Final WSBK/WSS Test - Phillip Island

[tha_jackal]

Final pre-season tests for Superbike and Supersport at Phillip Island

http://www.worldsbk.com/cmsallegati/news/2928/b__Circuit%20Aerial%20Photo.jpg
Tis a fine sight...

The week ahead will be full of testing appointments for Superbike and Supersport in view of the opening round of the championship at Phillip Island on March 1st. The Australian track is the venue for four days of testing, albeit in two separate sessions, for all the official SBK teams and several of the most important SS teams.

On February 17th and 18th the factory Aprilia squad will be at Phillip Island with Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano, Stiggy Honda with Leon Haslam and Roberto Rolfo (SBK), Anthony West and Gianluca Vizziello (SS); the Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team with Makoto Tamada and Broc Parkes, Ducati DFX with Regis Laconi and Honda Althea with Tommy Hill (SBK), Mark Aitchison and Matthieu Lagrive (SS).

The list of participants in the second round of testing is even more complete. On February 21st and 22nd the circuit will see the presence of factory teams from Ducati (Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga), Yamaha (Ben Spies and Tom Sykes), Honda (Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea and Ryuichi Kiyonari), Suzuki (Max Neukirchner and Yukio Kagayama) and BMW (Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus). As for Supersport, Yamaha World Supersport (Cal Crutchlow and Fabien Foret) and Triumph BE-1 with Gianluca Nannelli and Garry McCoy, will be on track.


Should be a good indicator leading into round one on March 1st..

That's a fine pic, I'm going to print it and pin it up next to my calendar as an incentive to make it next year. thks

[Roby44]

Max testing PI 17th Feb 2009

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/MareeBrooks/2-3.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/MareeBrooks/3-1.jpg

[tha_jackal]

nice work.. any more pics to come?
im dieing to see some times for both WSBK and WSS...

[Roby44]

Thats a great picture of The Island...

[tha_jackal]

some stiggy pics..

http://www.stiggymotorsport.com/images/gallery_phillip/image1.jpg

http://www.stiggymotorsport.com/images/gallery_phillip/image2.jpg
for you Roby44

http://www.stiggymotorsport.com/images/gallery_phillip/image6.jpg
and again

http://www.stiggymotorsport.com/images/gallery_phillip/image21.jpg


cheeers..

[tha_jackal]

http://www.stiggymotorsport.com/images/gallery_phillip/image10.jpg

http://www.stiggymotorsport.com/images/gallery_phillip/image19.jpg

http://www.stiggymotorsport.com/images/gallery_phillip/image12.jpg

some more

[tha_jackal]

Nakano, Laconi set Phillip Island pace

Shinya Nakano and Regis Laconi hit the ground running during the first day of testing around the Phillip Island circuit, with both riders coming away with similar lap times.

Although activity on the circuit was limited to Aprilia, DFX Ducati, Stiggy Honda and Kawasaki, as well as a handful of Supersport competitors, both Nakano and Laconi set a fine pace to be just over half a second adrift of Troy Bayliss' lap record.

Their laps of 1min 33.1secs proved six tenths quicker than Nakano's team-mate Max Biaggi, although the Italian's day was cut short by an accident at the Honda Curve, one that left him unhurt but the RSV-4 damaged.

Elsewhere, Leon Haslam was just behind on 1min 34.1secs, although his team-mate Roberto Rolfo was not apparent on track. Kawasaki, meanwhile, endured a difficult session with Makoto Tamada and Broc Parkes producing times of 1min 34.9secs and 1min 35.1secs as they continue to dial in the ZX10-R K9.

In the Supersport category, Anthony West was quickest on home ground with Stiggy Honda, half a second quicker than team-mate Gianluca Vizziello. Mark Aitchison and Matthieu Lagrive were marginally adrift Vizziello in third and fourth aboard their Althea Hondas.

Phillip Island World Superbike testing times – Tuesday

1. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia RSV-4 1min 33.1secs
2. Regis Laconi FRA DFX Corse Ducati 1098RS 1min 33.1secs
3. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia RSV-4 1min 33.7secs
4. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Honda CBR1000RR 1min 34.1secs
5. Makoto Tamada JPN Kawasaki SRT ZX10-R 1min 34.9secs
6. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX10-R 1min 35.1secs

Phillip Island World Supersport testing times – Tuesday

1. Anthony West AUS Stiggy Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.2secs
2. Gianluca Vizziello ITA Stiggy Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.7secs
3. Mark Aitchison AUS Althea Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.7secs
4. Matthieu Lagrive FRA Althea Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.9secs


W0ot, go Westy :P

[The Phantom]

Top work, thanks Jackal!

