2011 World Superbike Test
The sole Althea Ducati rider, Carlos Checa, topped the timesheets after Day 1 of World Superbik testing wrapped up Monday at Phillip Island, Australia.
Checa, who posted a 1:31.3, was almost a second quicker than the next overall fastest WSBK rider, Effenbert – Liberty Racing Ducati’s Sylvain Guintoli. Third quickest was yet another Ducati, this time piloted Guintoli’s teammate, Jakub Smrz; all; all three World Superbike riders are contesting on 1198Rs.
During the morning (1st) WSBK session, Checa completed 30 laps at Phillip Island under unstable conditions due to surprising rain showers. The Ducati Superbike team didn’t go after the fastest lap in the WSBK test session, concentrating on bike setup.
Checa, who won Race 2 during the 2010 WSBK Phillip Island round, vastly improved in the second session when the conditions were clear, posting his quickest time. The Spaniard’s time is fastest of all winter World Superbike sessions at Phillip Island, and is very close to the track record of 1:31.0 set by Regis Laconi (Yamaha) during 2009’s WSBK Superpole.
Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati Superbike) says: "We’re very happy with today’s results but this is only the beginning and I hope we can make further progress tomorrow, weather depending. This morning we took it easy, seeing as the track was damp and this in the afternoon session I began to push.
"We worked hard today, trying different set-ups and making modification to my seat position. I’m feeling confident, we’ll see how tomorrow goes but I’d day that we’ll be ready for this weekend’s races."
Reigning World Superbike Champion Max Biaggi didn’t participate in the morning session, but wasted no time aboard the Alitalia Aprilia RSV4 in the second session. He set the fourth quickest WSBK time. Fifth fastest was Michel Fabrizio on the Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000.
Besides the rain in the morning, red flags came out three times due to wild geese unexpectedly settling close to the Phillip Island superbike circuit.
The Superbike riders will be back on the Australian circuit on Tuesday for the final pre-season test before the 13-race WSBK season begins there this weekend.
2011 World Superbike: Phillip Island Test Results, Day 1
1. 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’31.383
2. 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’32.303
3. 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098 R 1’32.316
4. 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’32.383
5. 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’32.453
6. 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’32.466
7. 33 Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’32.474
8. 4 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’32.532
9. 91 Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’32.578
10. 58 Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1’32.600
11. 17 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’32.940
12. 12 Waters J. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’33.140
13. 111 Xaus R. (ESP) Honda CBR1000 RR 1’33.165
14. 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’33.255
15. 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’33.560
16. 41 Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’33.786
17. 52 Toseland J. (GBR) BMW S 1000RR 1’33.829
18. 121 Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’33.909
19. 67 Staring B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’34.047
20. 86 Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’34.686
21. 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’34.821
22. 8 Aitchison M. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’35.306
23. 6 Yanagawa A. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’35.470
