HIGH FIVE IN VALENCIA TEST FOR WINSTON TEN KATE HONDA Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge concluded the two-day official World Superbike test at Valencia in Spain today and both declared themselves happy with the progress they have made in the development of their Honda CBR1000RR machines. The time sheets were headed by Troy Corser, with Vermeulen third fastest and Muggeridge fifth. The World Superbike championship now packs up for the long trek to Phillip Island in Australia where round two of the 2005 series takes place on 3 April. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “I’m really pretty happy with the results of these tests and the positions and lap times of both riders. It’s good to see them in the top five. We’ve got through a lot of work over the last two days, but we’ve had to because we’re still playing a bit of catch-up with everyone else. I’m convinced we can do some more development work for the next round and we know from last year’s Superbike campaign what needs changing between Valencia and Phillip Island. Now we have had a decent test we’re not so far away from a solid base setting for the CBR1000RR that can carry us through the rest of the season.” Chris Vermeulen 126 laps, 1:35.724 “We’ve been trying a lot of different things this weekend, one of which has been the slipper clutch. I like it a lot but it would be good to still have a little more control in certain sections of the circuit here. Overall we’ve made some good progress and, apart from the first round in Qatar, this has been the first time I’ve been able to do a lot of laps on the bike. We lost a little grip this afternoon because I think the track temperature went up a bit; but that will still be useful because it might be like that for the race here in April. Phillip Island is very different to Valencia so I think we’ll still have some work to do when we get there but we’ll have to be patient and just keep going in the right direction. Just like we’ve done here.” Karl Muggeridge 124 laps, 1:36.084 “We played around a lot this weekend, tried lots of different things and we’re not miles away from where we want to be. I didn’t really get the chance to put in a good quick lap but we’ve really been working on race set-ups and that’s where we still need to do some work. It’s just been great to get a chunk of laps under my belt because the weather’s been good and we’ve had two sessions of two-and-a-half hours each day. It’s a long time to stay on it and keep concentrating but it’s allowed us to move things forward and not rush into any decisions. I’m just happy we’re going in the right direction.” Valencia test overall lap times: 1 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki) 126 laps, 1:35.566; 2 Yukio Kagayama JAP (Suzuki) 134 laps, 1:35.698; 3 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 126 laps, 1:35.724; 4 Régis Laconi FRA (Ducati) 126 laps, 1:35.881; 5 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 124 laps, 1:36.084; 6 Noriyuki Haga JAP (Yamaha) 115 laps, 1:36.347; 7 Jose Luis Cardoso ESP (Yamaha) 94 laps, 1:36.443; 8 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha) 127 laps, 1:36.766; 9 Chris Walker GBR (Kawasaki) 108 laps, 1:36.793; 10 Pierfrancesco Chili ITA (Honda) 103 laps, 1:36.813. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: LACONI CONFIRMS PACE FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM UNLUCKY THIRTEEN FOR TOSELAND AFTER SECOND HIGHSIDE Valencia (Spain), Sunday 13 March: Two days of World Superbike testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia confirmed that Ducati Xeroz Team’s Régis Laconi is one of the pacesetters in this year’s championship, which got underway two weeks ago in Qatar. Team-mate and reigning champion James Toseland continues his early-season quest to find championship-winning form but a second highside today left him outside the top 10. After another five hours of testing today, Laconi and Toseland’s efforts to set a quick time on qualifying tyres in the final minutes came to nothing as Bostrom’s Honda crashed and caught fire, bringing the test to a end. Laconi, who had kept a firm hold on second place behind Corser throughout the two days was left with fourth quickest time of 1:35.881. “I am quite pleased with what we did in these past two days because we did a lot of laps and everything we set out to do” commented Laconi. “We worked a lot on my starts because we have to find the right configuration to start better. I normally don’t start badly but in Qatar they were not so good. Here we did well but it’s easy in testing, racing is another thing. In the afternoon we found it difficult to improve our times, but what consoles me is that there were no riders who did more than 7 or 8 laps in succession. We did 12 in a long-run twice with the same tyre, at around low 37s, which is quite slow here. It’s going to be a tough race for that reason when we come back here in April. All things considered we are not that far from the top so I am quite satisfied”. Toseland went away from Valencia with a bruised elbow and a sore head from a second highside after an oil leak caused him to be pitched off his bike with twenty minutes remaining of the morning session. The 24 year-old improved his time in the afternoon to 1m37.183s, but that was only good enough for thirteenth place. “Today we set off pretty good, got down to some decent times but unfortunately we had an oil leak and it flicked me off fast again, which makes it two crashes in two days