BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX TEAM) WARMS UP FOR SUPERBIKE START WITH QUICKEST TIME IN VALENCIA TESTING – LANZI TAKES SECOND SLOT Valencia (Spain), Tuesday 7 February 2005: The Ducati Xerox Team completed its final pre-season testing programme with more excellent times set by 2001 champion Troy Bayliss and his team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi. The Australian, who returns to Superbike this season for the Italian manufacturer after a three-year spell in MotoGP, continued the superb form he has shown so far in testing since signing for the Ducati Xerox Team at the end of last year and ended the two-day session at the top of the timesheets with a time of 1m34.45s. “The first time I tested here in November I did a 36 and now today on the race tyre I did a 34.4 which is quite an improvement” declared Troy, who covered 133 laps of the Valencia track on his Ducati 999F06. “Obviously I feel pretty comfortable on the bike and things are going really well so that makes me happy. The start of the championship is just around the corner and we haven’t had to change the bike a lot since I first hopped on it. I’m feeling confident and I’m sure I’m going to be a contender for the championship and especially for the race wins. It’s been quite a while since I’ve won so I’m a bit excited about that and can’t wait to get one under my belt. I’m very impressed with the bike and feel good on it. I haven’t felt this much at home for a long time!” Lorenzo Lanzi (136 laps in two days) took a bit more time to settle into the rhythm of the test, but made a big improvement on the second day to end up second quickest on race tyres with a time of 1m35.6s “I felt that I rode well and am pleased with that, I made a good improvement over yesterday when I struggled to get into the groove and back onto the bike after a break of two months” said Lorenzo. “Today I did some good times, on race tyres we’re just two or three tenths away from Troy’s pace with 1m35s. The feeling with the bike is good and we learnt a lot these two days so I now think we’re ready for Qatar. The championship finally gets underway in a couple of weeks time and it’ll be great to get back to racing, especially with the factory Ducati, and the prospects are looking good”. The 2006 World Superbike Championship gets underway on February 25th at the Losail Circuit in Qatar. UNOFFICIAL TIMES (courtesy of Pirelli): 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m34.4s (Qualifying tyres – 1m34.3s); 2. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m35.6s (Q – 1m35.4s); 3. Toseland (Honda) 1m35.8s (Q – 1m35.2s); 4. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m35.9s (Q – 1m35.4s); 5. Neukirchner (Ducati) 1m36.4s; 6. Abe (Yamaha) 1m36.4s; 7. Clementi (Ducati) 1m36.6s; 8. Rolfo (Ducati SC) 1m36.6s; 9. Borciani (Ducati) 1m36.7s; 10. Foret (Suzuki) 1m36.9s. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: BAYLISS LEAVES VALENCIA WITH BEST TESTING TIME Valencia, Tuesday 7th February 2006 2001 CHAMPION BACK IN THE GROOVE Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox Team) once more ripped into his testing task with gusto at Valencia, setting a quicker time than Neil Hodgson’s previous recorded track best on a SBK™ race weekend, with a 1’34.3 on qualifying tyres. He made an even more impressive 1’34.4 on 2006 versions of Pirelli’s race spec tyres. Bayliss worked through some additional tyre options before finishing the test early and satisfied with his latest outing. 2004 CHAMPION TOSELAND SECOND QUICKEST James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) was second fastest rider on qualifying tyres, with Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox Team) the second fastest when using race rubber. Each of the top Honda and Ducati riders had access to 2006-spec tyres, including Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda). Fourth fastest overall Muggeridge equalled Toseland’s best on race tyres, but was marginally behind with a qualifying set-up. NEUKIRCHNER ADAPTS QUICKLY TO DUCATI POWER Max Neukirchner (Team Pedercini Ducati) and Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) shared a best time of 1’36.4 on the final day, with neither able to use 2006 specification tyres. Neukirchner, a new inductee to the Pedercini squad, enjoyed his time on the Ducati, making the most of its characteristics in a short space of time. Abe tested ignition and electronics packages on day two, stopping him making great improvements to his suspension set-up. PRIVATE RIDERS TO THE FORE Ivan Clementi (Pedercini Ducati) and Roberto Rolfo (Caracchi Ducati) also shared a best time; 1’36.6. Marco Borciani (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) was only a tenth behind, but the biggest improvement over day one came from new Suzuki rider, Fabien