Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra news 2007 Superbike World Championship Pirelli tests, Brno – 26/27 June Circuit: 5.403 kms. Conditions: Some rain on day one, otherwise sunny/cloudy. YUKIO HAPPY TO BE FIRST! Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Yukio Kagayama posted the fastest time on race rubber at Brno today and left the Czech Republic track with a big smile on his face. He and the team carried on their work from Misano ten days or so ago and the successful changes made there and here at these tests have given him and the team great hope for the rest of the season. Although Yukio was not the fastest rider on qualifying tyres, his lap times on those were hardly any better then on regular rubber. On qualifying tyres, current World Champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was the quickest, with James Toseland (Honda) second and and Yukio third. Yukio’s team mate Max Biaggi was disappointed not to have gone faster then he did at a track he likes and knows well. At the end of the two days, he did not find a comfortable set-up and was unable to finish in the top three. But Max knows that tests are one thing and races are something else and is confident that the race here in four weeks time could easily see a change in fortunes. Yukio I am very happy. Not because I was the fastest on race rubber, but because I am enjoying riding my bike and I like this feeling a lot. We made some changes in our direction at Misano and was really happy with what we found. So, here at Brno we have carried on this good work and the bike is much more easy to ride. At the start of the season I didn’t know where the bike’s limits were and that was a scary feeling. But now I feel more comfortable and I am able to understand my bike a lot better. I am only sorry that we didn’t find this solution at the start of the year, but now I am looking forward to the rest of the season and challenging for the podiums again. Max I like Brno and it has been a good track for me, but coming here on a Superbike is a very different feeling to when I raced herebefore. The circuit feels the same, but for sure the grip is different – because of the tyres we use now. Generally I don’t feel so great after two days because my lap times are not good enough. We’ve been working on a number of things these two days including engine-braking and getting the bike to change direction more easily. I don’t think we solved all our problems, so there will be more work to do when we come here to race in a month or so. I have pushed as hard as I could here at the tests and the team have worked hard. We are all in this together and we will continue to try and solve our problems and be in a good position when it comes to the race. Best lap times WSBK Brno tests – Day 2, Wednesday Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:00.4 (R) 2:00.37 (Q) Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 2:00.4 (R) Haga (J-Yamaha) 2:00.8 (R) Toseland (GB-Honda) 2:00.9 (R) 2:00.3 (Q) Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 2:01.1 (R) 2:00.2 (Q) Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:01.2 (R) Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 2:01.6 (R) 2:00.8 (Q) Rolfo (I-Honda) 2:01.7 (R) 2:01.4 (Q) Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 2:01.8 (R) Lanzi (I-Ducati) 2:02.0 (R) 2:00.4 (R) R denotes race rubber, Q is qualifying tyre WSBK Brno tests – Day 1, Tuesday Haga (J-Yamaha) 2:01.0 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 2:01.5 Toseland (GB-Honda) 2:01.9 Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:02.2 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 2:02.3 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 2:02.5 Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:02.9 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 2:03.2 Rolfo (I-Honda) 2:03.5 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 2:03.7 (all times supplied by Pirelli) More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Wednesday Jun 27 2007 Test WORLD SUPERBIKE DEVELOPMENT TEAMS WRAP UP TWO-DAY TEST SESSION AT BRNO Brno (Czech Republic), Wednesday 27 June: The top five World Superbike development teams, one from each manufacturer, have concluded a two-day official Pirelli test session at the Brno circuit, home to next month’s Czech round of the championship. The quickest time over the two days in relatively cool conditions (track 19° C / air 29° C) was set by Ducati Xerox Team riders Bayliss and Lanzi on qualifying tyres, but in race trim they were both further down the order. “Today I did 90 laps and I’m pretty exhausted” declared Troy. “Everything went OK, we came here hoping to do a simulation for the race but the conditions were not that good, the cool temperatures and a bit of wind made it not ideal. It will surely be much hotter when we come here in a month. I did two race simulations and things went pretty well, but we didn’t really get what we wanted by coming here. Now I can’t wait to get down to Misano for the World Ducati Week and see all the Ducatis and ducatisti”. “Today went a bit better than yesterday when the track was dirty and it rained a bit” commented Lorenzo. “I did about 70 laps today and we found some good solutions for the race. On qualifying tyres I went quicker than last year and also with race tyres I went quite well, the problem is that the others all went better. We knew that this track would create problems for us, conditions were not ideal, let’s hope things will be different when we come here for the race in July”. Both Ducati Xerox Team riders will now be heading directly to the Misano World Circuit in Italy to attend WDW2007 which is being held from Thursday 28 June to Sunday 1 July. BEST TIMES (provided by Pirelli): 1. Kagayama (Suzuki) 2m00.4s (Q 2m00.4s); 2. Corser (Yamaha) 2m00.4s; 3. Haga (Yamaha) 2m00.8s; 4. Toseland 2m00.9s (Q 2m00.3s); 5. