Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Victoria, Australia
February 24, 2017
Free Practice Two Results (All on Pirelli tires):
1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:30.588
2. Marco Melandri, Italy (Duc Panigale R), 1:30.627
3. Xavi Fores, Spain (Duc Panigale R), 1:30.688
4. Alex Lowes, UK (Uam YZF-R1), 1:30.817
5. Lorenzo Savadori, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), 1:30.847
6. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:31.000
7. Tom Sykes, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:31.079
8. Jordi Torres, Spain (BMW S1000RR), 1:31.121
9. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Apr RSV4), 1:31.287
10. Alex De Angelis, San Marino (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:31.490, crash
11. Markus Reiterberger, Germany (BMW S1000RR), 1:31.653
12. Nicky Hayden, USA (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:31.653
13. Ayrton Badovini, Italy (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:31.712, crash
14. Michael van der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), 1:31.783
15. Josh Brookes, Australia (Yam YZF-R1), 1:31.973
16. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), 1:32.022
17. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:32.055
18. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:32.129
19. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:32.247
20. Ricardo Russo, Italy (Yam YZF-R1), 1:32.703
21. Leon Camier, UK (MV Agusta F4RC), no time recorded
More, from a press release issued by Althea BMW Racing:
The 2017 SBK battle officially commences at Phillip Island
Phillip Island (Australia), Friday 24 February 2017
The curtain has officially gone up on the 2017 Superbike World Championship. Today, the Althea BMW Racing team was out on the Phillip Island track in Australia for the first timed practice sessions of this season’s inaugural round.
In the morning session, which took place in dry conditions (air temperature 17°C and track 25°C), Markus Reiterberger and Jordi Torres worked constructively with their technicians, completing the same number of laps – 27 each – during the hour available to them. Making constant progress, the Althea BMW pair concluded the session with practically identical times – Markus 1’31.129 e Jordi 1’31.130 – to finish eighth and ninth respectively.
In fairly similar conditions, the Althea BMW focused on their race pace during the afternoon session, making small changes to the set-up of their BMW S 1000 RR machines. With Torres improving on his morning’s time by a few thousandths of a second just before the session’s end, he moved ahead of his team-mate, to close in ninth (1’31.121) to Reiterberger’s tenth (1’31.129). Thanks to the day’s results, both of them therefore qualify directly for tomorrow’s Superpole2.
Jordi Torres:
“This morning didn’t go too badly. I struggled at first to be fast because we started with a slightly different set-up to what we used during testing but gradually though, as we worked on the chassis, my feeling improved and the times started to come. In the afternoon, it was hard to improve on lap times, perhaps due to there being more wind. It seemed that I didn’t have much grip but we worked to resolve that and with a new tyre I was able to set a similar time to that of the morning. We’re confident, we really want to do well and will continue on this path tomorrow.”
Markus Reiterberger:
“I’ve had a really good day and I’m pleased because it’s been a while since I could say that. After the crash I had in testing, my team did a great job of providing me with a really good bike today. We made some changes throughout the hour and by the end of the morning session I was able to set a fast time, my best ever time on a race tyre at this track. This afternoon I completed a long-run as well as changing a few things on the bike but I was unable to improve on my fastest time, also because I came close to having a big high side while trying to set a good time. The bike and I are currently working well together, I’m feeling positive ahead of tomorrow, and hope we can improve further. Thanks to my team for their hard work.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Rea And Sykes Start Strongly At Phillip Island
Kawasaki Racing Team riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes placed second and fourth respectively after the first day of practice for the FIM Superbike World Championship event at Phillip Island in Australia. Both official Ninja ZX-10RR riders were under the existing lap record in dry but windy conditions at the 4.445km circuit.
With winds picking up in the afternoon session only a few of the top ten riders improved their times in the second session today. Both Rea and Sykes had given their best laps in the morning session but also made real improvements in finding an overall race set-up for race one on Saturday and race two on Sunday. Rea posted a 1’30.255 best lap today and Sykes a 1’30.573.
Before the first race on Saturday, both Tom and Jonathan will negotiate a slightly longer FP3 than last year. After that 25-minute practice outing they will take on Superpole 2 directly, without having to move through Superpole 1, as they compete for their final grid positions.
Each race at Phillip Island is scheduled for 22-laps so a lot of thought and effort has already gone into how best to set up the Ninja ZX-10RR to make the most of its race tyres over full distance. At a circuit that has several significant long left-hand corners this is a particularly important aspect of pre-race preparation.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “It will be exciting times on the weekend and one lap pace I think will be completely different to 22 lap pace. It is important to manage the race in the right way. We did 1’30.2 on a race tyre today so I dread to think what Superpole is going to be with qualifiers! You are going to have to get into the thick of the 1’29s to get on pole. I am going to give it a good go anyway tomorrow because I feel good on the bike. We still have a few little bits for me to try to maximise acceleration when the tyre drops. We have had a Monday and Tuesday test here so we should be pretty much ready to go. We will go out and check the bike over to get ready for Superpole. With the slightly longer 25-minute FP3 on Saturday this year you can make a long run, and that is important.”