that were not my fault. I banged my head badly and so I’m sitting here wondering what went wrong” he explained. “We got back on this afternoon and on race tyres we are more or less as quick as everybody with low 37s, which is quite good. We put a qualifying tyre on at the end but then there was an inferno which brought the red flags out just as I started my last lap and that was it. Everybody had done theirs by then so it put me in thirteenth, just like in Qatar. Unlucky for me at the moment but it can’t last forever. I’m as fast as anyone on race tyres and I promise that you won’t see me in thirteenth again this year”. This final official winter testing session at Valencia comes just two weeks before round 2 of the championship at Phillip Island (Australia), while the Spanish round will be held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on April 24. TIMES: 1. Corser (Suzuki) 1m35.566s; 2. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m35.698s; 3. Vermeulen (Honda) 1m35.724s; 4. Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1m35.881s; 5. Muggeridge (Honda) 1m36.084s; 6. Haga (Yamaha) 1m36.347s; 7. Cardoso (Yamaha) 1m36.443s; 8. Pitt (Yamaha) 1m36.766s; “¦ 13. Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1m37.183s. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: 12th-13th MARCH 2005, Valencia (Spain) Two days of intense practice in Valencia completed the preparations before the Australian round of the championship, at Phillip Island on April 3. The Championship has already given the first results for the Superbike and the Supersport classes, but all the teams have fully exploited this test, in which they didn’t need rain tyres, to make the last adjustments. In a few weeks we’ll be here again for the first of the European rounds, so also for that event the importance of this two day test was great. Pirellis showed once more they are easy to use, so all the teams could reach a good setting and good times from the first laps. A lot of laps for everybody, working most of all on their race settings and to solve the problems discovered in the first round in Qatar. In the last minutes they have tried also qualifying tyres, so four riders could improve the Pole time of last year made by Laconi (1’35.930). Rider Team Bike Time Laps 1.Corser Alstare Suzuki Corona Suzuki GSXR 1000K5 1’35.566 126 2.Kagayama Alstare Suzuki Corona Suzuki GSXR 1000K5 1’35.698 134 3.Vermeulen Honda Ten Kate Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’35.724 126 4.Laconi Ducati Xerox Ducati 999 F05 1’35.881 126 5.Muggeridge Honda Ten Kate Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’36.084 124 6.Haga Yamaha Motor Italia Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.347 115 7.Cardoso DFXtreme Sterilgarda Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.443 94 8.Pitt Yamaha Motor Italia Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.766 127 9.Walker PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse Kawasaki ZX10 1’36.793 108 10.Chili Klaffi Honda Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’36.813 103 11.Martin Foggy Petronas Racing Petronas FP1 1’37.038 117 12.Neukirchner Klaffi Honda Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’37.106 120 13.Toseland Ducati Xerox Ducati 999 F05 1’37.183 122 14.Clementi Kawasaki Bertocchi Kawasaki ZX10 1’37.283 123 15.Gimbert Yamaha Motor France Yamaha YZF R1 1’37.305 125 Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli Moto World racing manager: “Finally a dry weekend! This weekend is important especially because gives us the confirmation we didn’t have in Qatar due to the rain. All the riders here could make some long runs showing the high quality of our tyres on a track at which, during the last tests we couldn’t do race simulations because of the rain. The result is really great: if we compare the best time in race setting we obtained here, set by Corser, with the one of 2004’s race, we see an improvement of almost 8 tenths! In the first ten positions of Superbike there are 5 manufacturers and 7 different teams. That makes us happy for the Championship which will be really contested and also for our products who offer a good feeling and good results to everybody”. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama took first and second places in the World Superbike Championship two-day tests in Valencia, Spain that ended today. Corser dominated yesterday and was still on top today, but with less than five minutes left on the clock, team mate Yukio Kagayama – who had been struggling all weekend with grip problems – stuck on a soft rear tyre in the closing minutes and leapfrogged his rivals, slotting into second place with a time just over a tenth slower than Corser. Aussie Chris Vermeulen (Honda) finished third quickest overall, with Regis Laconi (Ducati) fourth ahead of Karl Muggeridge (Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). Troy Corser – 1st, 1:35.566: “I am really happy with these two days of tests because we have been able to try a lot of different things and have many good ideas and good directions to move towards. We tried different pivot positions, played around with the rear shock and the geometry and I am happy with how it has all gone these two days. It went exactly how a test should go – very productive. I tried a few starts because I knew I had to work on them after Qatar. And I managed them pretty well, so I’m in good shape there also. I think I could have done a flat 1:35, but I made a little mistake on my