Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport continued its preparation for the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship with three days of winter testing in Eastern Creek (AUS). In very hot conditions, with air temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius and track temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius, works riders, Troy Corser (AUS) and Leon Haslam (GBR), completed a total of 1.453 kilometers of testing on their BMW S 1000 RRs. After two very hot days today the temperatures where a bit lower, reaching 28 degrees Celsius. Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will now travel to Phillip Island (AUS) where it will continue its work with another test on 02 and 03 February. Programme: Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport chose not to join the series’ official test in Portimão (POR), but to test in Australia to focus on setting up the BMW S 1000 RR for race tracks with very low grip. The conditions in Eastern Creek proved to be perfect for that aim, as the very high temperatures made the race track quite slippery. On top of that, the weather conditions in Australia are more similar to those encountered during the racing season than the cold and rainy weather in Portugal. The team mainly worked on improving the set-up of the chassis and the engine mapping. In both areas, huge progress was made. The team is very satisfied with the results as it managed to do very quick lap times. Troy progressed very quickly end even set a new lap record (1:29.5 min). Leon’s best time was 1:30.5 minutes. Troy Corser: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR “I am pretty happy with the progress that we made on my bike. We worked on electronics, traction and rear wheel activation. In all areas we made some good steps. I also tried some chassis, geometry and fork setting. We concentrated on these areas to give us some information and to understand what we need to do if we get the same situation. The lap times got better and better as we improved the bike and the better the circuit became. The lap time we got to quite comfortably is very good for this track. “I think with what we have learned here we are now very well prepared for the test next week, regarding the set-up of the bike. It was nice to come back to Eastern Creek. The last time I was here was 18 years ago, in 1993. It was a good experience to ride on the superbike here.” Leon Haslam: Bike: BMW S 1000 RR “We mainly worked on the electronics, just trying to dial it in. We also focused on setting up the chassis to get a base set-up, because in the hot conditions the bike behaves very differently. We had a few issues but we are making progress with the bike. Certainly you always want to go faster and make things happen quicker. But we got in a lot of testing, which is good, and are definitely improving. I am very confident the team will give 100 per cent and that it should be good. “I am just looking forward to the next test in Phillip Island. This is a track where we also race, so we know what lap times we should be doing. It will definitely be a good guideline for us. And then I cannot wait until the season starts. Testing is one thing but racing is another. All you want to do is go out there and race. It is not long to wait, just one more month. Also physically I feel very good and I have my trainer coming over to Australia for a couple of weeks more before the race.”