While all the attention was focused on the official 3-day Superbike tests at Portimao, the BMW Motorrad Motorsport Superbike team was quietly conductiong their own private 3-day test, and in much better, even torridly hot weather conditions at the Eastern Creek track in Australia.
Troy Corser and Leon Haslam worked on tire grip, electronics and settings, while Corser seemed very satisfied about the test and by the fact he set a new lap record 1:29.
5, Haslam seems slightly less enthusiastic, as his best time was 1:30.
5, one second slower than his veteran team mate.
“I am pretty happy with the progress that we made on my bike.
We worked on electronics, traction and rear wheel activation.
In all areas we made some good steps,” said Corser.
“I also tried some chassis, geometry and fork setting.
We concentrated on these areas to give us some information and to understand what we need to do if we get the same situation.
The lap times got better and better as we improved the bike and the better the circuit became.
The lap time we got to quite comfortably is very good for this track.
” “I think with what we have learned here we are now very well prepared for the test next week, regarding the set-up of the bike.
It was nice to come back to Eastern Creek.
The last time I was here was 18 years ago, in 1993.
It was a good experience to ride on the superbike here.
”While Leon Haslam said, “We mainly worked on the electronics, just trying to dial it in.
We also focused on setting up the chassis to get a base set-up, because in the hot conditions the bike behaves very differently.
We had a few issues but we are making progress with the bike.
Certainly you always want to go faster and make things happen quicker.
But we got in a lot of testing, which is good, and are definitely improving.
I am very confident the team will give 100 per cent and that it should be good.
I am just looking forward to the next test in Phillip Island.
This is a track where we also race, so we know what lap times we should be doing.
It will definitely be a good guideline for us.
And then I cannot wait until the season starts.
Testing is one thing but racing is another.
All you want to do is go out there and race.
It is not long to wait, just one more month.
Also physically I feel very good and I have my trainer coming over to Australia for a couple of weeks more before the race.
”The team will now head to Phillip Island for more testing.