[Mach24]

Biaggi has had a terrible start with Aprilia. Max is such a confidence rider, I wonder if he can recover from here.

No times listed for Tamada and Rolfo?

[tha_jackal]

Biaggi has had a terrible start with Aprilia. Max is such a confidence rider, I wonder if he can recover from here.

No times listed for Tamada and Rolfo?

Tamada's time is listed..

Rolfo didn't take to the track (as mentioned in what i pasted, open up those eye? :D ).. His fitness really must be a worry.

[Mach24]

Tamada's time is listed..

Rolfo didn't take to the track (as mentioned in what i pasted, open up those eye? :D ).. His fitness really must be a worry.

Thanks for the tip.

[Roby44]

Thanks for the Roby pictures!!! He's so cool isn't he....

His shoulder must be worse, it was getting better after Portimao. He was confident that he would be right to ride here ...I hope he's ok!!!


If Roby doesn't ride who will I cheer for in the Superbike race??? :eek: Who else is in that race??? :o

I had my weekend all sorted..Roby in the Supers and Ant in Supersport!!

[tha_jackal]

Thanks for the tip.

Probably should have gone with 'open the other eye' or 'open your eyes' .. :D

[Roby44]

Roby was there for the two days...

Hello boys!
I write to you from the circuit of Phillip Island in Australia, where we have as soon as ended two days of test pre-championship: here the temperature is indeed high like the adrenalin for the race of the next week! During these tests there was already air of competition, in fact with to my team Kawasaki, Aprilia, Ducati and other Honda teams were present also!I’m happy to guide intensely for two days pushing hard, making approximately 95 turns to the day without more problems the shoulder, indeed feeling to me in great form! The track of Phillip Island is always beautiful with many fast curves to join together: the Australian summer has allowed us to try intensely and with an optimal quality, even if in the first hours afternoon the temperature of asphalt has exceeded 55°! With to my new team I have worked much good and we have prepared ourselves at best for the race: it will be a competitive championship with many fast riders and much good bikes! I’m really happy to begin, my charge is indeed to thousands! Gasss!

Roby44

[tha_jackal]

Team Stiggy Racing Honda pleased with last pre-season test at Phillip Island

Wednesday 18th of February 2009

The Stiggy Racing Honda team has completed a successful last pre-season test at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia today. The two day tests were held in sunny and warm conditions in the morning sessions with some very hot sessions in the afternoon with a track temperature up to 50 degrees. The team worked hard work over the days gaining a lot of valuable track time right before the seasons big kick-off 1st of March.

SBK

Leon: 1.33.10
We have got a lot of things done over these days, we have been trying many different things on the bike mainly focusing on set-up and suspension as well the grip and tyre life. I have been putting down many laps making a race distance run in the end of the day but with the temperatures rising in the afternoon we were struggling a bit with the grip but nothing major. We have found a good pace and I'm able to ride consistently. We definitely eliminated a lot of things over the days and I'm pretty confident for the race that we will be well prepared for it.

Roby: 1.33.50
I have to say that I'm really happy with how this test worked out. I have been able to ride many laps over the days and my shoulder is feeling so much better then last time in Portimao. Yesterday I was able to do 90 laps and today around 95 and my shoulder doesn't affect my strength eventhough this track has a lot of left corners. All the training and rehabilitation I have been doing for the passed three weeks really paid off! The bike is working well, we have found a good set-up from where we can now work from. The grip is pretty ok, but we still need to find some more in the rear. Today we did a long run and I was able to stay in consistent lap-times throughout. The bike is improving all the time and I feel more and more comfortable. The team has been working really well and now we can look forward to the race in a more positive way.

SSP

Anthony: 1.35.95
My main focus for this test was getting as much laps possible getting more comfortable with the bike and to get a better understanding and feeling for it. We are getting closer and closer and we have found pretty base set-up. I have been doing two long distance runs and were able to stay consistent and feeling good on the bike. The heat in the afternoon made us loose some grip in the rear so we worked on that as most likely it will be the same conditions for the race. Lap times could have been better but in the end of the day most important is that I feel more "home" on the bike now.

