FIM Supersport World Championship
Phillip Island, Australia
February 17, 2015
Day Two Test Times (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Jules Cluzel, France (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:32.967
2. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:33.229
3. Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:33.555
4. Marco Faccani, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:33.930
5. Lucas Mahias, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.248
6. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.269
7. Ratthapark Wilairot, Thailand (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.394
8. Riccardo Russo, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.464
9. Kyle Smith, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.482
10. Alex Baldolini, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.769
11. Roberto Rolfo, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.772
12. Dominic Schmitter, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.922
13. Kevin Wahr, Germany (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.955
14. Fabio Menghi, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:35.029
15. Martin Cardenas, Colombia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:35.331
16. Aiden Wagner, Australia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:35.434
17. Christian Gamarino, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:35.783
18. Glenn Scott, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:36.328
19. Alex Phillis, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:36.733
20. Kieran Clarke,UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:37.180
Best Overall Test Times:
1. Jules Cluzel, France (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:32.967
2. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:33.229
3. Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:33.555
4. Marco Faccani, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:33.930
5. Lucas Mahias, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.248
6. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.269
7. Ratthapark Wilairot, Thailand (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.394
8. Riccardo Russo, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.464
9. Kyle Smith, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.482
10. Alex Baldolini, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), 1:34.769
11. Roberto Rolfo, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.772
12. Dominic Schmitter, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:34.922
13. Kevin Wahr, Germany (Honda CBR600RR), 1:34.955
14. Fabio Menghi, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:35.029
15. Gino Rea, UK (Honda CBR600RR), 1:35.041
16. Aiden Wagner, Australia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:35.055
17. Martin Cardenas, Colombia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:35.331
18. Christian Gamarino, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:35.783
19. Glenn Scott, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:36.328
20. Alex Phillis, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), 1:36.733
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK:
As day two of official World Supersport testing drew to a close at an overcast yet dry Phillip Island it was 2014 round one winner Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and his team mate Lorenzo Zanetti who will head into Friday’s opening Free Practice sessions as the ones to beat after both riders dipped below the existing race lap record for the class, Cluzel producing a stunning 1.32.967s lap – the first ever sub 1.33s lap.
The cooler and less windy conditions ensured that all of the World Supersport contenders could maximise the track time available to them and despite a few spots of rain during the morning test almost every rider posted a faster time than on the opening day.
Behind the flying MV Agusta duo it was former multiple champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who gave chase in a solid 3rd position overall, a fraction of a second ahead of the current STK600 Champion Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) who impressed in 4th on his Phillip Island debut.
French sensation Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto PonyExpres) and American team mate PJ Jacobsen rounded the top 6 of two days of testing that has many people now predicting a close and hard fought 2015 World Supersport campaign.
Ratthapark Wilairot adjusted to his CORE Motorsport Thailand Honda machine moving up to 7th overall while WSS returnee Alex Baldolini elevated himself into 10th aboard his privately entered Race Department ATK#25 MV Agusta.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Positive Final Pre-Season Test For Kawasaki Puccetti Team
Kenan Sofuoglu and Marco Faccani made their final preparations for the beginning of 2015 FIM Supersport World Championship campaign after two days of positive testing experiences at Phillip Island in Australia on 16 and 17 February.
At the 4.445km circuit, located in the extreme south of the State of Victoria, Sofuoglu posted a best of 1’33.555 – good enough for third place overall.
His team-mate Faccani was riding at Phillip Island for the very first time. Although he found it a difficult circuit, and fell near the end of the final session, he was still an impressive fourth fastest overall with a best lap time of 1’33.930.
Ninja ZX-6R riders filled the places from third to sixth – a good sign for all Kawasaki riders with the first race of the year coming along very soon.
The championship begins in a few days time, with first practice on Friday 20th February and raceday will be on Sunday 22nd February.
This year Sofuoglu will be out to score his fourth WSS championship success in this category having been the champion in 2007, 2010 and most recently with Kawasaki in 2012.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “We started very well yesterday and today we were not thinking about working on lap times but working on set-up and electronics for race pace. The times then improved for everybody so I also needed to improve and understand, pushing harder. When I did I started to get some different problems that I did not expect. For the race there will be a new tyre option compared to the ones we used in the test, and hopefully with that we will have less rear chatter.”
