WSBK-TEST

[KUCIAR666]

Sykes And Rea Take Positive Strides On New Ninja ZX-10R

Tom Sykes (KRT) secured the fastest time of a two-day test at Jerez in Spain after a strong showing of overall pace. His team-mate Jonathan Rea took the seventh best time, as the reigning champion worked on optimising the base set-up of the new Ninja ZX-10R in readiness for the new WorldSBK season.

The track conditions at this test did not replicate the grippier ones the team found in their previous Jerez outing in November. Despite this relative lack of grip Sykes managed to be the only rider from the 27 present who got inside the 1?39 bracket with his 1?39.924, achieved after using a qualifying rear tyre.

Rea, who did not use a qualifying rear, still set a best lap time of 1?40.856. He continued to experiment to find his ideal base setting on the new Ninja ZX-10R, which he and Sykes both rode in the recent global launch of the new Kawasaki showroom model in Malaysia.

Sykes has settled into the on-track groove of the new Ninja ZX-10R WorldSBK machine comfortably from the first tests. At this Jerez test concentrated on reconfirming the choice of some items that were settled on before the winter break.

Rea did not make a long run at this test, preferring to make lots of laps on used tyres, as he and his crew evaluated different chassis settings and engine characteristics.

A damp track surface to start on day one and fog early on day two held back the overall lap count for all riders at Jerez but conditions improved to ensure a productive period of work in the sunny afternoon sessions. Sykes managed to put in 126 laps and Rea 122 across the two days.

The entire KRT squad will now move right across Spain to make their final European winter tests at the Motorland Aragon circuit, between 3 and 4 February. The first races of the year take place in over final weekend of February, under the new format of one race on Saturday and the second on Sunday.

Tom Sykes stated: ?All smiles round here because basically we have changed a lot of settings, exploring more parameters with the new bike. We have a good opportunity to explore many things. All credit to Marcel and Danilo and all the mechanics because they are working overtime and I am just riding the bike. It is confirmation of what we have developed in previous years that we have done a good job because this new bike is the ?baby? from those years. It is working well for both riders and Kawasaki has done a great job. There are still areas where I want to improve both the bike and me but to come away from both winter tests in Jerez fastest is good, because it is not my strongest circuit. This adds to the excitement and motivation for the coming season on the new Ninja ZX-10R.?

Jonathan Rea stated: ?It is clear that the new bike has been developed more for another riding style and it asks you to ride in a certain way. So we are still exploring exactly how to extract the best out of the bike and we have changed many things. It was clear that when we arrived here the track grip level was much worse than the last time, so it required a little bit of a different set-up. Our testing philosophy this winter - testing big items and not getting carried away with the set-up - has really made sense here. It was the same track, same part of the world but a different character this time. We had a new fork specification to try and a different engine character. We are just using the tools in the toolbox now and understanding more about the new Ninja ZX-10R. We have been working calmly and methodically and if the starting lights went out at Jerez tomorrow we would not be seventh.?

Marcel Duinker, Tom Sykes? Crew Chief, stated: ?Tom used a Q tyre for the fastest lap and it seems the track was not the same as it was in the November tests. We need to be fast and consistent in any condition and we did a lot of our job during the test in November. When we finished that we gave our package its shape so here it was a matter of trying out small test items and polishing our bike to prepare ourselves for the season opener. We are ready to go to Phillip Island now but we have another two days at Motorland Aragon, a different type of track, where we can confirm our pace and consistency.?

Pere Riba, Jonathan Rea?s Crew Chief, stated: ?Winter time is to understand the bike and its reactions to changes and different situations. It gives the rider time to understand different things and time for us to follow our test plan. This is a new bike and there are still important points that we are looking to understand it more, to find out what the best base point is. This also relates to the track grip and these two days have been useful because the grip this time was not so good. That lets us understand how to make improvements in case we have these conditions in the real race. We have been working with tyres that have done over 20 laps just to comprehend where we are. We did not make a long run, a race simulation, but we did many laps. The important thing is to arrive in Phillip Island for round one with a good package in many different situations.?

 

[KUCIAR666]

Pata Yamaha Wraps Up Pre-season WorldSBK Testing at Jerez

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team concluded its final European pre-season test at the Circuito de Jerez, in Spain, today with Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes both satisfied with the progress made with their YZF-R1's.

Hampered by thick fog for the initial hours of both Tuesday and Wednesday's track time, Lowes and Guintoli made the most of the subsequent good weather setting 102 and 116 laps respectively across the two days. The Frenchman set his fastest time of 1:41.018 on his penultimate revolution, his British teammate's 1:41.361 laid down five laps from the close of play.

Evaluating a raft of new settings and parts, including swingarm, suspension, engine specifications and electronics, the Pata Yamaha team are confident of the advancements made and understandings gained throughout the past four days on track and will look to continue the progression back at its German and UK bases.

