From a press release issued by Aprilia:

Aprilia Racing Press Information

Valencia (Spain) World Superbike Test 23/25 February 2002

Monday 25

Last contest between competitors before the launch of the World Championship for the RSV Mille. Haga in great form, third best time. His “black arrow” from Noale achieves highest speed of all in these tests.

Great work by the talented Noriyuki Haga and the Playstation2 FGF Team in the Superbike tests in Valencia. The Aprilia RSV Mille proves to be one of the top contestants for the World Championship slated to begin in less than two weeks’ time. The twin-cylinder from Noale came top of the speed charts in 6 out of 11 test sessions over the past three days, hitting the absolute top speed in yesterday’s tests: 284 kmh on the short Valencia straight. Haga continued getting the perfect feel for his Aprilia “black arrow”. Countless tweaks to the set-up enabled the team to find the perfect balance between the potential performance of the RSV and the spectacular racing style of the Japanese ace. This is a rider who puts his heart and soul into it, as he managed to break the track record on the first lap of the test sessions (yesterday afternoon) before turning his attention to the painstaking work of preparation for the forthcoming races in March. He clocked up constant lap times, providing the team with exactly the information they need. And on race tyres every single time. Just a few minutes from the end, he put on a pair of qualifying tyres, made a final lunge and achieved third quickest overall time in the tests.

Noriyuki Haga and his RSV Mille notched up 227 laps in the three days: That’s 910 km. And he beat all the previous records set last year and in 2000 (by another Aprilia RSV Mille) in Valencia.

As Giacomo Guidotti (technical manager of the Playstation2 – FGF Team) put it, referring to the positive outcome of the last test session before the imminent World Championship, “With Noriyuki, we’ve been able to work on some very practical solutions, without needing to go all out for incredible lap speeds: We’ve only been working for the forthcoming races. We’ve got some excellent references and on the Saturday before the race, we’ll be making our final choices. I can see Noriyuki’s getting a better feel by the minute for the RSV Mille and we’re all ready for the challenge.”

“We’ve made enormous progress since the first tests in Australia,” added Noriyuki Haga. “It’s been an intense three days and I’ve really been getting to grips with my RSV. It’s like no other bike and it has unique qualities, so I’m adapting my style to suit it. We did lots of set-up and tyre tests. The World Championships are just about upon us and the next time I’ll be in the saddle will be at the race weekend. With the team, we’ve found a good solution which doesn’t put too much long-term stress on the tyres, while keep the lap times very high. Just a few adjustments here and there to the set-up and the bike will be even easier to handle. I’m all set for the green light.”

Final times for the three days:
1st Bayliss (Ducati) 1:34.261
2nd Bostrom (Ducati) 1:34.401
3rd Haga -Playstation2 FGF Team (Aprilia) 1:34.777
4th Xaus (Ducati) 1:34.908
5th Edwards (Honda) 1:35.053
6th Izutsu (Kawasaki) 1:35.169
7th Hodgson (Ducati) 1:35.459
8th Lavilla (Suzuki) 1:35.584.

VALENCIA RECORDS:

Race: Troy Corser (Aprilia) 1:36.128 average 149.988 km/h (2001)

Qualifying: Troy Corser (Aprilia) 1:35.504 average 150.967 km/h (2001)

Superpole: Troy Corser (Aprilia) 1:36.185 average 149.899 km/h (2000)

Distance: Troy Corser (Aprilia) 23 laps in 37:15.171 average 148.362 km/h (2001)




And from a press release issued by Haga’s team, Playstation2-FGF Team:

Playstation2 – FGF Team – Press Information

Valencia 23/25 SBK International Test

Monday 25 February 2002

HAGA, 3rd ABSOLUTE TIME IN VALENCIA TESTS

Noriyuki Haga betters his performance today and stops the clock at 1:34.777, third absolute time in the Valencia test sessions. On the other hand, the record time he made yesterday on his Aprilia RSV Mille remains unbroken. 284 kmh, and the record remained unbeaten today. The Japanese ace completed all the pre-Championship tests concentrating on the set-up of his bike in view of the first races, to be held here in Valencia in less than two weeks’ time. His feeling for the twin-cylinder from Noale is improving no end, and his natural talent and acrobatic style are becoming one with his machine. An alliance close to perfection. 910 kilometres on the dial, in three days which have enabled the rider and the team to register all the references they need for the first rendezvous of the World Championship.

Giacomo Guidotti (Technical Manager of the Playstation2 – FGF Team) commented: “With Noriyuki, we’ve been able to work out some very practical solutions, without going all out for any incredible lap times. We’ve only been working for the forthcoming races. We’ve got some excellent references and on the Saturday before the race, we’ll be making our final choices. I can see Noriyuki’s getting a better feel by the minute for the RSV Mille and this means we really can hope for the best from the first contest of the 2002 season.”

“We’ve made enormous progress since the first tests in Australia,” said Noriyuki Haga. “It’s been an intense three days and I’ve really been getting to grips with my RSV. It’s like no other bike and it has some unique qualities, so I’m adapting my style to suit it. We did lots of set-up and tyre tests. The World Championships are just about upon us and the next time I’ll be in the saddle will be at the race weekend. With the team, we’ve found a good solution which doesn’t put too much long-term stress on the tyres, while keeping the lap times very high. Just a few adjustments here and there to the set-up and the bike will be even easier to handle. I’m all set for the green light.”