quick lap. It doesn’t matter though because nobody went any quicker. “I also want to congratulate Yukio for doing a good job. All weekend, he was struggling a little, but he pulled one out of the bag right at the end and that was a hard thing to do. It’s great to leave a test with the top two times and also because of all the good things we found out here. Now we are in a good position for our next race in Phillip Island for sure.” Yukio Kagayama – 2nd, 1:35.698: “Over the two days I had some problems with rear end grip. We tried many different settings and adjustments but the results were always more or less the same. But because we tried many different things, we managed to get a lot of very useful information and many good ideas to work with. Over the two days, I never found a perfect setting but I know which directions we should take and that is good. Valencia is a funny track because the track conditions change a lot depending on the temperature. And that affects the tyres and grip of course. “When I set my fastest lap today – right at the end – it was the first time I had used a very soft tyre. The rest of the time I had been only on race rubber. But I did not want to end the test just in the top six or so – I wanted to be the first! In the end, I was second but with Troy first, it is a good result for our team.” Superbike Results (overall for two days): 1 Troy Corser (AUS Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.35.566 126 laps; 2 Yukio Kagayama (J Alstare Suzuki Corona) 1.35.698 134 laps; 3 Chris Vermeulen (AUS Honda) 1.35.724 126 laps; 4 Régis Laconi (I Ducati) 1.35.881 126 laps; 5 Karl Muggeridge (AUS Honda) 1.36.084 124 laps; 6 Noriyuki Haga (J Yamaha) 1.36.347 115 laps; 7 Jose Luîs Cardoso (ESP Yamaha) 1.36.433 94 laps; 8 Andrew Pitt (AUS Yamaha) 1.36.766 127 laps; 9 Chris Walker (GB Kawasaki) 1.36.793 108 laps; 10 Pierfrancesco Chili (I Honda) 1.36.613 103 laps. More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing: Martin On The Pace In Valencia Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders, Steve Martin and Garry McCoy, made encouraging strides forward during the two day official SBK test at Valencia, with Steve also improving on the team’s best lap time from the 2004 race weekend at the Spanish circuit, by almost a quarter of a second. His quickest lap time of 1:37.038, placed him in an impressive 7th position in the timesheet at the end of the morning session, in a field of increased competition for 2005 due to the return of many established two wheel manufacturers to the series, although he finished the day in 11th overall with the same time. Team mate Garry McCoy was able to knock two and half seconds off his best lap time from yesterday by using a qualifying tyre during the afternoon session, and finished the day in 25th place with a time of 1:38.011. Continuing dry conditions enabled both riders to make further progress with the scheduled testing programme. Steve continued to fine tune his set up from yesterday, making small adjustments to suspension and also testing further engine development components. Garry continued evaluating set up options with the longer swing arm on his number one bike, although an engine problem caused him to switch to his second bike, fitted with the standard swing arm, for the afternoon session. A red flag with just 1 minute and 53 seconds of the afternoon session remaining, while Steve and Garry were on their final flying laps on qualifying tyres, robbed them both of the chance to further improve their lap times which they were confident was possible in the closing stages of the day. Team Manager, Jack Valentine commented, “Overall I’m really pleased with how this test has gone and the amount of positive developments we have achieved. Steve has found a chassis set up that he is very comfortable with it was great he was able to post the seventh fastest time in the morning session and eleventh overall is very encouraging. Garry has made progress, although struggled more than Steve to find a set up he is totally happy with. Much of his test has been spent testing different adjustments with the longer swing arm, but we still have further work to do to get to a point where the whole package is working better for him. We have a very clear direction for the next test and race at Phillip Island.” Steve said, “I’m very happy with the progress that we’ve made and we’re a lot closer to the pace than we were at Qatar which is positive. We made a large number of changes to various areas of the bike over the last two days and overall each element was in the right direction. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to get a really good final run on my qualifier as I think I could have made it in to the 1:36’s, but I’m happy with my time as it would have got me easily into Superpole, which is the important thing as I know I can put together a good Superpole lap. The important thing is that we’ve found a really good base setting for me and also for the race here next month.” Garry said, “We continued testing with the longer swing arm this morning and I’m convinced that’s a better feeling for me. I had a problem with the engine in my number one bike though and had to switch to my other bike with the standard length swing arm. I actually went quicker straight away on that but it’s just not got the feeling I’m looking for so we need to do some more work with the longer one to get the whole package working better for how I’d like it. I’m happy with our suspension setting