Haga and Corser make real progress in testing at Vallelunga
Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
used their two days of official testing time at the Vallelunga
circuit to prepare for the next races, and came away from
Vallelunga with positive results all round.
The sessions were a combined official FGSport outing and
a Development Teams Test for Pirelli, and both Noriyuki and
Troy found some advantages in the latest specification of
control tyres.
With track temperatures climbing to over 60°C on the
final afternoon most riders set their best times during the
final day’s morning session. Over the two days, Corser
finished top Yamaha rider, with a 1’36.770. Noriyuki
had set his fastest lap of 1’37.115 on the afternoon
of the first day, which was generally cooler than day two.
Despite the incredibly hot track temperatures, each rider
found great improvements in the duration of the latest rear
tyres during their long runs. The Vallelunga race itself,
scheduled for September, is expected to be considerably cooler
than it was during this test, but the team learned many valuable
lessons for immediate and long-term use.
Each rider tried out Öhlins electronic suspension units,
which were being tested for the first time in public at this
event and despite having limited track time in which to try
them out, initial results were declared positive by each rider.
The team also ran their latest exhaust developments, which
made for a better engine response and slightly more power
through the rev range.
Troy Corser (5th - 1’36.770 - 127 laps - Yamaha
Motor Italia WSB Team)
“I was happy enough with that test. We tried lots of
different things with the suspension and the new things we
worked with seemed pretty good. Overall the bike was working
well and the new tyres they brought seemed to give us more
life. They were not that much different in single lap times
but they just lasted longer. We did a long run and from the
first to the last lap the lap time was pretty good. I think
there was more time to come off if we had pushed harder but
we are testing, not qualifying. The temperature going up didn’t
offer us much grip at all and there seemed to be less track
grip than at Misano, which is unusual. It doesn’t feel
as hot here but the tarmac obviously holds more heat. The
test has been good, no silly mistakes or crashes, so it’s
been positive all round.”
Noriyuki Haga (8th - 1’37.115 - 131 laps -
Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
“I’m happy with the test and we did most of our
work on our normal suspension set-up because that is what
we will be using in real race conditions. We had a little
problem finding a good final set-up to go faster than we did
on day one, and we could not improve today. But in our long
run the lap times were good, consistent and we had the same
experience as Troy with the development tyres. They lasted
longer than the regular ones. In this regard we are happy
and the important thing is that the track temperature may
be different for the race in two months, but we hope to use
a similar machine set-up September.”
Silvano Galbusera (Technical Chief, Yamaha Motor
Italia WSB Team)
"We tested the electronic suspension for the first time
and it seems to have good possibilities. Troy was happy with
it, and we used it with Nori for a short time. We found a
good solution from Pirelli for the races and both riders’
long runs were very good, and maybe Nori was slightly longer.
I think he did 20 laps, with good results. Some riders could
push harder for a single lap today, and because of that they
set a better time, but we are happy with the work we did to
make sure we will be ready for the races. Our new exhaust
design was a small improvement in all areas. It is hard to
do that at this stage of the season so the final result was
good all round.”
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