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 2m01.0s (Q 2m00.2s); 6. Bayliss 2m01.1s (Q 2m00.2s); 7. Biaggi (Suzuki) 2m01.2s; 8. Nieto (Kawasaki) 2m01.6s (Q 2m00.8s); 9 Rolfo (Honda) 2m01.7s (Q 2m01.4s); 10. Laconi (Kawasaki) 2m01.8s. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: PIRELLI DEVELOPMENT TEAM TEST BRNO, CZECH REP. 26/27 JUNE 2007 June 2007, Brno (Czech Republic) Pirelli is always developing new solutions to improve the performance of its tyres. Once again the development teams carried out a two days test in order to evaluate the new solutions brought by Pirelli. This was a job intended to offer not only the best tyres for the race they will dispute in Brno in two weeks time, but also to start developing the new tyres that next winter will be again tested and then will participate to next season races. The first day of test the track was still dump for the rain of previous days, and the temperature was quite low. Riders tested some new solutions and started to concentrate mainly on the setup of the bike, as Misano has shown that a test can be really helpful to get the bike ready for the race. Fastest SBK riders were Haga, Bayliss and Toseland, while in SSP the fastest time was set by Parkes, followed by Sofuoglu and Charpentier. On the second day weather was slightly better, and basically all the riders could improve their lap times setting really good times, although these are strange conditions that is not easy to predict for the race. More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: HANNspree Ten Kate Honda positive after Brno test World Superbike and Supersport Championships Pirelli test: Brno, Czech Republic Thursday 28 June Test report Following two days of Pirelli tyre testing at Brno in the Czech Republic, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda leaves the circuit with some impressive lap times and invaluable bike development under its belt. The team took the opportunity to work on the settings of the CBR1000RR Superbike and CBR600RR Supersport machines in preparation for the ninth round of the 2007 Championship at Brno in three weeks time. With the focus for the Superbike riders on the development of new suspension parts and an improved traction control system, championship leader James Toseland recorded the second fastest lap on a qualifying tyre and fourth fastest on a race tyre. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo – who was also concentrating on race set-up – came in ninth fastest overall. In the Supersport camp, Kenan Sofuoglu and Sébastien Charpentier set identical fastest lap times of 2’04.1 to be placed in joint first on the time sheets. The successful two days in Brno put the entire team in a positive frame of mind ahead of the official FGSport test at Vallelunga on 7 and 8 July. Ronald Ten Kate, Team Manager: “We really achieved a lot during the Brno test. We had a lot of new parts to test from WA suspension, STM clutch parts, and last but not least, the PI Research traction control system. We managed to improve the bike in a lot of areas, but there is still work to be done at the test in Vallelunga before the ninth round. “We’ve also tested a lot of new parts on the Supersport side. We didn’t go for the one-lap wonder, but instead focused on race distance. Over the whole race distance we were around almost 30 seconds quicker than last year, which is a massive improvement. We are coming to a point in the season where we are starting to fully understand the all-new CBR600RR and this is showing in the results. We have one more test in Vallelunga where we will receive some new development parts and then we should be ready for the remainder of the 2007 season.” James Toseland: “This has been a good test. We went from A-Z with suspension and settings and we have really worked hard over the two days. We’ve invited PI Research back with the electronics to try and find some improvement with these. The package is feeling pretty good again. I felt like we were falling behind a bit electronically, so it’s really nice to test something else and try to improve. I’m leaving here feeling encouraged.” Roberto Rolfo: “I am quite happy. The first day we worked more on the testing of the bike – I tried to get a good feeling in the front because that is very important on this track. It was a good day but not a fast as I wanted. On the second day I pushed harder and we found a good setting for the bike. We tried different solutions towards the end so I was able to improve on my lap times. In any case, I am feeling confident for the next round.” Kenan Sofuoglu: I am really happy that I got the fastest lap time. We have tried many things on the bike over the last two days and now my package is very good. I think I am almost two seconds faster than I was here last year and I have been consistently fast over race distance rather than in one quick lap, which is good. I think if I can do what I have done here in the race than I will be successful.” Sébastien Charpentier: “This has been very good testing for me – I have really enjoyed it. I’ve made some very good lap times alongside Kenan and I hope that this can give us a good advantage over the other riders when it comes to the race. We have tested a lot of different solutions on the bike and we are really happy with it now. We have one more test in Vallelunga so I think by the time we race back in Brno, we will have a very good set-up”