WSBK Pre-Season Test

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Spanish Sunshine Welcomes SBK Teams For Pre-Season Testing

Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) continued his fantastic run of testing form in his return to World SBK? by posting a best first day time of 1?34.9 at Valencia. Favourable track and weather conditions contributed to every rider?s opening day performance, but Bayliss was in a class of his own, turning in a time only 0.267 seconds from the absolute Valencia SBK? best. Bayliss?s team-mate, Lorenzo Lanzi, scored fourth quickest time, with a 1?36.8. None of the top riders were issued Pirelli qualifying tyres on the first day.

Second fastest rider was another former World Champion, and the man Bayliss replaced in the Ducati Xerox team, James Toseland, who scored a 1?35.8. Toseland?s team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, did not concentrate much effort on setting lap times on day one, as he worked through a gruelling chassis testing programme. Nonetheless he went third fastest, thanks to a 1?36.1.

Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) posted a best time of 1?36.9 almost equalling the quickest lap of his 2005 qualifying efforts. As a non Pirelli Development Team rider, Abe ? like many of his peers - lapped on 2005 spec rubber throughout. Ivan Clementi (Pedercini Ducati) was in fine form also, scoring a 1?37.2, while his new team-mate Max Neukirchner set a 1?37.5.

Roberto Rolfo (Caracchi Ducati) matched Neukirchner?s 1?37.5, proving that the former 250cc and MotoGP rider is learning the ropes of this new discipline quickly. A strong Ducati presence was completed by Lucio Pedercini (Pedercini Ducati), Marco Borciani (Sterilgarda Ducati) and Norino Brignola. Fabien Foret, on a ?home-brewed? Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki, ran out with a best of 1?38.7 in his first test after his promotion from SS?.

1 - Bayliss - Ducati Xerox 1.34??9
2 - Toseland - Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.35??8
3 - Muggeridge - Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.36??1
4 - Lanzi - Ducati Xerox 1.36??8
5 - Abe - Yamaha France 1.36??9
6 - Clementi - Team Pedercini 1.37??2
7 - Rolfo - Team Ducati SC Caracchi 1.37??5
8 - Neukirchner - Team Pedercini 1.37??5
9 - Pedercini - Team Pedercini 1.37??9
10 - Borciani - Sterilgarda Berik
11- Foret - Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra 1.38??7

SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP? Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) made his latest outing a memorable one after only one day, with a best of 1?37.6 - almost a second faster than his nearest challenger, Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda). New to the SS? class, Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda) posted a 1?39.5, the same as young Turk, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda). A rash of new riders in Supersport World Championship? 2006 includes Aussie Josh Brookes, who made his latest transition from Honda power to Ducati power on a 1?41.3. Nedog (Caracchi Ducati), scored a 1?43.4.

1 - Charpentier - Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.37??6
2 - Fujiwara - Megabike Honda Team 1.38??4
3 - Tiberio - Megabike Honda Team 1.39??5
4 - Sofouglu - Winston Ten Kate Honda 1.39??5
5 - Brooks - Team Ducati SC Caracchi 1.41??3
6 - Nedog - Team Ducati SC Caracchi 1.43?44

 

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Toseland and Muggeridge Finding Pace at Valencia

Having completed only one day of testing in warm and sunny conditions at Valencia all elements of the Winston Ten Kate squad have declared themselves happy with their early progress. Lap times have already been trimmed when compared to 2005 qualifying performances, with both Superbike and Supersport teams working through a host of possible set-ups on the dry track. For 2004 World Champion James Toseland, a break into the 1?35 bracket was a dream start too his latest test session in his new team, and he concentrated on getting to know the 2006 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. His team-mate Karl Muggeridge working through an extensive list of set-up options, accumulating data on suspension and chassis settings. In the Supersport division, Sebastien Charpentier was on the same kind of sparkling form that gave him the 2005 Championship. His new team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu, spent his first day focussed on learning his machine fully, having unavoidably lost out on track time in previous tests.

Ronald Ten Kate ? Team Manager
?The first day has been great, especially after the weather wasn?t so good at our previous Almeria three-day test. We tried out some new parts there, which seemed to work well despite the poor conditions, and we knew that those parts would also work around here. That has certainly proved to be the case. The bike is the same spec that James rode at Almeria and from mid-morning onwards things have been going very well. The times he has been clocking on race tyres are particularly good, and he managed to get into the 1?35s by three PM. With Karl we are doing a lot of back-to-back tests, again on things we worked on in Almeria, but now through the full range. Karl has put in a lot of testing work for us, but as James in new to both the team and the machine we kept him out for a lot of laps. There will be more opportunities and more to come from Karl tomorrow. On the Supersport side of things, we are still puzzling out what Kenan likes on the machine, how he likes to make changes, and we are now very close to the settings that Sebastien uses. But we are just playing around with the settings to familiarise Kenan with the machine. He was already into the 1?39s today, quite easy, so there is still more to come from him. Sebastien is really back on the ball; he did a 1?37.6, which was his quickest lap time so far. He just has new settings for the new rear shocks and he is using the 2006 engine, which is also a definite step forward. We are all happy after one day.?


James Toseland ? SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider - (82 Laps ? Fastest lap time 1?35.8)
?I?m very satisfied with today. We had a good setting at Almeria, and about the same settings here - we have only had to make one or two clicks on the suspension. I also tried different front and rear tyres. I have never been in the 1?35s here, not ever, and to be in the 1?35s already on race tyres is great. The last time I was here I was in the 1?37s, so to go into the 1?35s, and see so much progress, is really good. We will try some different front forks and shocks but at the moment everything seems to be going really well.?


