WSBK Official Test at Valencia

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Official test at Valencia

After the first two rounds at Qatar and Phillip Island the European phase of World?s Superbike Championship starts at Valencia on April 23rd. But first of all we are excitedly awaiting the results of the forthcoming official test at Valencia. The members of our team are already on their way to Spain.
All Superbike competitors take part in the official test from 27th to 29th March at Valencia. And after his two podiums at Phillips Island Alex Barros will be the centre of attention. The Brazilian missed out on the previous unofficial round of Valencia tests in winter, shortly before the start of the season. But Alex knows the race track very well and may focus to do some fast laps.
Team Manager Klaus Klaffenb?ck: ?After the last race at Phillip Island we worked a lot on the bike. At Valencia Alex rides an even improved and very powerful Klaffi Honda Fireblade. Now it is his turn to do some kilometres to get the ideal setting for the upcoming race end of April at Valencia

Official Test at Valencia ? Day One



Business as usual ? the first practice session on Monday morning went according to plan. Alex and the crew were busy to adjust the settings of his Klaffi Honda Fireblade.
The Brazlian rider of Team Klaffi Honda did 33 laps. With a 1?37.109 lap time he was 11th fastest.
In the afternoon the Superbike riders started for their second practice session at 16.oo. Two hours to do some faster lap times. But it was only Alex to succeed.
He did a 1'36.292 lap time and finished third. Only Bayliss and Corser were faster than Alex.
Team Manager Klaus Klaffenb?ck: ?We had a very tough but successful day. It was only a pity that Alex had a small crash five minutes before the end of the second session. But he is okay and all things considered we are very pleased with the results.?
Official Test at Valencia ? 27.03.2006

1 Bayliss T. Ducati 1'35.220
2 Corser T. Suzuki 1'36.080
3 Barros A. Klaffi Honda. 1'36.292
4 Haga N. Yamaha 1'36.309
5 Muggeridge K. Honda 1'36.327
6 Lanzi L. Ducati 1'36.360
7 Walker C. Kawasaki 1'36.450
8 Kagayama Y. Suzuki 1'36.725
9 Pitt A. Yamaha 1'36.740
10 Nieto F. Kawasaki 1'36.808
11 Barros A. Klaffi Honda 1'37.109

 

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Progress for FPR after day one of Spanish test

Both Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders made strides forward during the first
day of the official Superbike World Championship test at Valencia,
Spain, today.

Steve Martin finished the day 13th fastest out of the full World
Superbike field, with a time of 1:37.07 which bettered his previous fastest
at the circuit on the PETRONAS FP1, despite experiencing an engine
failure towards the end of the first session which caused a spectacular
high-side from which he escaped uninjured. Team-mate Craig Jones also made
in-roads into his previous best time at the circuit as he gained
further valuable track experience and set-up knowledge.

The team were also able to compare a new engine development, featuring
a new cam-shaft designed to improve the mid-range power spread, to that
used at Phillip Island in the recent races.

Troy Bayliss, who is leading the championship after the opening two
races, set the pace once again with a time of 1:35.220.

Steve, who was 10th fastest after the morning session, said: ?I was
lucky to get away with the crash but, although this may sound strange, I
am glad that it happened in one respect. I haven?t really given my body
a knock since my operation last year and it is good to get it over and
done with and know that I am just as strong as I used to be. I have not
been too worried about lap times as I only used two rear tyres in each
session and I am sure I could have bettered my time if I had stuck a
softer one in at the end. Our aim is to do consistent times on race times
so that we can fully evaluate the different engine configurations.
There is no doubt that the new camshaft provided more torque, but at the
expense of top speed down the main straight. However, on race tyres, I
was able to match my qualifying time from the race weekend last year, and
was able to lap in the low 37s throughout the day.?

Craig said: ?I am reasonably pleased because, although I did not do any
quick times today, we have made progress and have a direction to go in
with the bike?s set-up. I have found a front end set-up that I quite
like and a back-end set-up that I also quite like. It?s just a question
of putting together the whole package now. I have gone a second quicker
than when we tested here last year and we have got a game plan for
tomorrow to reduce the times further.?

First day times, Superbike World Championship official test, Valencia,
Spain: 1 Bayliss 1:35.220; 2 Corser 1:36.080; 3 Barros 1:36.292; 4 Haga
1:36.309; 5 Muggeridge 1:36.327; 6 Lanzi 1:36.360; 7 Walker 1:36.450; 8
Kagayama 1:36.725; 9 Pitt 1:36.740; 10 Nieto 1:36.808; 13 Martin (Foggy
PETRONAS Racing) 1:37.072; 28 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:40.226

 

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Gain in Spain for FPR

The second day of the Superbike World Championship official test at
Valencia, Spain, today brought further encouragement for Foggy PETRONAS
Racing.

Both Steve Martin and Craig Jones were able to make in-roads into their
best laps of yesterday, while also testing new engine specifications.

Steve finished the morning session in 10th place, having shaved more
than half a second off yesterday?s best lap. However, an afternoon of
frustrating technical hitches prevented further progress for the
Australian and he slipped to 13th in the standings.

Superbike debutant Craig sliced more than 1.5 seconds off his best lap
around the tight and twisty circuit, while also experimenting with new
stages of engine development.

Steve said: ?The morning session was pretty positive and I managed to
lap a lot quicker than last year. Tomorrow I need to improve the
handling of the bike with the new specification camshaft, as I am having
problems wheelying out of the corners, so we will change the weight
distribution and ride heights. I want to do a long run on race tyres tomorrow
and then put some qualifiers in, as some of the other riders have done
today. But when it comes to the race we already know that it is going to
be so tight as not to be funny!?

Craig said: ?We made a lot of progress today and I was able to take a
big chunk out of my time. If I can keep on doing that tomorrow I will
end up with a decent time. A lot of the improvement is coming from just
riding the bike and learning the track but I think I can still find a
lot of time in the set-up of the bike. I am looking forward to going out
in the morning and using the experience I have gained today to go
quicker straight away.?

Second day times, Superbike World Championship official test, Valencia,
Spain: 1 Bayliss 1:34.987; 2 Corser 1:35.571; 3 Haga 1:35.618; 4 Walker
1:35.827; 5 Kagayama 1:35.899; 6 Nieto 1:35.974; 7 Lanzi 1:36.009; 8
Muggeridge 1:36.034; 9 Xaus 1:36.175; 10 Pitt 1:36.215; 13 Martin (Foggy
PETRONAS Racing) 1:36.413; 28 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:38.759