ALSTARE POSITIVE AFTER PHILLIP ISLAND TEST
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Yukio Kagayama and
Max Biaggi carried on the development programme of the new
2007 GSX-R1000K7 at Phillip Island and left the Australian
circuit with a lot of positive data for the team to evaluate.
The team had two different engine specifications to try out
and each had different characteristics so a lot of analytical
work had to be carried out so that further progress can be
made next time out.
Biaggi had a very low-speed tip-off at MG corner on day two,
but apart from that, there were no other falls. At the end
of the three-day test, according to the Pirelli time-keeping,
Kagayama finished sixth quickest overall with Biaggi eighth.
Reigning World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) surprised
everybody by posting a lap of 1:30.67, smashing the lap record
in the process on the new Pirelli development tyres.
Yukio Kagayama, 97 laps, best lap1’32’’3:
“In the three days here I didn’t crash so I am
very happy about that! This test has been a lot of hard work
and we have had many things to try on the new 2007 bike. But
we have done a lot of very useful work, even if the lap times
were not as good as maybe we were expecting. I cannot stress
how much work we have all done during these three days and
we have gathered a lot of very useful information.
“We will analyse this back in the workshop and then
work on the next stage at the next test. Phillip Island is
always a good track for testing because of the variety and
I hope the next test will move us forward some more and we
can be ready for the first race in Qatar.”
Max Biaggi, 108 laps, best lap 1’32’’4:
“Phillip Island has been very interesting and we have
had to do a lot of work here to understand this new bike.
We did a couple of long runs, but the results were not so
good because the bike was vibrating a bit and that affected
the overall times. Also the track was quite a bit hotter on
the final day and when that happens normally we don’t
go so quick. I tried two different engine specifications and
got on better with the Japanese spec one. For me it just felt
more comfortable to ride and it was a good engine package.
The team now has a lot of information and data to work with
and the results of this we’ll try at our next test.
Hopefully, the good work we have done in Australia will pay
dividends next time out.
Overall (Pirelli) best times (3-day): 1 Bayliss
(Aus-Ducati) 1’30’’7, 2 Lanzi (I-Ducati)
1:31”2, 3 Toseland (GB-Honda) 1’31’’7,
4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha) 1’32”2, 5 Laconi (F-Kawasaki)
1’32’’2, 6 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 1’32’’3, 7 Nieto (E-Kawasaki)
1’32’’3, 8 Max Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki
Corona Extra) 1’32’’4, 9 Haga (J-Yamaha)
1’32’’8, 10 Rolfo (I-Honda) 1’33’’7.
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