Foret (Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) who posted a 1’36.9. PIRELLI TIMES (R: Race tyres – Q: Qualifying tyres) Bayliss (Ducati Xerox Team) 1.34”4 R 1.34”3 Q Lanzi (Ducati Xerox Team) 1.35”6 R 1.35”4 Q Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1.36”2 R 1.35”3 Q Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1.36”2 R 1.35”5 Q Nuekircnker (Team Pedercini Ducati 1.36”4 R Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) 1’36.4 R Clementi (Pedercini Ducati 1.36”6 R Rolfo (Caracchi SC Ducati) 1.36”6 R Borciani (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) 1.36”7 R Foret (Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.36”9 R Pedercini Pedercini Ducati 1.37”2 R SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) once more proved to be transcendent, setting a 1’37.1 lap when going for a single quick time, and a host of fast laps with a full race set-up in place. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda) as again his closest challenger, with a 1’37.5 also set on 2006 tyres. Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) came on in leaps and bounds in what was his first full test for his new team, taking a 1’38.2 time, and impressing all who watched him. Only these three riders used 2006 spec tyres. French rookie Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda) made a 1’39 flat, while Josh Brookes (Ducati SC Caracchi) did a 1’39.5. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® TIMES Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1.37”1 Fuji (Megabike Honda) 1.37”5 Soufouglou (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 1.38”2 Tiberio (Megabike Honda) 1.39”0 Brookes (Ducati SC Caracchi).39”5 Nedog (Ducati SC Caracchi) 1.41”2 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: In the last test before the start of the 2006 World Superbike season the Winston Ten Kate Superbike and Supersport squads, running in 2006 livery for the first time, made their final on-track preparations for the first round of the championship in Qatar. James Toseland and Karl Muggeridge each improved their times from day one gaining great confidence on their full 2006 spec machines. In Supersport, 2005 World Champion Sebastien Charpentier set class leading times in the good track conditions, with new inductee Kenan Sofuoglu improving with each and every taste of the latest CBR600RR. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “We are very happy with where we are at this moment. On the Supersport side of things we are quite a lot faster than last year’s pole position time and also during a race simulation Sebastien was lapping constantly half a second or more faster than he did in the last race. For Kenan, he has made quite remarkable progress during this test, which was his first full test with us. He is faster than last year’s pole time and he is also in quite a good situation with the race tyres. On that side of things we can’t wait to go to Qatar. My riders are already excited to go there and show the performance of the 2006 CBR600RR. On the Superbike side of things, when I look back to the beginning of last season, we were around 70% ready to go racing. At the moment we are now about 95% ready. In the upcoming week we will fine-tune all the details but the riders feel very well connected to the machines, and have a good feeling with the throttle. Also, the suspension is better and the tyres are working very consistently over race distance. That will be the key factor, I think, in the coming races. We are ready, ready to rumble!” Karl Muggeridge SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Best lap time 1’35.4 – Total lap 71) “We did a race simulation, and it was pretty good. The only other thing we could have done is make the long run at lunchtime, instead of a quarter past four, when the track was colder and the grip level is not so hot. It took two whole days to work through everything we had to test here, but it was OK, and we put together the best bike we could. I think we have really good info from here and we can even improve the bike again before we even start. We’ve had a good test.” James Toseland SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Best lap time 1’35.2 – Total lap 82) “For me this test has mostly been about time with the bike. Getting to learn it even more, doing quite a few laps and I tried the qualifying tyres for the first time on a Honda. The first one I put in I was a bit tentative with but on the second one I did a decent time. We went round in circles a bit this morning, so we didn’t really improve until this afternoon. We worked on the tyres and then right at the end we changed a bit of the set-up and it gave us another improvement. I think we are nearly there now, largely because of the tests at Almeria and here. I’m looking forward to