Gianluca: 1.36.74
I'm happy with the two days testing. We have tried many many different things on the bike over the days and we are making good progress. We started off good yesterday working on the set-up and suspension a lot. I set my fastest lap-time yesterday and today I have completed two long-runs (10 laps and 15 laps) and was able to stay in consistent lap-times so that's is really good. Today's focus was finding the right tyres for the possible hot race conditions and also the base chassis settings. All and all it has been a good test and I'm looking forward to the race.

[tha_jackal]

Biaggi goes quickest in Phillip Island testing

Max Biaggi (Aprilia) set the quickest time in the Superbike test session that concluded today at Phillip Island. With just ten days to go before the start of the season, the Italian champion and the RSV4 have now reached a competitive level and could be amongst the front-runners at the opening round.

After his crash on day 2, Biaggi completed 71 laps today, notching up a best time of 1 minute 32.59 seconds, just eight-hundredths of a second off Troy Bayliss's quickest race lap in 2008 on a Ducati.

"These three days have been very profitable", declared a not entirely satisfied Biaggi. "We completed every test possible with all the material available, in every condition and we know exactly the problems we are facing. Now is the time to make some important modifications, obviously not for the next race because that's impossible, but shortly after".

On the other RSV4 Shinya Nakano set a time of 1m32.72s, the Japanese rider today suffering a harmless crash. Another rider who crashed out today was the surprise of these tests, Règis Laconi, on a private DFX Ducati 1098RS. The French rider, who powered to an impressive 1m32.60s, fractured the ring finger of his left hand and after going to hospital for a check, resumed testing in the afternoon on his 1098, which in the meantime had been repaired in record time.

A major surprise came from Broc Parkes who got down to a time of 1m32.90s on his Kawasaki ZX10R F09 machine: the Japanese manufacturer, present in Australia with nine engineers from the racing division, has taken full control of the situation and the results appear to be arriving sooner than expected.

The test was also positive for the Honda Stiggy team, which is making its WSBK debut this year. Leon Haslam set a time of 1m33.2s, with Roberto Rolfo close behind on 1m33.5s: the Italian covered almost 200 laps at Phillip Island and looks to have recovered from the recent shoulder injury that conditioned his form at the Portimao test.

The quickest of the four Supersport riders at Phillip Island was Australian Anthony West (Honda Stiggy) in 1m35.9s, while Gianluca Vizziello crashed out.

The final test session at Phillip Island takes place this Saturday and Sunday, with official teams from Ducati (Haga-Fabrizio), BMW (Corser-Xaus), Suzuki Alstare (Neukirchner-Kagayama), Honda Ten Kate (Checa-Kiyonari-Rea) and Yamaha (Spies-Sykes) in action.

Unofficial times:

Superbike: 1. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'32"59 (71 laps); 2. Laconi (Ducati) 1'32"60 (62); 3. Nakano (Aprilia) 1'32"72 (68); 4. Parkes (Kawasaki) 1'32"90 (70); 5. Haslam (Honda) 1'33"20 (65); 6. Hill (Honda) 1'33"30 (55); 7. Rolfo (Honda) 1'33"50 (95); 8. Tamada (Kawasaki) 1'33"90 (80).

Supersport: 1. West (Honda) 1'35"90; 2. Lagrive (Honda) 1'36"00; 3. Aitchison (Honda) 1'36"00; 4. Vizziello (Honda) 1'36"70.

[quote="tha_jackal"][B][U

The final test session at Phillip Island takes place this Saturday and Sunday, with official teams from Ducati (Haga-Fabrizio), BMW (Corser-Xaus), Suzuki Alstare (Neukirchner-Kagayama), Honda Ten Kate (Checa-Kiyonari-Rea) and Yamaha (Spies-Sykes) in action.

Thanks for your posts, I'm looking forward to your posting times for the above riders after this weekends test sessions, Haga's in particular of course. Are test days open to the public?

[The Phantom]

Thanks for your posts, I'm looking forward to your posting times for the above riders after this weekends test sessions, Haga's in particular of course. Are test days open to the public?


Chac, usually yes (although I don't know whether there's an admission charge) but the current PI tests are private. You need press credentials to get in...

[Mach24]

The other thing about private testing at PI is you can simply drive down Gap Rd which takes you to the back of Siberia where you can see most of the circuit.

The Weather for this weekends testing is:

Forecast for Saturday
Morning cloud. Isolated showers during the morning. Winds south to southwesterly averaging up to 25 km/h.
Early shower.Min17Max24

Forecast for Sunday
Sunny. Light winds.
Sunny.Min16Max31

The race weekend is looking as there could be a heatwave, 36 degrees on the Thursday prior to race weekend.

