Phillip Island Official Test
Fores stuns in official test to end day one on top
WorldSBK sparks into action around Phillip Island
As riders took to the fast and flowing Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit for the first session of the Official test, changeable weather conditions caused disruption throughout the morning session.
Determined to get some solid testing time in, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders didn’t waste any time in heading out as they look at making any final changes before the season kicks off this week.
Eleven riders took to the track in the opening hour as Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) sat at the top of the tree with a lap time of 1.44.949 ahead of Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) in second position.
Sunny intervals continued throughout the session and Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC Project) led the way before Italian Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) took the honours with a time of 1.42.902 just as the heavens opened. Only Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Riccardo Russo (Guandalini Racing) didn’t take the risk.
Heading out at 13.40pm LT, the erratic weather calmed down and the circuit began to dry. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) set a 1.34 lap time straight off the bat and times continued to tumble with the sun breaking through the clouds.
Hitting the hour to go mark, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) shot into the fastest spot – his lap time a 1.32.723. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the only rider to challenge him before Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) was able to go 0.118s quicker, and the pair began to swap positions in the closing minutes.
All riders improved on their lap times from this morning, and it was Fores who ended the day ahead of Rea, with a final lap time of 1.31.412 which put the Spaniard 0.411s ahead of Rea’s 1.31.823.
Returning Melandri continued with a strong pace, keeping himself up the top end of the timing sheets – his final lap time a 1.32.216 ahead of van der Mark in fourth position. The young Dutchman finished the day setting a time of 1.32.440 with his new team, ahead of Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who rounded out the top five with a time of 1.32.591 as he put in the most amount of laps of the day – 43.
1.32.663 put Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in sixth position, ahead of an impressive De Angelis time of 1.32.687. Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team continue to make steady improvements with the new Fireblade, and they finished the day 11th and 12th respectively; Hayden in 11th with a lap time of 1.33.189 an Bradl with a 1.33.353.
Ending in the top 15 – Althea BMW Racing Team will be hoping to have a more positive day tomorrow, as Jordi Torres in 13th ahead of Markus Reiterberger in 15th. Wild card rider Josh Brookes (ERMotorsport-EliteRoads.com.au) ended up down in 16th position – his time a 1.34.259.
WorldSBK testing action resumes tomorrow at 11.20am LT (GMT +11), but keep an eye on WorldSBK.com for all end of day reaction from Australia.
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Rain hampers Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team’s last pre-season tests in Phillip Island
With a few days to go before the World Superbike 2017 season opener, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team took it to the track once again in Phillip Island (Australia) for the traditional, two-day test together with all the other teams and riders.
The erratic weather, characterized by frequent showers, strong winds and temperatures around 15 degrees, did not help Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies to go through their programs, as the riders were able to clock 37 and 21 laps respectively, closing in third and eighth position. The team will continue testing tomorrow, with a more promising weather forecast, for the second and final session ahead of the first official practice scheduled for Friday.
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 1:32.216 (3rd)
“It’s been quite tricky today, as weather conditions kept changing quickly. In particular, the wind was really strong and kept blowing from different directions, so it wasn’t easy to find the right feeling on the bike. The times are destined to drop quite significantly, so they’re not particularly indicative. At any rate, we found a couple of interesting solutions for the future, and we’ll start from there tomorrow.”
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 1’32.723 (8th)
“We didn’t really get a chance to get going today. Every time we went out on track, we could only do runs of 2-3 laps before the rain started to fall again. In the last 20 minutes we were trying to make a setup change but it took a bit longer than expected and, with the red flags, we didn’t get a chance to improve our position. That said, we know that our package is solid, and considering the lack of track time we can be satisfied with our performance.”
More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing BMW:
Day one of SBK testing at Phillip Island conditioned by rain
Phillip Island (Australia), Monday 20 February 2017
The Althea BMW Racing Team was out on track at Phillip Island (Australia) for day one of the final official test session before the 2017 Superbike world championship gets underway.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate today and persistent rain prevented Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger, and the rest of the SBK field, from working as they would have liked. On a track that was almost permanently wet, the two Althea BMW men completed a limited number of laps, not wanting to take any unnecessary risks in the less than ideal conditions.
A far from productive day. The team therefore hopes that tomorrow brings sunshine, allowing the Althea BMW riders and technicians to focus on the set-up of their BMW S 1000 RR bikes, in preparation for the first races of the season this coming weekend.
Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team #81)
“Today we couldn’t get too much done because unfortunately it rained on and off all day long. We made some laps just to check that the bike was working well and that my shoulder is holding up OK. In the afternoon, the sun came out towards the end of the session and we had maybe an hour of useful time. There was a lot of wind but we got some work done, particularly preparing everything that we’ll need to do tomorrow.”
Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team #21)
“I’m happy to be back in Australia, Phillip Island is such a beautiful track. Today started with really heavy rain, but overall I finished seventh in the morning’s session, having completed some laps at just the right time. The second session started dry but there was lot of stopping and starting because of rain showers. So we didn’t have a lot of real preparation time today, we will look at the data this evening and hope to be more productive tomorrow, working out which of the two bikes we have used today is better suited to the track.”