Team Alstare Suzuki Corona
Valencia tests, 27-29 March, 2006
Wednesday 29th March
Circuit: 4.000 kms. Weather: Dry, mostly sunny 22-24C.
PRODUCTIVE THREE DAYS FOR TEAM ALSTARE IN VALENCIA.
Whilst Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser
may not have ended with the fastest time during the 3-day
tests in Valencia, he and the team left the Ricardo Tormo
circuit knowing that they had completed tests on practically
everything they could. The team have tested here enough times
to have a good idea of a base set-up, so most of the tests
were taken up with trying out new things. That meant that
they had little or no time to chase lap times and it was therefore
no surprise that neither Troy nor Yukio ended with the quickest
lap. That honour fell to Troy Bayliss (Ducati) who posted
a lap of 1:33.758, over a second quicker than Neil Hodgson’s
2003 lap record. Second fastest was local hero Ruben Xaus
(Ducati), with Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) third and Troy Corser
fourth. Troy’s team mate Yukio finished with the tenth
quickest time, with Alstare Engineering Corona Extra rider
Fabien Foret thirteenth. But, apart from Bayliss, the lap
times were very close and less than a second separated the
next ten riders, with Foret ending less than a second behind
world champion Troy Corser.
TROY CORSER: best lap (3-day) 1:34.933
Today we carried on trying a whole load of different stuff
and maybe we got a little confused. Many times I went out
to test something and was out for four or five laps to find
out as much as possible. We have been here heaps of times,
so we have a pretty good idea of a base set-up, so that was
something we didn’t feel we had to chase this time.
All in all, it was a pretty productive three days and we ended
with lots of info and data. Today the clutch was pretty consistent
and it seemed OK even after I had done a practice start. Now
we have got a short break before our next test in Misano.
There we will have to concentrate more on finding a good set-up
for the race.
YUKIO KAGAYAMA: best lap (3-day) 1:35.538
Today we continued testing, testing, testing. Many different
things including tyres and mapping. I put in over 200 laps
during these three days and that is a lot of laps! In the
afternoon the wind was quite strong and although it was not
a big problem I knew it would not be possible to chase a very
fast lap time. Valencia is a circuit where you need a good
rhythm to set a fast lap, but it’s very easy to lose
your rhythm if you make a small mistake, miss your apex or
come up against a slower rider. You need a clear track and
good rhythm for a quick lap and I don’t think I ever
got that. But I am happy with the progress we made during
the three days and now the technicians have got a lot of data
to analyse before we make the next step.
FABIEN FORET: best lap (3-day) 1:35.771
My hands are completely blistered and I am a little tired,
but I feel very positive about my next time on the bike -
at the Misano tests in the middle of April. I’m physically
and mentally drained now but, as I said yesterday, I am beginning
to feel that this bike is my bike and I am starting to have
some fun with it. There’s a lot to learn, but I’m
happy that we are making progress and I am happy that my understanding
of the bike is improving every time out. This afternoon I
didn’t want to push too hard and make a stupid mistake,
so I took it steadily - especially when the wind was causing
a bit of a problem. It was important that I didn’t crash
here, so it’s good to do so many laps without any near
falls. I have to work on the throttle exiting the corners,
because that’s where I am losing time to the more experienced
Superbike riders. After many years on a Supersport bike, it’s
quite difficult to change your style so quickly but I am getting
there bit by bit. Now, I’m going to relax a little before
the Misano test. It’s a track I quite like, so I’m
looking forward to it.
Results (3-day)
1 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 182 laps, best lap 1:33.758
2 Xaus (E-Ducati), 138 laps, best lap 1:34.659
3 Lanzi (I-Ducati), 178 laps, best lap 1:34.848
4 TROY CORSER (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 195 laps,
best lap 1:34.933
5 Martin (Aus- Petronas), 156 laps, best lap 1:35.178
6 Haga (J-Yamaha), 176 laps, best lap 1:35.295
7 Nieto (E-Kawasaki), 201 laps, best lap 1:35.377
8 Pitt (Aus-Yamaha), 180 laps, best lap 1:35.423
9 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 178 laps, best lap 1:35.437
10 YUKIO KAGAYAMA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 209 laps,
best lap 1:35.538
13 FABIEN FORET (F-Alstare Engineering Corona Extra) 202 laps,
best lap 1:35.771,
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