[leopard]

Chac, usually yes (although I don't know whether there's an admission charge) but the current PI tests are private. You need press credentials to get in...
It looks to me from the lay-out, admission charge is not required. We may only need to spouting off phrases such as Abre, and the door opens. :)

[tha_jackal]

Phillip Island World Superbike unofficial testing times - Saturday

1. Max Neukirchner GER Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 32.5secs
2. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098RS 1min 32.7secs
3. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 32.7secs
4. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 32.9secs
5. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098RS 1min 33.0secs
6. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 33.2secs
7. Ben Spies USA Yamaha YZF-R1 1mmin 33.3secs
8. Carlos Checa ESP Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.3secs
9. Troy Corser AUS BMW S1000RR 1min 33.8secs
10. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 34.0secs
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW S1000RR 1min 34.3secs

Phillip Island World Supersport unofficial testing times - Saturday

1. Garry McCoy AUS Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 35.6secs
2. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha SSP YZF-R6 1min 35.7secs
3. Fabien Foret FRA Yamaha SSP YZF-R6 1min 35.8secs
4. Andrew Pitt AUS Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 35.8secs
5. Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.0secs
6. Gianluca Nannelli ITA Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 36.8secs
7. Doni Tata Pradita INA YZF Yamaha R6 1mmin 38.3secs

[The Phantom]

OK, extrapolating the data from earlier in the week... cut and paste, add/modify detail, a difficult process with a wriggling 16 month old on my lap :p May not be completely accurate as the more recent figures are only to one decimal place, some guys could be up or down a place in the overall order.

Not as good a start for BMW as I'd hoped, but Aprilia are on the pace. Great work from Parkes on the ZX-10R, and from McCoy on the Triumph too. Home track makes a difference but if your bike is fast at PI you're looking good for most other tracks in the championship too.

The final results from today will be interesting.

Superbike

1. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1min 32.5secs
2. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 1min 32.59secs
3. Regis Laconi (Ducati) 1min 32.60secs
4. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 1min 32.7secs
5. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1min 32.7secs
6. Shinya Nakano (Aprilia) 1min 32.72secs
7. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) 1min 32.90secs
8. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1min 32.9secs
9. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) 1min 33.0secs
10. Leon Haslam (Honda) 1min 33.20secs
11. Tom Sykes (Yamaha) 1min 33.2secs
12. Tommy Hill (Honda) 1min 33.30secs
13. Ben Spies (Yamaha) 1min 33.3secs
14. Carlos Checa (Honda) 1min 33.3secs
15. Robby Rolfo (Honda) 1'33"50
16. Troy Corser (BMW) 1min 33.8secs
17. Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) 1'33"90
18. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1min 34.0secs
19. Ruben Xaus (BMW) 1min 34.3secs


Supersport

1. Garry McCoy (Triumph) 1min 35.6secs
2. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1min 35.7secs
3. Fabien Foret (Yamaha) 1min 35.8secs
4. Andrew Pitt (Honda) 1min 35.8secs
5. Anthony West (Honda) 1min 35.90secs
6. MatthieuLagrive (Honda) 1min 36.00secs
7. Mark Aitchison (Honda) 1min 36.00secs
8. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) 1min 36.0secs
9. Gianluca Vizziello (Honda) 1min 36.70secs
10. Gianluca Nannelli (Triumph) 1min 36.8secs
11. Doni Tata (Yamaha) 1min 38.3secs

[Rod Richardson]

Good effort........I hope the other members appreciate how much work is involved in pasting and collating.

On the subject of parenting issues, I used to rock my kids to sleep until I ran out of rocks.

[tha_jackal]

comparing times from different days isn't accurate however..
you have to take into account conditions, tyre allocation etc etc..
the real indicator will be once all the bikes are on track together next weekend..
cant wait..

[NinjaMaster]

comparing times from different days isn't accurate however..
you have to take into account conditions, tyre allocation etc etc..
the real indicator will be once all the bikes are on track together next weekend..
cant wait..
Whilst it isn't entirely accurate as having everyone there at once, it's still a fairly good indicator as conditions have been fairly similar and stable. Ultimately the racing (as always) will tell the real tale and next weekend has me as optimistic as I've ever been.

