Aprilia Day-1 Test Times
A beautiful southern late summer day is the setting for the first day of In Front Tests on the Phillip Island track where Friday the 26th the first round of the 2010 SBK season will be held. The excellent weather conditions and the track allowed the riders and the teams to do their best work from the very start. At the end of the day Carlos Checa on Althea team’s Ducati held the best time at 1’31"959.
The 8th fastest time went to Biaggi with a time of 1’32"832 that was 0"832 behind the Spanish rider. Max concentrated his work on finding the best balance for his RSV4, also trying the new cam drive gear engine propulsion.
The 20th fastest time went to Leon Camier with time of 1’33"852 that was 1"893 off Checa’s best time. The young English rider is making his debut here at Phillip Island, so he had to memorize the difficult Australian track whilst at the same time trying to find the best base setting to work on in anticipation of the race.
Max Biaggi Speaks…
"Compared to the races at the end of last year’s season, the situation is a little bit different. This is a peculiar circuit where you have to be in good shape to stay up front. We are still suffering in the deceleration phase where we need to mitigate vibrations and skipping coming into the turns, which hurts safety, and we need to do it with the materials, which are available to us here. Tomorrow we will work on this, trying to resolve it as best as possible".
Leon Camier Speaks…
"It was a very intense day. It was the first time for me here and I had to learn the track, which is not complicated to memorize, but it is really difficult to ride fast on straight away. I’m consistent enough, although the pace still needs to improve quite a bit, but I’m lacking in the single lap which is very important for the qualifiers since a good position on the grid will help me run a good race. Considering that this is the first day, I’m at a good starting point. I’m sure that there is still a lot of work to do but I’m very confident".
Superbike Test Times (Day 1) Phillip Island
1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’31.959; 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’32.349; 3. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’32.484; 4. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’32.518; 5. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’32.544; 6. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’32.671; 7. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1’32.735; 8. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1’32.832; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’32.912; 10. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’32.979; 11. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’33.135; 12. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’33.190; 13. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’33.222; 14. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’33.299; 15. Crutchlow C. (GBR)Yamaha YZF R1 1’33.444; 16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’33.498