Qatar, especially with the amount of improvements we have made since the last time we were there.” Sébastien Charpentier SS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Best lap time 1’37.1 – Total lap 60) “The good weather helped us again today, and in general the track was OK. I am very happy because my best lap was a 1’37.1. I made a race simulation in the afternoon and my best lap in those conditions was a 1’37.6, with many laps in the 1’38s. I think this was a very good sign because those are very fast lap times. I am OK, ready to race, and my energy is at the maximum. We tested many different solutions, and we did a very good job. I think the team and I are completely ready for Qatar.” Kenan Sofuoglu SS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (Best lap time 1’38.2 – Total lap 83) “Now I can say I am really happy with the bike and ready for the first race. Today we tried many things on the bike; many different setting and now we have a good set-up. I am very happy. Without pushing I could do 1’38s, and if we had one more test here I think we could make an even better time. I achieved my ambition because I wanted to be connected with the bike. I am getting closer to Sebastien, even if he is very fast right now. For me it would be great if Sebastien comes first and I could be in the top three, or ideally, second!” More, from a press release issued by Team Yamaha Motor France: Stronger engine for Abe After two days of testing in Valencia, Norick Abe can now enjoy a stronger engine for its Yamaha R1. “We have worked mostly on a revised engine mapping, the brakes and the chassis, explains team owner Martial Garcia. With this better engine, we now have a top speed which is 4 mph faster.” Abe was only one second slower than Lorenzo Lanzi and James Toseland, which is fine because the Italian and the British riders used 2006 spec tires, while Abe used 2005 models (G17 on the front and 1015 on the rear). There is some more work to be done on the R1, like for instance to improve the performances with qualifying tires. “These two days of testing have been positive, says Garcia. The rider is happy, there has been no crash, so we are ready for the first race in Qatar on February 25.” Unofficial times: 1- Bayliss (Ducati) 1’34.3 2- Toseland (Honda) & Lanzi (Ducati) 1’35.4 4- Muggeridge (Honda) 1’36.1 5- Abe (Team Yamaha Motor France Ipone) 1’36.4 6- Foret (Suzuki) 1’36.8 Valencia stats Practice record (2003): 1’34.633 Hodgson (Ducati) 152.360 kph / 2nd free practice session 2003 Lap record (best race time 2003): 1’35.007 Hodgson (Ducati) 151.760 kph 2005 Yamaha Motor France practice times: Norifumi Abe: 1’36.862 / 8th and Sébastien Gimbert: 1’38.203 / 15th Round 1 of the Superbike World Championship: Losail (Qatar) February 25 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Norick Abe spent two days at the Valencia circuit. Having tested extensively at Phillip Island last month, the Japanese rider was back on the Ohlins suspension which he will run in the 2006 season. Abe was the sole Yamaha Motor France rider in attendance at Valencia. Shinichi Nakatomi, who will run Japanese Soqi suspension, elected to miss the test having twice tested his R1 at the circuit, while Sebastien Gimbert was also absent. The Frenchman did not test as he will not race in Valencia due to a date clash with the Le Mans 24-hour race. Abe suffered some fueling glitches as the team tested new injection mappings and he was also one of the few riders at the test not running development tyres. His best of the day was a 1:36.4. Fastest at the test was Troy Bayliss (Ducati) with a 1:34.4 lap. Norick Abe “Today we worked mainly on the injection system. We wanted to get a good setting for this and then try for a good suspension setting. It was difficult to get a good setting on the mapping and it is still not perfect. Because of this we didn’t get to try any new settings on the suspension.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italia) “We have been able to get through a lot of work over the last few days. Often at these first tests we face a lot of small problems but other than a few minor electrical things on the first morning these three days have been very good. The team has been working hard over the winter and it has been good to hear the riders’ feedback confirm what we had seen on the dyno. We started trying a lot of new parts yesterday and we lost our way a little bit with the set-up, but today both riders found some good settings and were happy with the results. Of course we tested many development tyres when we came in December and we do not know yet which other tyres Pirelli will bring for the race, but we are happy with our settings on the ones we had here. Our times have been under what the tyre technicians predicted so this is a positive sign for the first race.”