change from today as well and my time have been coming down with each session. I don’t feel at the moment we’ve got an ideal set up for the race here at Valencia but we still have another test and race before that and I’m confident that in that time we can get to the settings I’m comfortable with.” Foggy PETRONAS Racing now heads to Phillip Island for continued testing on 26 and 27 March, ahead of the second round of the WSBK championship at `the Island’ and Steve and Garry’s home race, on Sunday 3 April. Overall test lap times: 1 Corser (Alstare Suzuki) 1:35.566; 2 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki) 1:35.698; 3 Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) 1:35.724; 4 Laconi (Ducati Xerox) 1:35.881; 5 Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) 1:36.084; 6 Haga (Yamaha Italia) 1:36.347; 7 Cardoso (DFXtreme) 1:36.443; 8 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 1:36.766; 9 Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 1:36.793; 10 Chili (Klaffi Honda) 1:36.813; 11 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:37.038; 12 Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda) 1:37.106; 13 Toseland (Ducati Xerox) 1:37.183; 14 Clementi (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 1:37.283; 15 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 1:37.305; 16 Lanzi (Ducati SC Caracchi) 1:37.322; 17 Sanchini (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 1:37.345; 18 Abe (Yamaha France) 1:37.347; 19 Vizziello (Italia Lorenzini) 1:37.369; 20 Alfonsi (DFX) 1:37.437; 21 Borciani (DFXtreme) 1:37.583; 22 Bostrom (Renegade Koji) 1:37.757; 23 Bussei (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 1:37.874; 24 Riba (Kawasaki Racing) 1:37.929; 25 McCoy (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:38.011; 26 Nieto (Ducati SC Caracchi) 1:38.012; 27 Peder cini (Team Pedercini) 1:38.324; 28 Velini (Team Pedercini) 1:38.950; 29 Praia (DFXtreme) 1:39.313; 30 Nickmans (Zone Rouge) 1:40.606 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: This weekend’s official Superbike World Championship tests in Valencia ended today with Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt both posting times in the top eight. Having debuted their R1s at the opening round of the championship in Qatar just two weeks ago, the Yamaha Motor Europe supported squad concentrated refining the overall package and working mainly on the front end geometry of their machines. Despite warm and dry weather, the track surface proved slippery and caused both riders to complain of a lack of traction. In spite of the inconsistent track conditions both riders felt they made considerable progress at the Catalan circuit, not only in terms of ultimate lap times but more significantly with the consistency of the machine over a race distance. Haga ended the test sixth fastest overall. The Japanese rider completed a total of 115 laps over the two days, finding an improvement of almost a second in the final session to set a best of 1:36.347 with Pitt eighth after clocking a fastest lap of 1:36.766 in his 127 laps. Yamaha Motor France’s Sébastien Gimbert was 15th fastest with a best of 1:37.305 from 125 laps while team-mate Norick Abe put in more kilometres than any other rider present in Valencia. The former MotoGP star completed a total of 157 laps between the four 140 minute sessions as he continues to familiarise himself with the R1. He ended the session in 18th place with a best lap of 1:37.347. Local privateer Jose Luis Cardoso was another Yamaha rider in the top ten, placing his R1 seventh in a time of 1:36.443. Troy Corser (Suzuki) was the quickest rider over the two days, his lap time of 1:35.566 just pipping his team-mate Yukio Kagayama to the top slot. The next outing for the Yamaha riders will be for round two of the series at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia, on the weekend of 1-3 April. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “I am happier today than I was at Qatar, so this is good. We tried some changes to the front of the bike and that is giving me a better feeling. We made a big step in the final session and I was able to push harder and go faster. At the end I put on a qualifying tyre and the feeling was very good, but the track has been very slippery this weekend and we did not find a tyre option that will work well for the race here.” Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) “We’ve certainly made some improvements to the bike since Qatar but you only have to look at the timesheets to see that we still have some work to do if we are to catch the Suzukis. The front end was better this weekend but now we’re struggling for traction. This morning it wasn’t so bad but then when I went out in the afternoon it felt like I was riding a different bike. It’s a problem at Valencia, the grip levels change so much here and for that reason it’s not always the best track to test at.” Sébastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) “Making a quick lap is not the most important thing at these tests so we took our time and were able to try some things out on the bike during the weekend. I’m feeling comfortable on the bike and feel that I am able to push harder if I need too. Just at the end we found a solution to a small problem we had with the front suspension. Had we been able to make this change earlier then I would surely have been able to set a much faster lap time.” Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) “Ok, our lap time this weekend – 18th place – was not good but we are here to test for the race and not just get one fast lap time. So it’s ok. On the first morning we ran with the Qatar settings. They worked well and I was sixth fastest, but in the other sessions we had a proper test and changed many of the parts and settings on the bike. Some of the changes worked, some did not, but I have learned a lot about the bike and the parts we tested so this is fine.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Co-ordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia) “I think that we have made some big steps this weekend. We came here with some new parts to test and almost all of them gave us the improvements we expected. Also, today is the first time I have heard Nori say we have made ‘big improvements’ so this is positive for us going to Phillip Island.” Superbike World Championship Valencia test – leading times 1. Troy Corser (Suzuki) 1:35.566 2. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1:35.698 3. Chris Vermeulen (Honda) 1:35.724 4. Regis Laconi (Ducati) 1:35.881 5. Karl Muggeridge (Honda) 1:36.084 6. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) 1:36.347 7. Jose Luis Cardoso (Yamaha) 1:36.443 8. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha) 1:36.766 9. Chris Walker (Kawasaki) 1:36.793 10. Pierfrancesco Chili (Honda) 1:36.813 15. Sébastien Gimbert (Yamaha) 1:37.305 18. Norick Abe (Yamaha) 1:37.347 More, from a press release issued by Scurderia SC Caracchi Ducati: Two days of World Superbike testing ended today in Valencia just two weeks before round 2 of the championship at Phillip Island (Australia) next April 3. Very satisfied is Gianluca Nannelli for the week-end work, also if some small trouble didn’t allow him to held the fifth position. Nannelli made a total of 84 laps in the two days test and got a good setting on his 749R Ducati. “Today too we practiced always with full tank.” commented a satisfied Gianluca Nannelli at the end of the test “We made a big work also today and in the afternoon I was quite tired because during the night I didn’t sleep well, so I was not all Ok today. In the afternoon the track wasn’t fast and nobody has been able to improve his performance. In the morning on the contrary the track was good and I’ve recorded a quicker laptime too. Unfortunately when we used a softer tyre looking a faster lap we’ve done a mistake and the tyre pressure wasn’t correct, it was too high and the byke was sliding all round the track. I recorded my fastest performance with a race tyre. So I suppose to be able for recording a quicker laptime, because we rode always in race conditions, with full gas tank and hard tyre, getting a good pace for several laps. In the afternoon I was tired, we tested several solution more with good results, unfortunately when we put a softer tyre we had some trouble with the engine an I must stop. I’m quite pleased with that we did in these past two days, both for me as for the team and the bike. I feel to be not jet at the same level as the leader, at least looking at the single laptime, but my pace is pretty fast and, all things considered we are not far from the top, so I’m quite satisfied and I’m confident to fight in the leading group, also if I’ll be not able to win.” Less satisfaction for the Superbike results where, as improving their yesterday laptime, both Lorenzo Lanzi and Fonsi Nieto lost several positions, as well the gap is quite close. Looking at Fonsi Nieto, just 26th fastest, with a gap of something more as a second from the tenth fastest. “Actually I was hoping in something better.” said at the end of the day Lorenzo Lanzi. “I don’t love this track, also if last year I reached the fourth final place in Supersport race. The main problem during the two days has been on the rear, while I had a good feeling with the front. Unfortunately on the rear we have not been able, with our setting, to use at the best the race tire we selected, missing the rear grip that my riding style wishes. On the contrary with qualifying tyre I felt well and with something more we could enter the top ten, a position I believe to be correct for us in this moment. Now we are leaving to Australia. I love that track and for that occasion I’m confident we could learn something from the difficulties we got today. I wont to stay with the leaders, we have to work but we’ll do it.” Fonsi Nieto is quite disappointed for today’s result. Fonsi has done a great work with the bike setting, but the results have been not at the level that his job and the team work despite. “Today too I couldn’t be satisfied looking at the final position in the grid after a five hours of testing today.” said the Spanish rider analyzing his practice day. “I’m behind in the results list, as well the tenth position is not too far. So I’m believing that, despite we are behind, we got a good work. We tested a lot of solutions, sometime finding a good result, some other with any result. Those two days testing have been very useful because finally I could run on the dry. We focused most on race conditions so I rode always with race tyres, also to control their wear. We didn’t use the qualifying tyres, we could improve something for the laptime, bur now I need to get experience for the race. So I go on working and learning, at every practice session I improve my performance, as if not so fast as I wish because I would to be immediately at the top level. But the team works well and I’m confident we’ll be early on the top group.”