World Supersport completes track action for day two with Jacobsen on top
Sun breaks through for the final day of winter testing
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit hosted the final day of the World Supersport winter testing, with just three days to go until 2017 kicks off on track.
Combined times coming through for both days means it gave riders a good indication of their pace, and riders were able to make the most of the improved track conditions they dealt with on Monday.
PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) has started his new project aboard the Italian machine with a strong two days, ending on the top of the timing sheets. The American set a lap time of 1.33.688 in the Tuesday morning session, which he was unable to improve on his time this afternoon, and was the rider who put in the most laps over the two days.
Roberto Rolfo (Team Factory Vamag) didn’t go out in the second session of the day following a crash this morning, which left him with a left shoulder dislocation. Despite this set back, his time was fast enough to keep him in second position; a time of 1.34.188.
Frenchman Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) took third spot overall as he prepares for a new season in which he will be fighting for the title. His lap time of 1.34.272 was also set in the morning practise, and he narrowly missed out on second position by 0.084s. His Japanese team-mate Hikari Okubo secured a top ten finish in the Official Test, 1.3s behind Jacobsen’s time.
It was an GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team lock out for fourth and fifth, with Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo taking the spots respectively. Just 0.019s split the duo, as Mahias’ lap time was a 1.34.461.
Kenan Sofuolgu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) has suffered a blow to his 2017 campaign, and despite putting in 38 laps over the last two days, the Turkish rider is forced to sit out of the opening two rounds of the season due to his injury sustained over the winter. He will fly back home in order to get fully fit for Round three.
British rider Luke Stapleford had a strong test aboard his Profile Racing machine and was able to finish in the top six, as he set a time of 1.34.854. Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) took eighth spot with a time set in Tuesday morning’s session, a 1.34.925 whilst Nikki Tuuli (Kallio Racing) sat in ninth position, 0.025s behind ninth position.
Don’t miss the season getting underway in three days time, as the WorldSSP riders head out on track for FP1 at 11AM (+11 GMT), for a thrilling opener.
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
Phillip Island (Australia), Tuesday 21 February 2017 – Today the MV Agusta Reparto Corse Team completed the first WorldSBK official test at Phillip Island circuit, with Leon Camier closing 6th in WorldSBK class and Patrick PJ Jacobsen leading the WorldSSP timesheet with the fastest lap time.
Despite the ups and downs weather conditions on Monday, Leon Camier and his team were able to find immediately a good setup on the MV Agusta F4 RC, also thanks to the new solutions tested on the chassis and electronics. The British, who has closed 4th in the Tuesday’s afternoon session, ended up 6th (1’31.293) in the overall timesheet of the two-day official test, 0.7 s from the leader and World Champion Jonathan Rea.
In WorldSSP class Patrick Jacobsen was the fastest on the track in both today’s sessions, finishing with a time of 1’33.688 (morning session), 0.5s ahead of the seconds rider. Despite it was the first time PJ rode the MV Agusta F3 675 on the demanding Australian circuit, the new rider of the Italian squad was able to improve from time to time his lap time, arriving to lead the final standings.
Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse will be back on track on Friday, February 24 with the first free practice sessions of WorldSBK and WorldSSP, always at the Phillip Island circuit, for the official start of this 2017 season.
Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK rider – I am very happy. We definitely made some progress and we tried a lot of things on the bike chassis and electronic. I think for the race we can make another little step forward as I feel we took a very positive direction.
Patrick “PJ” Jacobsen #99 WorldSSP rider – Everything was going really good, the team is just great and I like to work with these guys a lot. Everybody is really committed and focused. I am really happy because even if this was the first time I rode the MV in this track, I had a very positive feeling and the bike really suits my style. Thank you MV Agusta for this opportunity and big thank to all the MV Agusta fans around the world.
More, from a press release issued by CIA Landlord Insurance Honda:
CIA Landlord Insurance Honda concluded two productive days of testing at Philip Island despite the weather causing delays on day one of the Official Test.
Jules Cluzel took the honours in the opening World Supersport session and, as was the case for all the riders in the class, wasn’t able to improve in the afternoon as the track was unable to dry. With the sun making an appearance for day two Jules took third place overall with a time of 1.34.272, narrowly missing out on second spot by 0.084s.