[tha_jackal]

Fabrizio powers to the top on final day of Phillip Island testing

Michel Fabrizio powered his Ducati 1098R to the top slot on the final day of pre-season testing at Phillip Island, the venue for next weekend's opening round of the 2009 championship.

The 24 year-old from Rome lapped in 1 minute 32.19 seconds, just three-tenths away from the Australian circuit's outright record of 1'31"826, set by Troy Corser (Yamaha) in 2007, and four-tenths of a second quicker than Troy Bayliss's 2008 fastest race lap. The Italian twin-cylinder machine also went well in the hands of Noriyuki Haga, who ended the day second quickest with a time of 1'32"30. After his lap, Haga then fell at the same Turn 2 where he crashed yesterday.

Yamaha's new signing Ben Spies made a big step forward, the Texan setting an excellent time of 1'32"36 on a track he experienced for the first time yesterday.

Suzuki Alstare took one step backwards, with Saturday's pace-setter Max Neukirchner unable to go any quicker than 1'33"03, while team-mate Yukio Kagayama was four-tenths slower than yesterday's pace. The Suzukis were struggling with rapid tyre wear and the team engineers had to concentrate on set-up to try and resolve the problem in view of next Sunday's two 22-lap races.

BMW managed to dip below the 1'33" mark, Troy Corser setting a respectable time of 1'32"93 before being forced to stop due to a not uncommon occurrence at this circuit, a collision with a seagull. The Australian suffered a nasty blow on his right arm, which kept him out of action for the afternoon session.

Earlier on in the week Max Biaggi had lapped in 1'32"59 on his Aprilia RSV4: the Italian machine, which is the other major new entry in 2009 together with BMW, could be on the pace right away come next weekend.

Carlos Checa (Honda Ten Kate) had to miss the final day of testing after suffering concussion in his crash at the hairpin on Saturday.

Today also saw crashes for Jonathan Rea (Honda Ten Kate) and Tom Sykes (Yamaha), but neither rider suffered any consequences and both will be at full strength for next Friday's opening practice sessions.

In Supersport the quickest time was set by 2007 champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) ahead of Garry McCoy with the increasingly competitive three-cylinder Triumph 675: the Australian also crashed out today, but without problems.

WSBK - Overall times (unofficial)
Superbike - 1. Fabrizio (Ducati) 1'32"19; 2. Haga (Ducati) 1'32"30; 3. Spies (Yamaha) 1'32"36; 4. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1'32"59; 5. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1'32"78; 6. Corser (BMW) 1'32"93; 7. Rea (Honda) 1'32"96; 8. Sykes (Yamaha) 1'33"10; 9. Xaus (BMW) 1'33"53.

Supersport - 1.Sofuoglu (Honda) 1'34"7; 2. McCoy (Triumph) 1'34"8; 3. Pitt (Honda) 1'34"8; 4. Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1'35"3; 5. Foret (Yamaha) 1'35"8; 6. Nannelli (Triumph) 1'36"3; 7. Pradita (Yamaha) 1'37"3.

[tannat]

Happy to see Corser below the 1:33.xx........

Really hoping for BMW to have a good outing this year

What is the weather forecast for next weekend?

[ChrisS]

[b]Michel Fabrizio powered his Ducati 1098R to the top slot on the final day of pre-season testing at Phillip Island, the venue for next weekend's opening round of the 2009 championship.

I just noticed that Ducati is calling its race bikes 1198 this season not 1098R

[The Phantom]

It was 1198cc last year, I'd guess that they have held off on the name change until they have an 1198 roadbike ready to sell (so expect a new Superbike to be announced soon).

[ChrisS]

It was 1198cc last year, I'd guess that they have held off on the name change until they have an 1198 roadbike ready to sell (so expect a new Superbike to be announced soon).

the 1198 was unveiled last autumn as part of their 2009 product line, it comes as 1198 and 1198S while the R version remains 1098R

[The Phantom]

So it was, I had a magazine out just a few days ago with an article on it... my mind is going, I can feel it.

... my mind is going, I can feel it.

Goodbye HAL. :)

[Wim_Impreza]

A bit off topic, but does someone know if there will be again a live stream of all the races at the official WSBK site?

[Mach24]

A bit off topic, but does someone know if there will be again a live stream of all the races at the official WSBK site?

I believe it is going to be streamed live for some regions (not Australia).

If I remember, WSBK site were live streaming the quals last year and we got it in NZ, ( maybe it was just in the latter part of the season). That was great as I have Sky Sport for the races.