Marco Faccani: “I am happy because Phillip Island is a new track for me and very difficult. We worked well inside the team and we ended up with a good configuration on the bike. It was a positive test here even though I had a big crash near the end, at the second turn. I am OK, not injured.”
Manuel Puccetti: Team Manger: “Third and fourth position was not so bad for the last pre-season test at Phillip Island. Kenan did many race simulations and made very, very good times. Marco also had a positive performance, only one big crash at the end, but for the first time here he was immediately fast. So far so good and we could have a positive race weekend, I think.”
More, from a press release issued by CIA Landlords Insurance Honda:
RUSSO CLOSES IN ON FRONT-RUNNERS
CIA LANDLORDS INSURANCE HONDA’S Riccardo Russo moved within half a second of the top four runners during the second and final day of testing at Phillip Island in Australia.
The Italian crashed in the morning and then tried too hard in the afternoon so had to settle for eighth best time on the day.
Riccardo said: “I had a crash this morning. After the crash I tried very hard this afternoon, maybe too hard, and that held me back on lap time.
“I am very happy with the speed we have for race distance. My CIA Landlords Insurance Honda is doing what I want it to do and I am excited that we can have a strong race this weekend.”
Martin Cardenas stepped up to 15th on the time sheets after taking 1.3seconds from his fastest time on day one. Kieran Clarke, after a three year break from competitive racing, slashed more than two seconds from his lap times as he continues his comeback on his CIA Landlords Insurance Honda, moving up one place to 20th.
Gino Rea did not take part today after posting the fifth best time yesterday. Instead, the CIA Landlords Insurance Honda racer had a successful surgery to remove a screw from his right foot ahead of the opening round of the Championship this weekend.
The opening round at the same Phillip Island circuit starts on Friday with practice, followed by practice and qualification on Saturday and then the race at 1310 local time on Sunday 22nd February.
CIA Landlords Insurance Honda Team Manager Simon Buckmaster said: “Riccardo is going in a really good direction and despite a crash this morning, is showing lots of promise for the weekend.
“Martin is improving and did a lot of consistent laps in the low 1min 35s today. There is more to come from him.
“Kieran is making big strides forward after being out of racing for so long and we are really happy with his performance so far.
“Gino is through his surgery and looking good ahead of the weekend. The whole CIA Landlords Insurance Honda team is fired up and ready to race, we cannot wait to get going – there are no prizes for testing after all.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:
Kyle Smith ready for World Supersport debut
World Supersport debutant Kyle Smith has completed his first test on the Pata Honda World Supersport CBR600RR machine and is now looking forward to this weekend’s opening round at Phillip Island in Australia.
The 23-year-old British rider stepped up to world championship competition after competing in last season’s European Superstock 1000 series and has never ridden at the iconic 4.445km Phillip Island circuit.
However, Smith is satisfied with his first outings with his new team and relishing the opportunity of riding the CBR600RR that won last season’s World Supersport championship in the hands of Dutch rider Michael van der Mark.
Kyle Smith – best time 1m34.482s
Yeah, I’m happy with this test. We progressed a lot yesterday and today and the lap time dropped, which is good. Obviously, you always want more and towards the end of today’s session we tried a bunch of stuff with the bike but didn’t manage to make the little step forward that we wanted. I’d like to be a couple of tenths faster to be a little higher but I’m happy with the progression we’ve made. I think we can be there on Friday but we’ve learned an awful lot these last two days. It’s a new bike and a new track for me, but I think I can be faster again on Friday. There’ll definitely be a lot more of an attack mentality for the race weekend!
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator
It’s been our first outing with our new rider, Kyle, and it’s also his first time here at Phillip Island and on our CBR machine. There is an awful lot to learn of course, and he made good progress yesterday. This morning he improved his time by more than a second over yesterday. We tried a few things but kept the bike quite close to the base with which we won last year and it seems to be the correct base to work from. That’s positive because we can use all the data for the rest of this season. Kyle is a good guy to work with – he’s really relaxed and we’re looking forward to our first race weekend with him.