BAYLISS ONTO THE 1’30s ON FINAL DAY OF AUSSIE TESTING Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) continued his run of extreme performance on his 999F07 machine to record the fastest time of the tests with a 1’30.7 lap, set in the morning of the final day. Such was his pace on track, and the pace at which he tested the new generation of Pirelli tyres, that Bayliss was finished his programme by lunchtime, leaving the track to his main 2007 championship rivals – none of whom could match his remarkable single lap best. Once again his team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) came closest to the reigning champion, scoring a best lap of 1’31.2. TOSELAND THIRD AND HAPPY WITH RACE PACE James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) secured third spot for himself on the last day, and set a fast series of race simulations to boot. His best single lap was a 1’31.7. It was a draw for fourth fastest time of the test, with Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) both on 1’32.2, although Corser had to count on his second day time. KAGAYAMA AND NIETO SHARE BEST TIME Another dead heat on the stopwatch saw Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) use his day two time of 1’32.3 to match Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and his final day push on the second Kawasaki. Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) finished his test in an unexpectedly low position after setting a 1’32.4, but his fast race simulations were an important boost to his pre-season confidence. The top ten was rounded out by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia), who had to rely on his second day time of 1’32.8 to finish ninth overall and Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who closed up on the leaders somewhat with a 1’33.2. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Once more the new batch of Pirelli test tyres carved into the WSS records at PI, with Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Supersport Racing) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) evenly matched, on a remarkable 1’33.9. On his own in third place came the Caracchi Ducati of Gianluca Nannelli, with a 1’34.3 while three time faller over the three day test, Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) went fourth fastest, on 1’34.4. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Supersport Racing) could not improve his best time from yesterday and thus went fifth fastest overall, on a 1’34.8. The improving Hoegee Suzuki rider Barry Veneman scored a final best of sixth, with a 1’35.6, as Fabien Foret (Gil Kawasaki) posted a 1’35.7, just a tenth behind. Pere Riba (Gil Kawasaki) was eighth, on a 1’36 flat, with Vesa Kallio, ninth on a 1’37.0. SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1. Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1’30″7; 2. Lanzi (Ita-Ducati) 1’31″2; 3. Toseland (GB-Honda) 1’31″7; 4. Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1’32″2; 5. Laconi (Fra-Kawasaki) 1’32″2; 6. Kagayama (Gia-Suzuki) 1’32″3; 7. Nieto (Spa-Kawasaki) 1’32″3; 8. Biaggi (Ita-Suzuki) 1’32″4; 9. Haga (Gia-Yamaha) 1’32″8; 10. Rolfo (Ita-Honda) 1’33″2. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: 1. Sofuoglu (Tur-Honda) 1’33″9; 2. Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1’33″9; 3. Nannelli (Ita-Ducati) 1’34″3; 4. Charpentier (Fra-Honda) 1’34″4; 5. Parkes (Aus-Yamaha) 1’34″8; 6. Veneman (Ola-Suzuki) 1’35″6; 7. Foret (Fra-Kawasaki) 1’35″7; 8. Riba (Spa-id) 1’36″0; 9. Kallio (Fin-Suzuki) 1’37″0. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: The three days test session run on the racetrack of Phillip Island has just finished providing good news for Pirelli and the SBK teams. This was the third step of a development programme started in Spain (Valencia) and then carried on in Qatar (Doha) by the WSBK and WSS development teams. Pirelli technicians faced this appointment with many different solutions to test, result of the endless work of the whole season and partially tested in the previous venues. Interesting news coming from both the SBK and SS categories, with very good laptimes and most of all good performances in terms of long runs and race simulations. In the SBK class the fastest rider was Troy Bayliss, who managed to set the incredible laptime of 1’30″7: two seconds faster than the previous record! The new tyre specifications developed by Pirelli technicians have found a perfect ground and have scored a similar great result also in the SS category. The new DIABLO Supercorsa, the 17″ tyre DOT, street homologated tyre – presented this year and available on the market for all the racetrack enthusiasts is still providing great results to the WSS riders. After having improved basically all the race records