Patience friends, the long wait is almost over and the new World Superbike season is just around corner and we’ve got some rider quotes and pics from yesterday’s official tests at Phillip Island and we’ll let you decifer who’s got the best chance in winning this Sunday’s races.
Michel Fabrizio – 1st“I’m satisfied with the lap times because we were consistently fast.
I found good race pace with one of the tyre compounds in particular and this bodes well for the weekend but the result will very much depend on the weather.
There are several fast guys here, so it will undoubtedly be a tough race weekend, as well as a hard-fought championship.
It’s a difficult challenge but I’m ready to face it.
” Shane Byrne- 2nd”In general, I’m very happy with this second day of testing even though unfortunately, this afternoon we had some small problems with the bike, and I was forced to use the second one.
During the second session we lost time trying to fix the problems and I was able to run only few laps.
The guys did a very good job this morning and I’m really satisfied with my first bike.
I completed a very fast lap time in the first session, finding a very good pace.
The only thing we can do now is rest and wait for the races next weekend“.
Jakub Smrz -3rd“We did a brilliant job, we improved session after session and set the fastest time in the last lap.
We tried out different solutions setupwise until we found the one that allowed me to go fastest with race setup.
This makes me confident for the season start, in four days time but things will get serious on Friday when I hope to do well and score a good result”.
Carlos Checa – 4th”I’m pretty satisfied with this second day of testing.
This morning I worked hard with my technicians thinking about the subsequent races.
In the afternoon, we tested some new components and I was not able to improve my best lap time also because to the strong wind.
We used two types of tire, but for the race next week we’ll also use some other different tires already tested by official riders.
I’m happy because we almost terminated our planned work schedule and I’m feeling quiet confident for the next two races of the championship”.
Jonathan Rea – 5thIt’s been a really good test and we’ve been able to work toward a good race setting for next weekend, which I’m really looking forward to.
We’ve also been trying to get the bike to work as conservatively with the tyres as we can, but I was third quickest in this afternoon’s final session, which isn’t so bad.
The main issue here has been me, and getting myself re-acquainted with this circuit – it’s getting there, but it’s taken the full two days and I’m still working on the last sector.
There’s still a lot of work to do, both for me and the team, but we’ve got a couple of days to relax and think about it, and we’ll come back on Friday refreshed and ready to go.
Noriyuki Haga – 6th“Today we concentrated on suspension settings, making various changes during the day, but for some reason I didn’t find the same good feeling that I had yesterday.
Having said that the lap times were fairly fast.
With regard to tyres the difficulties are caused by temperature because an increase of just one or two degrees can make a difference.
I can’t really predict how the races will go on Sunday; I’m going to relax for two days and then we’ll start work again on Friday.
”Leon Haslam – 7thI am not so happy with the final result, regarding lap times, but overall I am happy with all the work we’ve done and the things we found out and this will help us go in the right direction.
Today we started with the two bikes set up differently and I preferred some things on one bike and some things on the other bike, so the mechanics will now try and put the best bits of both on one bike and that’s what I will start with during first practice next Friday.
We spent quite a lot of time today trying out race tyres, so that we will be in a good position next week, but that meant that we didn’t really go for a very quick lap time.
I am not worried about the guys ahead of me today, because I know that things will be very different come the race next weekend.
That’s more important than lap times today.
I feel good about our prospects – and that’s the main thing.
Max Biaggi – 8th“I was hoping for better results, we are still having trouble on the disconnected asphalt where the bike doesn’t behave as it should and it becomes difficult to tighten up on the berm.
I’m not particularly happy, I was more confident, even the new tyres haven’t given us any particular benefits.
Now we will work toward the two races on Sunday, but it will certainly not be an easy competition”.
Leon Camier – 9thToday I was much better.
I felt more comfortable in Phillip Island’s quick turns.
We tried a lot of tyres and a lot of material, but we still need to improve the bike’s configuration.
There is still a lot of work to do before the race, partly on the bike, but a lot depends on me in that I still haven’t learned the track well, I don’t interpret it as well as I could and that means that I can’t work efficiently”.