Tom Sykes, stated: “I think we are OK on race distance but we are just struggling for an initial lap time. We will see how it goes tomorrow as we still have a bit of work to do. But on lap 18 of a race simulation I was only three tenths slower than my best lap. We just need to find a bit of a set-up change to manage a bit better in the windy conditions. We have gathered some information and tomorrow we will try to be a bit sharper again. It was tough with the headwind so it definitely affected everyone in the afternoon session. Hopefully I can make an improvement tomorrow so it will not affect me quite as much.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Chaz Davies sets the best time on Friday at Phillip Island, Marco Melandri is fifth
The 2017 WorldSBK championship officially kicked off in Phillip Island (Australia) with the first two free-practice sessions ahead of Saturday and Sunday’s races, and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team placed both its riders in the top five in the opening day.
Chaz Davies posted the best provisional time with a blistering 1:30.189 (only a tenth of a second slower than the record on qualifying tyres) making the most of the track conditions in the morning, then successfully completed a race simulation during FP2. Marco Melandri was, on the other hand, the only rider within the top five capable to improve his lap times in the afternoon, closing with a personal best of 1:30.627 (+0.438 behind his teammate).
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action tomorrow at 10:20 local time (00:20 CET) for FP3 in anticipation of Superpole. Race 1 is scheduled to start at 15:00 (05:00 CET).
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1:30.189 (1st)
“Day one was OK, and I’m happy about our performance. On my best lap I missed a couple of tenths through the last sector; potentially we could have lapped in 1’29, which would have been quite impressive, but we can still improve our race pace. Since the first test session and throughout the whole winter we’ve been methodical, chipping away and trying not to make radical changes to the package. This track is a bit more difficult for us, we had to make a few more adjustments to our base, but we found a better setup today and I hope to be able to further improve tomorrow. People keep mentioning our winning streak at the end of last year, but we’ll take the race as it comes. If there’s an opportunity to win, we’ll go for it. Otherwise, we’ll take as many points as possible. Consistency is the key.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 1:30.627 (5th)
“This morning, the conditions were trickier than yesterday because it was very windy on track and we had to progressively get reacquainted with the bike. In the afternoon, however, we found the right feeling once again and the Panigale R felt really balanced overall. I did many laps on the same tyre, but not consecutively, so we still don’t know whether we can be as consistent as Davies and Rea over the race distance. Anyway, we tried different tyre options to figure out the best choice for the race, gathering some valuable data. Superpole will be extremely important, then we’ll see what strategy to adopt. I don’t have a specific goal in mind for the race, I just want to go out there and have fun, then we’ll see what comes our way.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Phillip Island Day One
Davies Friday’s fastest at Phillip Island
Ducati rider takes opening honours
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was Friday’s fastest participant at the season-opening Yamaha Finance Australian Round, with the Welshman topping the combined FP1 and FP2 timesheets courtesy of a 1’30.189 best time from the morning.
Defending World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the second quickest rider on Friday at Phillip Island courtesy of a 1’30.255 lap in FP1 and he was the fastest rider in the later session.
Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) put in a good performance to end the day third fastest, also courtesy of his best FP1 effort, a 1’30.486, putting him just ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) – who was fourth and trailed Davies by just under four tenths.
On his return to WorldSBK Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth quickest overall, thanks to his 1’30.627 lap registered in the afternoon outing.
Also going straight through to Tissot Superpole 2 on the opening weekend of the 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship are Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), Nicky Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) and Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team), who rounded out Friday’s top ten.
Savadori provided the most spectacular moment of the day, surviving a huge wobble at turn 11 in FP1.
The likes of Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), meanwhile, will participate in Tissot Superpole 1 on Saturday having ended Friday 11th and 12th respectively.
Earlier in the day FP1 had been red flagged after less than ten minutes of action after an engine fault for Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) briefly left an oil leak on track, though the action soon got back underway. Camier ended Friday in 13th place on the combined timesheets.
Rookie Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 14th best and ran off track just over 15 minutes before the end of FP2, quickly returning to the asphalt after his excursion onto the grass.
Likewise newcomer Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) ran off track at turn 4 at one stage in his first official WorldSBK session in FP1 and the German ended up 16th overall.
Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project) crashed at turn 11 but walked away from the incident late in the afternoon session and was Friday’s 15th fastest man. Ayrton Badovini (Grillini Racing Team) was also a late crasher in FP2 and concluded Friday in 17th place on the timesheets.
The WorldSBK riders will return to action at 10.20am local time on Saturday morning, with Tissot Superpole 1 at 12.30pm and Tissot Superpole 2 at 12.55pm. Race 1 will get started at 3pm.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda WorldSBK Team:
Hayden qualifies directly into Superpole 2 at Phillip Island
Australian Round
Phillip Island, Australia
The opening day of action of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship has been contested at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia, with Nicky Hayden able to claim an eighth place in the combined times of today’s two free practice sessions. Courtesy of this result, the 35-year-old American rider has gained direct access to tomorrow’s Superpole 2, while his Red Bull Honda World Superbike teammate Stefan Bradl will try and make his way through the first qualifying session after finishing the day in sixteenth position.
Hayden was able to take the best out of the new Pirelli spec tyres brought for the Australian round as he clocked in 1’31.099s on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine in the first free practice session. Bradl significantly improved his feeling with the bike in the morning after working extensively with his crew on the electronic side of the brand-new Honda motorcycle.
World Superbike action will resume tomorrow morning at 10:20 local time (GMT+11) for the 25-minute free practice 3 session, with Superpole 1 and Superpole 2 set to get underway at 12:30 and 12:55, respectively. The opening race of the season will start at 15:00.
Nicky Hayden 69
8th / 1’31.099
It’s nice to be at Phillip Island and get the season back off. We had a few ideas to try on the bike from testing here earlier this week: we made a little bit of a step forward, with the track conditions being a bit better and with the new spec tyres brought by Pirelli, one of which I particularly liked. I was able to do some decent times with it but we still need to find some more speed ahead of race one. The competition is really tough in the group where I’m in at the moment. Being in Superpole 2 is surely good news so I hope we’ll be able to qualify well tomorrow and get a good race result.
Stefan Bradl 6
16th / 1’31.707
We made a good step forward compared to the test, especially this morning. The electronics were definitely working much better, after basically turning most of our attention towards it. This afternoon, things were not as good as apparently the window where the electronics seem to operate well is quite small at the moment, so we kind of ended up a bit too far. Track conditions were worse compared to this morning and I could not make the most of fresh tyres, but looks like we’re much more competitive in the long run. We will go back to this morning settings in FP3 and start building from there.
Pieter Breddels
We improved quite a lot this morning with Nicky and he was able to set some good lap times, which allowed him to qualify to Superpole 2. An eighth place is not a bad result, but there is still work to do and we will analyse the data in order to come up with new adjustments ahead of tomorrow, especially for the race. We worked really hard on the electronic side of things and Stefan could immediately feel the difference compared to testing: he was able to build some confidence with the bike in the first hour of practice on track and his lap-times improved significantly. In the afternoon, we tried some more settings to improve our pace but the track conditions were not as good. We did learn a lot, though, and we will take all of it into tomorrow, when we’ll work more on the chassis as well as on other areas of the bike.
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
The first day of action for the 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship officially got underway at Phillip Island circuit, in Australia, with Patrick “PJ” Jacobsen getting the best lap time on the WorldSSP Free Practice sessions and Leon Camier finishing 13th due to a technical problem.
Leon Camier closed in 13th position in the combined WorldSBK FP1-2 sessions, with a lap time of 1’31.405 marked in the morning FP1. The British rider was unable to improve his lap time in the afternoon FP2 session due to a technical problem suffered after only 3 laps. Leon, that in the last test on this circuit got the 6th position, tomorrow will start from the Tissot-Superpole1 (12:30 local time) in search of the best grid position for Race 1 (15:00 local time).
After setting the fastest time in the two-day test earlier this week, Patrick Jacobsen remained in command of the WorldSSP time sheets in both Free Practice sessions on Friday, confirming the very positive feeling with his MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 675 machine. Jacobsen, at the first WorldSSP race with the MV Agusta brand, today set a best lap of 1’33.087, and tomorrow will lead the Tissot-Superpole2 session scheduled for 13:55 local time.
Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK rider – In the first laps I did this morning the bike was really good and lap time came very easy. I am not so far away even considering we didn’t lap this afternoon. I am confident we can go faster tomorrow, we just need to figure out what the problems are and push hard in tomorrow’s Superpole1.
Patrick Jacobsen #99 WorldSSP rider – This day went really well for us, we tried a lot of things on the bike this morning and we did a great time. In the second session we didn’t have the chance to lower our time but we did a good time considering our 16-lap tyre. I am very happy and I can’t thanks my crew enough for their great job. Thanks MV Agusta and all the fans came to support us.