during the season after his appearance in Misano, Diablo Supercorsa has allowed the riders once again to set the new reference times. Kenan Sofuoglu and Kevin Curtain have set the new lap record with the same amazing time of 1’33.9. Good news for Pirelli technicians, with two different bikes (Honda and Yamaha) able to exploit the benefits of this new solutions proving its real potential and characteristics of adaptability: Nannelli third with the two cylinders Ducati is more than a confirmation. The start of the season is getting closer and closer, and looking at the results of this winter test sessions it seems we will have again a breathtaking season, and again the huge work performed by Pirelli technicians will bring to great races and thus benefits will go to the SBK enthusiasts and to the end users. Test laptimes: SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Pirelli Diablo SBK – 16,5″ slick tyres 1. Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1’30″7; 2. Lanzi (Ita-Ducati) 1’31″2; 3. Toseland (UK-Honda) 1’31″7; 4. Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1’32″2; 5. Laconi (Fra-Kawasaki) 1’32″2; 6. Kagayama (Jap-Suzuki) 1’32″3; 7. Nieto (Spa-Kawasaki) 1’32″3; 8. Biaggi (Ita-Suzuki) 1’32″4; 9. Haga (Jap-Yamaha) 1’32″8; 10. Rolfo (Ita-Honda) 1’33″2. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Pirelli DIABLO SUPERCORSA – 17″ DOT tyres 1. Sofuoglu (Tur-Honda) 1’33″9; 2. Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1’33″9; 3. Nannelli (Ita-Ducati) 1’34″3; 4. Charpentier (Fra-Honda) 1’34″4; 5. Parkes (Aus-Yamaha) 1’34″8; 6. Veneman (Hol-Suzuki) 1’35″6; 7. Foret (Fra-Kawasaki) 1’35″7; 8. Riba (Spa-id) 1’36″0; 9. Kallio (Fin-Suzuki) 1’37″0. More, from a press release issued by Corona Extra Alstare Suzuki: YUKIO AND MAX POSITIVE AFTER PHILLIP ISLAND. Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Yukio Kagayama and Max Biaggi carried on the development programme of the new 2007 GSX-R1000K7 at Phillip Island and left the Australian circuit with a lot of data for the team to evaluate. The team had two different engine specifications to try out and each had different characteristics, so a lot of analytical work had to be carried out so that progress can be made next time out. Max had a very low speed tip-off at MG corner on day two, but apart from that there were no other falls. At the end of the three-day test, according to the Pirelli time-keeping, Yukio finished sixth quickest overall, with Max eighth. Reigning champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) surprised everybody by posting a lap of 1:30.67, smashing the lap record in the process, on the new Pirelli development tyres. YUKIO, 97 laps, best lap1’32”3 “In the three days here, I didn’t crash so I am very happy about that! This test has been a lot of hard work and we have had many things to try on the new 2007 bike. But we have done a lot of very useful work, even if the lap times were not as good as maybe we were expecting. I cannot stress how much work we have all done during these three days and we have gathered a lot of very useful information. We will analyse this back in the workshop and then work on the next stage at the next test. Phillip Island is always a good track for testing because of the variety and I hope the next test will move us forward some more and we can be ready for the first race in Qatar. MAX, 108 laps, best lap 1’32”4 Phillip Island has been very interesting and we have had to do a lot of work here to understand this new bike. We did a couple of long runs, but the results were not so good because the bike was vibrating a bit and that affected the overall times. Also the track was quite a bit hotter on the final day and when that happens normally we don’t go so quick. I tried two different engine specifications and got on better with the Japanese spec one. For me it just felt more comfortable to ride and it was a good engine package. The team now has a lot of information and data to work with and the results of this we’ll try at our next test. Hopefully, the good work we have done in Australia will pay dividends next time out. Overall (Pirelli) best times (3-day): 1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati) 1’30”7, 2 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:31″2, 3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1’31”7, 4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1’32″2, 5 Laconi (F-Kawasaki) 1’32”2, 6 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1’32”3, 7 Nieto (E-Kawasaki) 1’32”3, 8 MAX BIAGGI (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1’32”4. 