practice 1: 1:34.246 min / Fastest lap free practice 2: 1:33.498 min "Compared to last year's season start, the bike feels a lot better. We found a lot of grip. I fell off the bike in turn 10 today. However, I was able to bring the bike back to the garage and we could improve our lap time later. So it was not a big issue."
What comes next:
The team will continue testing at Phillip Island Circuit on Monday.
**************
HAGA AND FABRIZIO (DUCATI XEROX) SET STRONG PACE ON DAY ONE OF TESTING AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Phillip Island (Australia), Sunday 21st February: in very warm conditions (air temperature 26°, track 34°), the Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio made the most of the track time during this, the first of two days of testing before the championship opens here next weekend.
In the first of the day's sessions both riders were immediately comfortable, setting some very fast lap times right from the start. The team worked with Noriyuki and Michel to find a strong race pace and understand which tyres will work best in the Australian heat. Having completed more than 40 laps each in the morning, Noriyuki and Michel closed that particular session with the second and third fastest laps respectively, followed by the three private Ducatis of Checa, Lanzi and Byrne.
The Superbike riders returned to the track at 3.30, the asphalt having reached 41°. Despite the heat, both riders continued to make fast laps and towards the end of the session Michel was able to improve on his best time set this morning to close day one with the second fastest time overall. Nori spend the second part of the session testing Pirelli's different solutions, and finished today in fourth place, just two tenths of a second behind his team-mate.
Noriyuki Haga
"It's been a positive day. We tried various things, making changes to the rear suspension setting and testing the different tyres on offer. The problem is being able to identify a direction during these test days that will also work next Sunday, it's difficult to predict how the conditions will be in a week's time. Anyway we've worked hard today and made some good progress."
Michel Fabrizio
"It hasn't gone badly today. We've worked mainly on tyres, trying to find a good race pace. We're not quite there yet but we've made a good start and know what there is to do tomorrow. It's very hot but after our recent cold and wet tests in Portimao and Valencia we can't complain!"
TIMES - DAY 1 - Checa (Ducati) 1m31.9s; Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.3s; Haslam (Suzuki) 1m32.4s; Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.5s; Rea Lanzi (Ducati) 1m32.5s; Byrne (Ducati) 1m32.6s; Neukirchner (Honda) 1m32.7s; Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m32.8s
******************
The Yamaha Sterilgarda WSB Team complete the first day of testing in Phillip Island
British riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow completed their first day of testing on the Phillip Island circuit in Australia today. The day was without incident barring a small crash by Crutchlow in the afternoon session. This was the first outing for the riders on the 2010 bike, both Toseland and Crutchlow focussed with their team on setting up the machine ahead of next week's season opening race.
James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (11th 1'33.1)
"A steady day for us today. We've been focussing on getting the new chassis set-up right, so not been trying to break any lap records, just solid track time to fine tune the bike. I'm looking forward to getting back out tomorrow and improving on today."
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (15th 1'33.4)
"Not the fastest day I've had, it doesn't feel natural to be that low on the times, but I know we'll improve on that tomorrow. It's only our first day on the new bike so we're really working hard to get the set up right so we can hit the ground running."
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
"Today was our first running in session for the new bike. The riders have been working to dial in the chassis for the Phillip Island circuit, and we will continue to do so tomorrow. We received valuable feedback from both James and Cal through both sessions and will use that to fine tune for tomorrow. Cal had a small crash this afternoon, but luckily received no injuries so can carry on as normal.
***************
Aprilia
SBK: FIRST DAY OF TESTS AT PHILLIP ISLAND
A beautiful southern late summer day is the setting for the first day of In Front Tests on the Phillip Island track where Friday the 26th the first round of the 2010 SBK season will be held. The excellent weather conditions and the track allowed the riders and the teams to do their best work from the very start. At the end of the day Carlos Checa on Althea team's Ducati held the best time at 1'31"959.
Eighth for Biaggi with 1'32"832 at 0"832 behind the Spanish rider. Max concentrated his work on finding the best balance for his RSV4, also trying the new cam drive gear engine propulsion. Twentieth place for Leon Camier with 1'33"852 at 1"893 off Checa's best time. The young English rider is making his debut here at Phillip Island, so he had to memorise the difficult Australian track whilst at the same time trying to find the best base setting to work on in anticipation of the race.
Compared to the races at the end of last year's season, the situation is a little bit different - stated Biaggi - this is a peculiar circuit where you have to be in good shape to stay up front. We are still suffering in the deceleration phase where we need to mitigate vibrations and skipping coming into the turns which hurts safety, and we need to do it with the materials which are available to us here. Tomorrow we will work on this, trying to resolve it as best as possible".
It was a very intense day - Camier said - it was the first time for me here and I had to learn the track, which is not complicated to memorise, but it is really difficult to ride fast on straight away. I'm consistent enough, although the pace still needs to improve quite a bit, but I'm lacking in the single lap which is very important for the qualifiers since a good position on the grid will help me run a good race. Considering that this is the first day, I'm at a good starting point. I'm sure that there is still a lot of work to do but I'm very confident".
*********************
HASLAM 3RD ON PHILLIP ISLAND OPENING DAY
Team Suzuki Press Office - February 21.
Briton Leon Haslam ended the first day of the Infront Motor Sports Phillip Island World Superbike tests with the third fastest lap just behind Carlos Checa (Ducati) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati).
Despite missing his flight due to a snowbound Birmingham airport, and only arriving in the early hours of this morning, Sylvain Guintoli managed to stay awake all day and finished a very creditable 12th.
Leon Haslam - 3rd, 1:32.484:
"I am really happy because we got through a lot of stuff and also managed to work through some of the tyres that we may use in next weekend's race. I feel we've got a good bike set-up and good ideas which directions to take tomorrow and it has all been very positive so far.
"Phillip Island is always hard on tyres because there are so many left-handers, so you really have to choose your tyres carefully. The teamwork today has been very good and we are all getting along great. Tomorrow we'll set up the two bikes the same and then do a back-to-back test using different tyres."
Sylvain Guintoli - 12th, 1:33.190:
"I felt fine in the morning session, but the afternoon one was a bit of a struggle towards the end. My flight was cancelled because the airport was more or less closed and so I only arrived this morning. But, I like this track and I like riding this bike at this track, so I enjoyed myself despite the jet-lag. I felt very comfortable on the bike today and now I just want to race it!"
*******
ENDS