FIM Supersport World Championship Official Test Parkalgar Circuit Portimao, Portugal January 28, 2011 Combined Supersport Session Results (wet conditions, all on Pirelli tires): 1. Broc PARKES, AUS (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:48.893 2. James ELLISON, GBR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:49.802 3. Alexander LUNDH, SWE (Honda CBR600RR), 1:51.910 4. Roberto TAMBURINI, ITA (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.097 5. Gino REA, GBR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:52.962 6. Mitchell PIROTTA, AUS (Honda CBR600RR), 1:53.635 7. Vladimir IVANOV, UKR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:53.870 8. Luca MARCONI, ITA (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:56.138 9. Bastien CHESAUX, SUI (Honda CBR600RR), 1:56.460 10. Luca SCASSA, ITA (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:57.123 11. David SALOM, ESP (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:57.286 12. Sam LOWES, GBR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:’57.319 13. Pawel SZKOPEK, POL (Honda CBR600RR), 1:58.094 14. Chaz DAVIES, GBR (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:58.530 15. Florian MARINO, FRA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:58.824 16. Fabien FORET, FRA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:59.359 17. Marko JERMAN, SLO (Triumph Daytona 675), 2:01.571 18. Miguel PRAIA, POR (Honda CBR600RR), 2:02.733 19. Valery YURCHENKO, RUS (Yamaha YZF-R6), 2:17.713 Best Overall Supersport Test Times (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Sam LOWES, GBR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:45.845 2. David SALOM, ESP (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:45.931 3. Broc PARKES, AUS (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:46.316 4. Fabien FORET, FRA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:46.415 5. Chaz DAVIES, GBR (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:46.594 6. Gino REA, GBR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:47.259 7. James ELLISON, GBR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:47.281 8. Luca SCASSA, ITA (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:47.365 9. Florian MARINO, FRA (Honda CBR600RR), 1:47.852 10. Miguel PRAIA, POR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:47.941 11. Alexander LUNDH, SWE (Honda CBR600RR), 1:48.146 12. Vladimir IVANOV, UKR (Honda CBR600RR), 1:48.585 13. Pawel SZKOPEK, POL (Honda CBR600RR), 1:51.001 14. Marko JERMAN, SLO (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:49.408 15. Bastien CHESAUX, SUI (Honda CBR600RR), 1:49.933 16. Roberto TAMBURINI, ITA (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:50.203 17. Luca MARCONI, ITA (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.261 18. Mitchell PIROTTA, AUS (Honda CBR600RR), 1:53.635 19. Valery YURCHENKO, RUS (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.711 20. Oleg POZDNEEV, RUS (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:55.480 21. Eduard BLOKHIN, RUS (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:56.208 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Lowes tops Portuguese test PARKALGAR HONDA’S Sam Lowes topped the three day official World Supersport test at the awesome Parkalgar circuit in Portugal with a lap time set on the opening day as wet weather dominated the last two days. Portuguese hero Miguel Praia ended the test 10th thanks to his first day lap time. Both Sam and Miguel proved to have excellent wet weather pace in the last two days, with Sam competitive at the top of the timesheets and Miguel getting as high as seventh. Parkalgar Honda and its sister Bogdanka PTR Honda team now go to Aragon in Spain for a further test on Monday and Tuesday. Sam: “Conditions were greasy today and on an out-lap I was two foot wide and lost the rear. I came down hard on my right foot and I’ve broken a bone. I can ride no problem and went out again. I had a previous crash but it was small and I was unhurt. For me the test has been awesome, very positive. On the first day it was proper dry and we showed speed and consistency. We achieved that and the fastest lap of the entire test on very little time and with few changes to the bike – so the potential is enormous and that’s the best thing I take away from here. In the full wet I was quickest and finding it comfortable. The third day was a bit of a write off as it was damp and we couldn’t test anything but overall I am very happy.” Miguel: “After such a long break from riding I was OK with 10th on the opening day and expected to go a lot faster. Then in the rain of the second day I was seventh fastest in the full wet and found the lap times quite easy. Something I ate yesterday disagreed with me and I hardly slept last night. The doctor told me to rest today and I only went out at the end, missing the five-minute window of opportunity to put in a fast lap as it started to rain again. We need more kilometres testing the new Pirelli tyre to build my confidence.” Simon Buckmaster: Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Sam has had a good test; he was fastest in the wet and dry. He had two crashes but we have talked about this and I am sure he will learn from it. His bike feels good, he is happy and he has gelled with his team, those are big positives. “Miguel was ill for the final day so lost a lot of time. He is struggling to work with the new rear tyre in the dry it needs more rider input than the old tyre. We will work on this with him. In the wet he was competitive in seventh and that is encouraging.” More, from a press release issued by Infront Motor Sports: World Supersport New regular rider Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) used his Wednesday time of 1’45.845 to leave the Portimao official IMS tests with the fastest lap in the Supersport World Championship class, with all the top riders also setting their absolute best on the opening day. Lowes fell twice on the final day in changeable track conditions, breaking a bone in his right foot and hurting his left hand. He set laps in the final afternoon session, before stopping when it was clear that conditions would not improve. Sam Lowes: ” The test started off really well so we got the fastest time. Yesterday was also mega in the wet, but today’s track conditions were a bit ‘in-between’, so that made it not a very productive day. We wanted to get a lot done but we couldn’t. It was just mega to get out riding again after the winter and get back in the zone. At least we know we are not a million miles off, and we should be all right. I broke a small bone in my foot in a crash at turn seven, but nothing major.” David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com) was second quickest overall, and he also fell today in wet conditions, suffering a small hairline crack in his large pelvic bone. He has been checked out only needs a few days of rest to recover from the injury. Broc Parkes (Kawasaki Motocard.com) was fastest today, and third overall. Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was fourth, while the top Yamaha rider over the three days was another late faller, Chaz Davies (Yamaha ParkinGO) who was fifth fastest. Gino Rea (Step Racing Team) took his Honda to overall sixth, and another British rider James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) was seventh. The top eight places were finished off by the fastest rider in the first wet session today, Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO). Overall Times: 1. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.845; 2. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’45.931; 3. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’46.316; 4. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.415; 5. Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.594; 6. Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’47.259; 7. Ellison J. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’47.281; 8. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’47.365; etc. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Salom And Parkes Both Fast In Official Testing A dry first day of action at Portimao placed Ninja ZX-6R riders David Salom and Broc Parkes second and third in the final rankings after the completion of a three-day Infront Motorsport test. Changeable weather conditions and unpredictably wet-and-dry track surfaces dominated proceedings on the second and third days, with Parkes fast in all conditions and still able to make real set-up progress, despite the unexpected lack of dry track time. Salom was again consistently near the top but a crash on the final day, after hitting a wet patch of tarmac and losing the rear, saw David injure the rear of his hip and be forced to sit out the final session. He is fully expected to be fit for the next test and then the first race of the year at the end of February. Machine developments at this test were concentrated on the evolution of the final race package, with lots of work being done in the area of electronics and suspension. Because of the relatively cool winter conditions, even on the dry first day, the lap and circuit records were not quite reached by any of the 21 riders on show. Broc Parkes: “Today went really well; we did some good wet tests, and we stayed upright in tricky conditions. We tried something with a new tyre in this test and it didn’t work for us so I don’t think I showed the time that we could have done. The whole test has been a bit difficult with the weather conditions but I got through it and we worked on a lot of good stuff. The bike was definitely one step better again.” David Salom: “The test was pretty good overall, in the wet it was good and I was second fastest in the dry. I worked well with the team, and we spent most of our time on set-up on suspension and electronics and made progress. The only downside was that I crashed on the wet in turn seven. I opened the gas and opened it a bit too much. I highsided and fell hard, so I have a very small crack in the back of my pelvic bone. No problems, a few days of rest and it will be fine for the test and race in Australia.” More, from a press release issued by Bogdanka PTR Honda: Flying start at Portimao THE Bogdanka PTR Honda team got off to a flying start to the 2011 season with James Ellison second fastest on the third and final day of the official World Supersport test at Portimao and Pawel Szkopek joining him at the sharp end. Following his second place in the wet yesterday, Ellison was also second quickest on the final day as he developed his Honda to his riding style. He completed a massive amount of work in the changeable conditions. Pawel Szkopek also made vast improvements over the three days, upping the pace with every outing and spending most of the time comfortably inside the top six in a 21-strong class. Eventually James and Pawel finished the three day test in seventh and 13th overall, having done 99 and 103 laps respectively, but variable weather did no justice to the combined standings and the Bogdanka PTR Honda Team leaves Portimao delighted with the progress and pace of its riders. On Monday the team will start a two day test at MotorLand Aragon, where Ellison and Szkopek will be joined by Bogdanka PTR Honda’s Superstock 1000 rider, Marcin Walkowiak. One more test will take place in Australia before the first World Supersport race on the 27th of February. James Ellison: “It was a very good test. The bike is great and the team works really well together. I was very fast in the wet this morning, faster that anyone else by two seconds at one point and I’m very happy with the wet practice we’ve had. With half of the track dry in the afternoon we’ve been able to try new fork settings we’ve came up with after day one. That made a massive improvement even if the lap times didn’t show it because the other half was wet; but I can’t wait to try the bike again at Aragon.” Pawel Szkopek: “I’m really happy with the three days here. Actually the mixed conditions were very helpful to me because I’ve learned so much about the traction control and I’m feeling really well on the bike. The weather was a bit tricky on the last day and I’m looking forward to trying the bike again in the dry – but all in all it was a very productive test. I’m very happy to have been in the top six on a constant basis because I wasn’t going for lap times at all. I know I can go faster but was just learning the bike so this visit to Portimao was a massive confidence boost for me.” Simon Buckmaster: “Our first test was very productive despite the tricky conditions. Both riders were quick in the wet and near the end James had a very good setting in the dry which improved turn-in. I’m very happy with Pawel too. He gelled really well with the team and shows great potential so I’m looking forward to getting him in the best shape possible for the start of the championship on Febuary the 27th.” Michael Piasecki: “Despite the mixed conditions it was a very good test for the whole team. Both riders felt right at home on their Hondas and did lots of work both in the dry and in the wet. James reconfirmed what we already knew: he’s a true title contender. I’m delighted and aahappy about Pawel’s pace too. He was focusing on understanding the bike and how it reacts to different changes, particularly to the traction control settings, but he was still comfortably inside the top six which gives us a very solid base after only the first test.”