9 Haga (J-Yamaha) 1’32”8,10 Rolfo (I-Honda) 1’33”7 Best 2006 Race lap time: Bayliss 1’32”402 More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) SETS RECORD PACE IN PHILLIP ISLAND TESTS Bologna (Italy), 15th January: Troy Bayliss continued his brilliant pre-season form for the Ducati Xerox team as he set a record-breaking pace in three days of testing at Phillip Island. Riding the latest-spec 999F07, Troy fired in a 1m30.7s lap on the final morning in the cooler conditions, the fastest time ever recorded by a Superbike machine around the Phillip Island circuit, before wrapping up his testing schedule at the lunch break. Bayliss’s team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was a perfect back-up, the Italian finishing the Pirelli development tests second overall with a time of 1m31.2s. “It’s been a good three-day test” declared the 2006 world champion, Bayliss. “We tried some new settings and electronics and the latest Pirelli tyres and were able to set some fast lap times although over the race distance things were a bit different. Even though today’s long-run didn’t go as well as we had hoped, yesterday’s simulation was good and we learnt a lot of things that will benefit us for the race here in March. I’m very happy with the way the bike is working and we went faster than the race pace of last year so everything is going really well”. “Everything went well in these three intense days of testing” commented Lorenzo. “We tried out a lot of things and the results are plain to see. We were always amongst the quickest, except for the first day when I didn’t go for a fast time. With the race tyre we did a great job and we sorted out a lot of things to improve the set-up of the bike. Last year I was one and a half seconds off Troy’s pace on race tyres on this track, this year the gap is only four tenths of a second so this for me is an excellent performance”. TIMES (provided by Pirelli): 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m30.7s; 2. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 1m31.2s; 3. Toseland (Honda) 1m31.7s; 4. Corser (Yamaha) 1m32.2s; 5. Laconi (Kawasaki) 1m32.2s; 6. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m32.3s; 7. Nieto (Kawasaki) 1m32.3s; 8. Biaggi (Suzuki) 1m32.4s; 9. Haga (Yamaha) 1m32.8s; 10. Rolfo (Honda) 1m33.2s. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha makes steady progress with the new YZF-R1 The all-new YZF-R1 was given its first 2007 testing shakedown by Yamaha Motor Italia riders Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga, at the final official Pirelli tests of the close season. Corser took the equal fourth best time of the three days, with a lap of 1’32.2, set on day two – some 0.2 seconds under the current race lap record pace. Haga also had to rely on a day two best to set his fastest mark of the sessions, a 1’32.8, in what was another largely closely contested outing for the five Superbike teams in attendance. For this second outing with the new R1, the team had limited preparation time. Meaning that not all of the usual adjustments in chassis/ swingarm combination were available to the riders, and thus the ultimate best times were limited. Corser, despite this temporary handicap, was still a force on his home circuit while Haga found a good race set-up on the final day. Both riders managed to gather important information for the final test in Qatar next February. Fastest rider at the test was Troy Bayliss, who scored a new Superbike track best of 1’30.7, with his team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi half a second behind. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) “The top speed and the engine feel is not bad, but we are struggling a bit with rear grip coming out of corners. We are a bit too sideways. So the lap times are not coming for us at the moment. I’m pretty happy with the bike and the team is working well, but we just need a bit more testing, and this is only the third day of riding a Yamaha at Phillip Island. We need to adjust the swingarm angle. We could use a hard tyre and get the same grip and push as a qualifier. But it’s not that disheartening because despite having some troubles we are not that far away on lap time. I know where I’m losing time and how much time I’m losing, and I’m confident we can fix it.” Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) “Finally I found a good setting and good acceleration, but I still had problems with a few things, same as Troy. Today I made 20 laps in a long run, which went very good, but after eight laps the rear problem started and the tyre started grooving. We need more testing with the new parts.” Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator – Yamaha Motor Italia) ” We did not experience a rear grip problem in Qatar during the last test, so this was an important test. Now we can make the necessary changes to the specs to become fully competitive with our new R1. In discussion with the riders and chief mechanics, we know what the solution is for the set-up and we will test the parts here during race weekend. It is not a big thing, but we simply did not have time to bring these parts here now. Noriyuki made a good race simulation today.” OFFICIAL WSB TESTS: AUSTRALIA Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4.445km Race Lap Record: 1’32.402 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 30.7 (Troy Bayliss, 2007, at this test) Temp: 25ºC World Superbike 1. Bayliss Ducati Xerox 1’30.7 2. Lanzi Ducati Xerox 1’31.2 3. Toseland Honda Ten Kate 1’31.7 4. Corser Yamaha Motor Italia 1’32.2 5. Laconi Kawasaki PSG-1 1’32.2 6. Kagayama Suzuki Alstare 1’32.3 7. Nieto Kawasaki PSG-1 1’32.3 8. Biaggi Suzuki Alstare 1’32.4 9. Haga Yamaha Motor Italia 1’32.8 10. Rolfo Honda Ten Kate 1’33.2 Pirelli Test Session: Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Date: 13 – 15 January 2007 Temp: 25ºC Weather: Sunny, cooler in mornings Curtain equal fastest and at record pace Yamaha World Supersport Team riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes completed their latest schedule of long haul testing in an ultimately successful fashion, with Curtain setting the joint fastest lap of the test and Parkes carrying out a satisfactory long run to simulate a real race. Curtain tied for the new circuit Supersport best ever lap with Honda rider Kenan Sofuoglu, each setting a remarkable 1’33.9 – more in 2006 Superbike territory than Supersport. The new selection of rear tyres the team tested proved able in terms of permitting a few fast lap times, but the rears operated best in the lower track temperatures of the morning sessions. The main competitors had quite some difficulties countering the lap times of Curtain, resulting in many crashes. Parkes suffered a crash on the second day and a trivial problem with his repaired bike on the morning of the final day stopped him improving his still impressive best of 1’34.8 even more. Nonetheless, the team tested all their new equipment and the new tyre solutions, in readiness for the start of the season on February 24th, at Losail, in Qatar. This test was the first outing under direct ownership of Yamaha Motor Europe. Although the team still operates from their Yamaha Motor Germany workshop, the overall management and ownership of the team is transferred to the European headquarter of Yamaha in the Netherlands. This enables the team to benefit from Yamaha Motor Europe’s experience and resources. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I did a 1’33.9, and I was really impressed! Pretty good for a 600. Today was obviously good in terms of the outright lap times but we have quite a big rear endurance problem on the tyres that give the best lap time, and I think most people have the same. We always have a known quantity tyre that we can fall back on for the race and in general my test has been really good right from the start. The front has been good here, and we know what works and doesn’t work. We basically used the setting from the recent Qatar tests as a base point.” Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) “A pretty good test but yesterday I crashed one of my bikes and we didn’t use it again that day, and then we put a new gearbox in the other bike. Due to my crash, I suffered a problem with chattering and that cost us a lot of time in the morning, when the conditions where best, so I couldn’t improve my time. In the afternoon we did a race simulation and that was really good. We used a tyre from last year on the back for that and of course the individual times were not as good. Track temperature has been a big question here.” Terrell Thien (Team Manager – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “We could only set our very best times when the track temperature is around 20 degrees, and above 30 everything goes slower. So for long runs in these conditions we have to use an older spec tyre, without the same outright grip, but with the endurance. For our work, everything was on schedule, if not a little ahead. That allowed us to work on some electronics, and if we use all the electronics we have, it saves the rear tyre a lot. This may be the way for the future.” OFFICIAL SBK TESTS: AUSTRALIA Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4.445km Race Lap Record: 1’36.399 (Broc Parkes, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 33.9 (Curtain and Kenan Sofuoglu, 2007, at this test) Temp: 25ºC World Supersport 1. Curtain Yamaha World Supersport Team 1’33.9 2. Sofuoglu Hannspree Honda 1’33.9 3. Nannelli Ducati SC Caracchi 1’34.3 4. Charpentier Hannspree Honda 1’34.4 5. Parkes Yamaha World Supersport Team 1’34.8 6. Veneman Hoegee Suzuki 1’35.6 7. Foret Kawasaki Gil Motorsport 1’35.7 8. Riba Kawasaki Gil Motorsport 1’36.0 9. Kallio Hoegee Suzuki 1’37.0