Following this past weekend’s round three of 2017 World Superbike at Motorland Aragon, the SBK teams remained at the Spanish circuit for a one-day test.Leading Monday’s official WorldSBK test was Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes, who finished just ahead of Aragon race-one winner and teammate Jonathan Rea. Both riders suffered from sickness and fatigue, but were able to get some serious testing aboard the new ZX-10RR Ninja superbikes shod with Pirelli race rubber.
Sykes put in 70 laps to finish the day with a best lap of 1:49.386, finishing a mere 0.020 of a second ahead of Rea, who put in 42 laps. Both riders spent the day working on chassis and suspension setups.2017 Aragon WorldSBK Test: Kawasaki’s Sykes“I did not use a qualifying tire today and that is what makes me happy,” the 2013 WorldSBK Champion Sykes says. “The standard race tires performed incredibly and the bike was working nicely. I am still feeling a bit second hand, although I had a slight improvement today on my stomach problems.“It is amazing how even with such a small improvement I feel night and day better, physically, on the bike today. I did not intend to do that many laps but I was enjoying myself and overall it was a nice test. We made so many small changes to the bike, working hard with Showa, and I am happy with the progress. We are always learning, always improving. Today the track was in great condition and the Ninja ZX-10RR was working really consistently. It puts a bit of a smile on the end of a difficult weekend.”The man who qualified on pole and won race two, Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Chaz Davies, was third quickest Monday. he and his teammate Marco Melandri worked on the Panigale R’s electronics, engine setup and chassis.When the test finished, Davies was 0.168 of a second behind the Kawasaki riders, and over a half-second ahead of the next fastest rider, Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Michael van der Mark. As for Melandri, the Italian suffered a crash, and was forced to stop testing. He finished 11th overall.2017 Aragon WorldSBK Test: Ducati’s DaviesMilwaukee Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty improved aboard his RSV4 RF, finishing fifth, 0.938 of a second behind Sykes. Rounding out the top 10 were Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Alex Lowes, Red Bull Honda World Superbike’s Stefan Bradl, Althea BMW Racing’s Jordi Torries, Bradl’s teammate Nicky Hayden, and Barni Racing Team Ducati’s Xavi Fores.As for the sole MV Agusta F4 pilot, Leon Camier put in 73 laps, finishing 13th overall, 1.679 seconds off the pace.The SBK teams will participate April 17-18 in another test at Portimao, Portugal, ahead of round four in Assen April 28-30.
KTM RC 390 and Gordon McCall of Quail Motorcycle Gathering
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.
This week features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the new KTM RC 390. The entry-level KTM has always been an impressive motorcycle that has sold extremely well, however the factory has now taken the bike to another level, with top-spec features that are typically found on flagship machines. Clearly KTM has realized that even smaller engined machines should have high spec suspension, brakes and electronics packages. Nic tells us how well the new RC 390 is equipped, and what he thought of riding the smaller displacement rocket.
In the second segment I chat with automotive and motorcycle industry icon, Gordon McCall. Gordon is the Director of Motorsports at the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel Valley, California.
This weekend of Saturday May 14th sees the annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering re-start after its Covid-forced hiatus, and having attended every one of the previous Motorcycle Gatherings, personally I’m very happy that the event is back on the schedule. Gordon chats about the event and a little of what’s happening this year. It’s a great event and if you feel like a trip to the gorgeous Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, you’ll get to meet Gordon, Roland Sands, and of course a large number of stunning motorcycles too.
From all of us at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!