Former British Superbike Champion Alex Lowes was the fastest rider during the second day of World Superbike testing Tuesday at the Jerez circuit, in Spain, according to the official website of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship.
Riding his Voltcom Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000, Lowes lapped the Spanish track in 1:40.730 to lead all riders present.
The track was only dry for the second half of Tuesday due to dampness left over from rain late on Monday.
Unofficial Day Two Test Times (all on Pirelli tires, times courtesy of www.worldsbk.com):
1. Alex Lowes, UK (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:40.730
2. Tom Sykes, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:40.853
3. Leon Haslam, UK (Apr RSV4), 1:40.865
4. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:41.127
5. Michel Fabrizio, Italy (Apr RSV4), 1:41.384
6. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:41.639
7. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:42.651
8. Randy De Puniet, France (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:42.938
More, from a press release issued by Voltcom Crescent Suzuki:
Lowes leads the way at first 2015 test in Jerez
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki‘s Alex Lowes topped the times after the second day’s test at a dry Circuito de Jerez as he and teammate Randy de Puniet continued the evaluation of their 2015 FIM World Superbike Championship challengers.
With no track action until after lunch – the damp tarmac a result of yesterday afternoon’s downpour – the two Suzuki riders got straight down to business on their Yoshimura-powered GSX-R’s as soon as the conditions allowed, with representatives from the Japanese tuning house looking on.
Initially taking the lead on his 66th lap, Lowes was the first rider to break the 1’41 barrier – setting a 1’40.949 on a race tyre with 15 minutes left of Tuesday’s session. The British racer was briefly dropped to second by countryman Leon Haslam on his new Red Devils Aprilia, before quickly responding with a 1’40.730 on qualifying rubber, to end the day with the fastest time overall. Having worked on engine brake strategies throughout the afternoon’s 71 laps, Lowes is confident with the progression made so far and looking forward to tomorrow’s return to the circuit.
De Puniet continued his study of the GSX-R this afternoon focusing on the Suzuki’s electronics, suspension and gear box. Circulating on the Pirelli race tyres for his full 57 laps, the Frenchman finished his first World Superbike test in eighth position and is reassured by the potential he has found in his machine.
Due to the challenging weather endured so far, Voltcom Crescent Suzuki will now continue their testing programme into tomorrow, with track action scheduled to resume at 10:00hrs local time (09:00GMT).
Alex Lowes:
“It’s been a long day as we have had a lot of new software to try, but we have slowly plodded away and made some really good steps throughout the afternoon which is always nice. I’m really happy with my times, on race tyres it was good and it’s also the fastest I’ve ever been round here so that’s great, but obviously it’s difficult to compare because of the track conditions. I’m really enjoying riding my GSX-R again and getting on well with all the new guys, I just need to stay patient and keep working hard so that when we get to round one we have a proper understanding of everything and we can then put it all into a race situation.”
Randy de Puniet:
“It was an interesting day because finally, around 1-1:30, we went on track, the track condition was more or less the same as yesterday but we were luckier as there was no more rain so we were able to ride until six. We worked a lot, adapting my riding style to the bike, working on the electronics, suspension and the gear box, because I struggled a little bit with this, but we found a solution and I’m quite happy. I didn’t try the qualifying tyre because it was not the right moment for me; I prefer to spend more time on the track with the race tyres to understand the drop and the right settings for the race distance. Alex set very good lap-times and this proves the new engine spec is good and the bike has a really good potential so I just need to continue to work and to reduce the gap with him. I’m confident, it is only the first day for me on the bike and I hope the weather with be good for the next few days to continue our work in this direction.”
Paul Denning- Team Manager:
“The team is happy with the work we have got through today, considering the limited time with the circuit being damp this morning. Alex spent a lot of time working through a completely new engine brake strategy – which ultimately wasn’t successful – but as a team we are very pleased that he was patient, gave the right feedback, and then when we returned to the standard strategy, was immediately competitive. The 1’40.9 on a race tyre is outstandingly fast and then to back that up with a solid lap on the qualifier and end the day P1 in the first test of 2015 is very encouraging. We were competitive in the winter here last year – maybe not quite as good as today but close nonetheless – so we won’t be getting carried away! We will keep working very methodically and just try to improve all areas of the bike. The one element that is very encouraging is the 2015 engine spec, which is giving Alex a lot of confidence for the season ahead.
“Today was Randy’s first decent dry running on a World Superbike and he’s worked through all the normal niggles that a new rider to a new bike has and has done a very solid job. Randy is very professional, very relaxed, and is fitting in to the team well. I have absolutely no doubt that the lap-times will improve dramatically as he gets fully comfortable with the GSX-R, and that when it is time to push hard he will be very competitive.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Althea Racing:
TWO DAYS OF PRIVATE TESTING FOR TEAM ALTHEA RACING AT JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA
After last week’s tests at the ‘Ricardo Tormo’ circuit of Valencia, Team Althea Racing was back on track this week for a two-day private test at Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain, where the riders had chance to test the Ducati Panigale R in its 2015 configuration for the first time.
The Superbike riders worked hard with their bikes; while it is a brand new bike for Nico Terol, teammate Matteo Baiocco has ridden it before in his role as test rider. Both men were immediately at ease with the Ducati Panigale R, trying out the new electronics for the first time and getting to know the bike, lapping with interesting times. The stopwatch is not vital at this stage, but lap times nevertheless proved positive and reassuring. The team, led by Genesio Bevilacqua, worked extremely well to find the right bike set-up. Several different solutions were tried, even though the poor track conditions limited to some extent the amount of work that could be completed.
Work also continued in the Superstock 1000 camp, with Luca Salvadori and Raffaele De Rosa lapping with the bike in its Stock version. During these two days the riders used cut tyres and were able to gain a lot of experience, lap after lap, testing various set-up solutions, although more track time is needed in order to improve further. Both riders are confident that they will be ready in time for next season’s opening round.
Many tests were carried out, in the search for new solutions and in order to increase the riders’ feeling with the Ducati Panigale R. The next test sessions, scheduled to take place at Portimao in January, will be extremely important.The Superbike riders’ comment at the end of testing:
Nicolas Terol: “I’m very pleased with these two test days, despite the fact that bad weather meant we only really had two half days. The feeling I have with the Ducati is increasing lap after lap, but to continue in this direction I need more track time. The Team and I have done a great job, identifying the right solutions and trying different things to improve grip. I’m happy and feeling positive because I know I can continue to do more, I want to improve further and now I’m impatient to do some more tests to increase feeling with my bike. I’ll be ready for the first race in Australia, where I hope not to disappoint the team or my many Spanish fans who follow me with great passion”.
Matteo Baiocco: “It went really well considering that these are the first real tests with the bike we’ll use next year. I’m very pleased because we made some good laps with the race tyres and were in line with the leading group. I’m all set on a doing a good job, and testing is very important. I’m coming from the Italian championship and so need to ‘reset’ in some ways, while also working to learn many new things. I’m sure that I’ll improve a lot from one test to the next. We’re on the right track to obtaining the best possible results; the Team that I’d heard so much about is a fantastic Team and together I feel we’ll be able to do great things.”