Max Neukirchner – 10thI have to admit that I was happier yesterday than I am today.
There was some rain this morning and it was a bit windier, but the temperature was similar and grip levels were OK this morning.
In the second session, I had a small crash; the bike wasn’t too bad and I was OK, but there was not much time after that and, when I went out again, the grip level had dropped.
We tested a lot of things today to try and find a good set-up for next weekend, but we didn’t find it yet.
Still we have some more things to try on Friday.
I am feeling really fit and well – probably fitter than I have ever been – and I’ve enjoyed some surfing and training since arriving here in Australia.
Everything is working well with my new team and it’s good to be back on a Honda in this championship.
I cannot wait now for the season to start – it’s not long to go.
Ruben Xaus – 11th“I am quite satisfied with today’s test.
Especially our lap time in the afternoon makes me confident.
The rideability of the bike has improved a lot.
I have the feeling that we took the right decisions over the course of the test.
My crew did a good job and I am confident that we can score quite good results during the race weekend.
”James Toseland – 12th“It’s been a solid two days of testing working on the new bike.
I still have some chatter problems as does Cal.
The guys are going to go through the data and see what they can come up with for us over the next couple of days.
”Troy Corser – 13thI must admit that it has been a bit hard remaining fully focussed these past two days because my grandfather (or ‘Pops’ as he was known) died recently and the funeral service was just before these tests.
I would like to thank everybody for their kind thoughts and consideration.
I knew that I could’ve got a better lap time if I had pushed harder today, but I wanted to continue to improve the bike and not crash whilst chasing a fast lap.
Our bike is very different to what is was when we came here last year and so a lot of the work had to start from scratch.
We started pretty much with a set-up we hoped that would give better grip and we did get more grip but the bike became a bit harsh on the bumps.
So then we had to try and get rid of the harshness and make the bike more comfortable to ride again.
The couple of race tyres we were given felt quite stiff and so we had to adjust the bike to fit and then get as much data as possible, ready for next week.
Sometimes it seems that we don’t get normal reactions when we make normal changes, but the info we got these two days will give the guys lots to work on and sort out for next weekend and that is the main thing.
After all the laps and time on the bike these two days, I still feel good and that is because of my new training programme and, after today, a race day is going to feel easy!Cal Crutchlow – 14th“We worked through a lot of stuff, unfortunately it’s not all worked yet.
If we can get going in the right direction over the next couple of days for both of us then we can move forward.
I’m looking forward to race weekend as always and will do the best job I can.
”Sylvain Guintoli – 15th“Today we did a lot of work on getting the bike working well with race rubber and didn’t concentrate of chasing lap times.
I had a small get-off at the tight hairpin after Lukey Heights, but there was no damage to me or the bike.
It happened when I lost the front end when I pushed a bit too hard on a tyre that I didn’t really like – and now I like it less!I have had no problems with jet-lag or tiredness today, but I felt that I just couldn’t find my good rhythm.
This sometimes happens to me when we test for a lot of time, like today when the two sessions lasted two and a half hours each.
In a normal race weekend, practice lasts an hour and race is about forty-five minutes and I always manage to find a good rhythm without a problem, so maybe the sessions today were a bit too long for me.
But, we’ve done a lot of good work and now I am looking forward to next Friday and the start of the race weekend.
”Chris Vermeulen – 16th“We improved in every session around here, and it was good to be riding at a track I really knew.
We tried out some new linkage and shock components and they really helped with weight transfer.
Now we are at the stage of trying to dial the bike in and understand the different race tyres.
We still have work to do on race weekend and the times were so close at this test.
Another two-tenths and I would have moved up about six places.
”Tom Sykes – 18th“We tried a lot of things and went back to what we knew worked best.
The team were very patient with me going through all the stuff that we had to try.
It was very crucial that we did this, because we have a much better idea of where to go with set-up for the race next week.
That is the most important thing, and this test was just to help us in the races.
I feel we can close the gap a bit and I am looking forward to the races.
”