Team-mate Hikari Okubo also had a successful two days, securing a top ten finish just 1.3s behind the leader’s time.
Robin Mulhauser improved in the morning of day two, finishing 22nd overall and is confident he can better this position at the weekend.
Jules Cluzel said: “It was a good test. The feeling was different yesterday to today because the conditions were different. Yesterday it was quite cold and humid but for me it was the better feeling. This is something we need to understand because today the conditions look better but for us it was harder. We worked on the chassis feeling and we improved some things and we have some data to understand. We were first yesterday in some tricky conditions and third today so it means the average is not so bad.”
Hikari Okubo said: “Day one of the test I was position four and day two position ten. I never had top ten in time before so it’s good. I haven’t matched my best qualifying lap from last year yet so I want to push more, the feeling is good and I want a good positon in the race this weekend.”
Robin Mulhauser said: “Philip Island is a tough track for me with bad memories. I knew it would be difficult for me but it was good to have two days of testing without the pressure of the racing this weekend. I think we improved a lot over the two days, even if the weather was bad on the first day. I am already faster than my Moto 2 riding so this is not so bad. I think I was not pushing like in a qualifying session so I think we can do better this weekend.”
CIA Landlord Insurance Team Manager, Simon Buckmaster said: “The weather was much better for day two and the track temperature was a lot higher which caused us to struggle a bit. It wasn’t as easy or as comfortable today, certainly for Jules. He was struggling in the first half of the session then we improved the balance of the bike and he went back into the 34s. We had one last run to go with 11 minutes left when the session was ended as Jacobsen’s bike blew up and put oil everywhere so we didn’t get the chance to finish our programme. However, we gained a lot of useful information and we will be in a good position to challenge right at the front.
Hikari had a really strong two days, he was fourth yesterday and dropped to tenth overall today but he improved in lap time and he should be in good shape for the start of the event.
Robin improved this morning but he felt a little bit unwell this afternoon and he struggled. He’s gone faster on our bike than he did in Moto 2 which is a positive so we will continue to get him comfortable on the CIA Landlord Insurance Honda.
So now we will consider our settings, obviously we didn’t get to try the last change for Jules, but I am sure it will come good for the race. It’s never going to be easy, there are some good riders out there but we will be there right in contention as normal. I’m looking forward to it, let’s get the season started.”
Round One of the 2017 World Supersport Championship kicks off with Free Practice One at 11am (+11 GMT) on Friday 24th February.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:
Top-Five Finish to Pre-Season Testing for GRT Yamaha at Phillip Island
GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team begins its debut season on the YZF-R6 with a successful two-day official championship test in Australia. Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo held top-five positions throughout the second day at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit to conclude the final preparations fourth and fifth respectively overall.
Initially hampered by Monday’s persistent and heavy downpours allowing limited track time, GRT Yamaha focused its combined efforts on setting the electronics, progressing from last month’s initial pre-season testing in Jerez. Tuesday gave way to clearing skies and fast rising temperatures creating plenty of opportunity to put the YZF-R6 through its paces with Mahias and Caricasulo switching to general race set-up specific to the uniqueness of the Phillip Island layout. Analysis and development continued into the afternoon session as both sides of the garage worked in unison to further progress the overall project, with small adjustments made for individual rider preference in preparation for the coming weekend.
Nestled on Australia’s southern Bass Coast, the 4,445m Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit plays host as Mahias and Caricasulo commence their 2017 FIM Supersport World Championship this weekend. The opening free practice session for the 600cc machines is scheduled for 11:00 local time on Friday 24th February. Saturday’s Superpole qualifying gets underway at 13:30 with wheels turned in anger for the 18-lap race at 13:30 on Sunday afternoon.
Lucas Mahias
4th / 1’34.461 / 68 laps
“It was a very good test for us here at Phillip Island today. Yesterday it was not possible to ride a lot due to the rain but today it was good. I worked a lot with my mechanic to improve the YZF-R6. The lap time was good with both new and used tyres and now the bike is ready for the first race. I really like this track as it is fast and it suits my riding style so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
Federico Caricasulo
5th / 1’34.480 / 66 laps
“Today we did a good job as a whole team and work through a lot. I think we are ready for the first race, I feel fast already but I think we will improve further this weekend. I like the track very much, last year I was on the podium and with the new YZF-R6 I already think we can be competitive.”