Karl Muggeridge ? SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider - (63 Laps ? Fastest lap time 1?36.1)
?So far today we have been successful in trying out new stuff on the bikes. I tested out some new forks and shocks, finding better suspension settings, things like that. As far as lap times are concerned, we haven?t really tried yet; we are just concentrating on the bike. We?re just using standard tyres and working on the rest. Tomorrow we have one more set of forks to try and then we can start working with the new tyres, to get the whole thing to mesh better. But today has been pretty successful.?


S?bastien Charpentier ? SS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider - (52 Laps ? Fastest lap time 1?37.6)
?It has been a good day of testing because the weather is perfect, if a little bit cold in the mornings, which makes it not so easy. The best time of day is between one and three o?clock. We worked very well in those two hours. My best lap today was a 1?37.6 on a race tyre, when the pole time last year was 1?38.3. I?m happy with the new front tyre and I am confident for Qatar. It is very close now for everyone but our work is good, so it is OK. I think there is a good possibility to improve again in 2006, even if some new machines are coming. For me the Honda is perfect and I hope for more good weather tomorrow. If we got another good day then our preparations will be ideal for Qatar.?


Kenan Sofuoglu ? SS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider - (82 Laps ? Fastest lap time 1?39.5)
?Now we have everything here and I am really very happy. In this test we have tried everything, with the bike in different positions, and every outing we have tried different settings to find my ideal ones. We did not really try for the lap times, and even tomorrow we will continue concentrating on set-up. I am not worried about lap times just yet, I?m just getting ready for the first round.?

 

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Yamaha makes final superbike preparations in Losail and Valencia

7/2/2006

Yamaha's world superbike stars made their final preparations ahead of
the 2006 campaign, with the Yamaha Motor Italia squad testing in Qatar
and Yamaha Motor France in Valencia.

Testing alongside Yamaha's MotoGP teams, the Yamaha Motor Italia squad
proved the performance and reliability of their new specification
engine and fine-tuned the updated Magneti Marelli electronics in their
three-day outing at the Losail circuit. The team's 2006 YZF-R1s feature a
host of new parts over the 2005 version, designed to give the bike
improved power delivery and controllability for the riders. The squad also
evaluated a number of chassis parts, including a new swingarm and 2006
specification Ohlins suspension.

With Pirelli supplying only 2005-spec race rubber, the squad was able
to concentrate fully on the machine performance rather than testing
development tyres. Using these tyres, both riders were quicker on race
tyres than at December's Pirelli test, confirming the progress made by the
team over the winter months. Haga was the faster of the two riders,
setting a 2:00.4, with Pitt fractionally behind on 2:00.8. The Australian
was slightly detuned on the final day after picking up a stomach bug
but gamely completed his test programme, while Haga's day came to a
premature end when he suffered a spectacular highside just 30 minutes before
the end of the session. The Japanese rider was uninjured in the crash,
although his bike suffered damage.

Over in Spain, Norick Abe spent two days at the Valencia circuit.
Having tested extensively at Phillip Island last month, the Japanese rider
was back on the Ohlins suspension which he will run in the 2006 season.

Abe was the sole Yamaha Motor France rider in attendance at Valencia.
Shinichi Nakatomi, who will run Japanese Soqi suspension, elected to
miss the test having twice tested his R1 at the circuit, while Sebastien
Gimbert was also absent. The Frenchman did not test as he will not race
in Valencia due to a date clash with the Le Mans 24-hour race.

Abe suffered some fueling glitches as the team tested new injection
mappings and he was also one of the few riders at the test not running
development tyres. His best of the day was a 1:36.4. Fastest at the test
was Troy Bayliss (Ducati) with a 1:34.4 lap.

Noriyuki Haga
"Not so bad a test although it was a shame to end with a crash. Going
through the last of the high-speed right hand corners I lost the rear
and had a big crash. I am ok but maybe I hurt in the morning! The new
bike is a real improvement although we are still trying to find the
perfect settings. The engine for sure is much nicer: less aggressive and
stronger coming out of the corners, and the team has made some improvements
in all areas. At the end we made some big changes to the front and, for
me, it was a good direction. I am happy with the progress made by the
team, but we have not tested with our rivals, so only at the first race
will we know how competitive we are."

Andrew Pitt
"I was happy with how it went over the three days. I feel some big
improvements from last year, especially with the electronics and the engine
braking. We got through a lot here and we're running the 2006
suspension front and back now and it's working well already. The lap times are
good and consistent and there was none of the chatter problem that we
have had here in the past, so that's also a big step forward. There's a
few more things to try before the race and I've still got to find a
front tyre that will work good over the race distance."

Norick Abe
"Today we worked mainly on the injection system. We wanted to get a
good setting for this and then try for a good suspension setting. It was
difficult to get a good setting on the mapping and it is still not
perfect. Because of this we didn't get to try any new settings on the
suspension."

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
"We have been able to get through a lot of work over the last few days.
Often at these first tests we face a lot of small problems but other
than a few minor electrical things on the first morning these three days
have been very good. The team has been working hard over the winter and
it has been good to hear the riders' feedback confirm what we had seen
on the dyno. We started trying a lot of new parts yesterday and we lost
our way a little bit with the set-up, but today both riders found some
good settings and were happy with the results. Of course we tested many
development tyres when we came in December and we do not know yet which
other tyres Pirelli will bring for the race, but we are happy with our
settings on the ones we had here. Our times have been under what the
tyre technicians predicted so this is a positive sign for the first
race."