Lowes and Guintoli now have their sights firmly set on the start of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, as the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team prepares to travel to Australia ready for the official championship test at Phillip Island on Monday 22nd February.
Sylvain Guintoli
"It's gone well! We've completed everything we wanted to do, to test and to explore. We've focused on various things including carrying on working with the new swingarm, riding position, back-shifting, engine-brake strategies, new forks and different configurations within them, and traction control, so we've done a lot! We have a lot more experience with the YZF-R1 now, a lot more of an understanding, so now we just have to take this with us to Australia and carry on the good work!"
Alex Lowes
"We have a lot still to do but it's been a good two days. We have been working through everything including front and rear feeling, and a lot of work on electronics - trying to get a better understanding of the YZF-R1 and its engine character. I was limited with my shoulder so I couldn't push too much but I enjoyed it and hopefully we can improve quite a bit before Phillip Island."
Paul Denning – Team Principal
"These additional two days in Jerez have been very important for the Yamaha WorldSBK project - with a new bike, new riders and a new project every lap is a benefit. We've really learnt a lot and we have to thank the technical team at Yamaha Motor Europe and the Crescent squad for their dedication and hard work in getting us ready to start the season.

"Sylvain did a very consistent job getting through a huge programme of test items and remaining extremely precise and steady which is incredibly important for the development of the bike. When a rider is that consistent it generally means there is something left in the pocket in terms of performance so we are looking forward to getting to Australia now and seeing Sylvain more in race mode than test mode and taking the next steps.

"For Alex every lap has been a bonus - considering the extent of his shoulder injury - and it was as affected here in Jerez as it was in Portim?o, restricting him to short runs and limited laps in general. Despite that, Alex has done an incredible job, he's given the team excellent and accurate information and his own understanding of the YZF-R1 has increased dramatically over these January tests. Alex didn't run a qualifying tyre and his pace on the race tyres , despite the injury, was less than half a second away from the fastest, so when we consider the state of his shoulder we are quietly confident that we can be closer again when it's time to go racing."

 

[KUCIAR666]

KRT Riders Finish European Winter Tests In Strong Form

Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes completed the final European test of their pre-season preparations at Motorland Aragon today, finding further improvements in the set-up of the new Ninja ZX-10R as the first round of the 2016 season looms on the horizon.

High winds prevented any action form the official KRT pairing on day one but they made the most of their window of opportunity today to finalise their personal choices of machine set-up - and compare the most recent data collected at their previous test at Jerez de la Frontera last week.

The team staff used the first day at Motorland to build the final spec of 2016 WorldSBK racing machinery; using materials freshly arrived from KHI in Japan. Tom and Jonathan started on track at midday on day two after the track had warmed-up somewhat.

Sykes was pleased to be at the same best pace he recorded in the 2015 race weekend, after finding improvements from the recent Jerez test sessions. Despite a bout of illness, reigning champion Rea was still on strong form as he finalised settings to his engine?s overall character and fine-tuned his suspension.

Other Kawasaki teams were present at Motorland, with optimism high for all at the prospects for not only the WorldSBK riders, but also the Superstock 1000FIM Cup competitors, who will be running the new Ninja ZX-10R machine in close to standard specification.

The European winter test schedule is now complete but here will be an official two-day test for all WorldSBK runners prior to the opening race weekend of the year in Australia. The first day of testing will be Monday 22 February, at the classic Phillip Island circuit.

Tom Sykes stated: ?We had a good test, short but very productive. I am happy to have finished the European winter testing on a great level and we are working really nicely. I have been speaking with some of the other Kawasaki riders and they are really happy on the new bike, saying that it is very easy to ride. We focused on some fundamental things and not on performance, which was good. It worked out to be quite productive at the end. We had to do a couple of things for Pirelli, for their information, and I am really happy how things went.?

Jonathan Rea stated: ?Today we tried out different spec front forks and rear shocks and we changed the engine character a little bit. The information we gained we can look at over the next week to make sure we arrive at Phillip Island in good shape. We will have two good days on track in Phillip Island, which gives us more time before the races start. I am excited to go there because I have good memories from last year - but it also feels like home. I am just looking forward to putting everything together and having a proper race weekend. That is what we are all working toward so it is an exciting time right now.?

Marcel Duinker, Tom Sykes? Crew Chief, stated: ?We continued with the bike we used in Jerez and we improved a some small items, which will also be very useful for Phillip Island. We made some steps on the chassis set-up and the fine-tuning worked out. We had a good feeling from the bike right away at Motorland and Tom set some good lap times, which was good in these cooler conditions. We are all ready for Australia now and we are confident to go to the first round.?

Pere Riba, Jonathan Rea?s Crew Chief, stated: ?The test was positive. We tried two items that we really wanted to test. We collected some new information and we can put that in our pockets and got to PI. We tried some new fork set-ups just to check them and now we are preparing the bike for round one. We are looking forward to going to Phillip Island.?