World SuperBike - Valencia Tests- Day 2
| Troy Corser set a series of fast times while completing his scheduled work programme, and was one of only four riders to get under the 1m36s mark. The Australian also improved on his Superpole track record established in last year's race. Regis Laconi was satisfied with sixth fastest time recorded in the two days' test session. The talented French rider, who switched to four-strokes a short time ago, soon demonstrated his extraordinary ability to adapt to a new bike. After riding the Aprilia RSV Mille for the first time in December, Laconi has taken very little time to get to grips with the power and handling of the bike. The Aprilia development team also concluded its work programme at Valencia. New carbon-fibre components including the seat and instrument display mount were tested and these will be used on Corser's and Laconi's official bikes. "Today we did some more work on gearbox ratios with the 2001-spec engine", commented Troy Corser. "The result was very interesting and allowed the power to be distributed more evenly. We also continued working on suspension set-up and tyres for the race. I didn't go for a quick time because it was better to complete preparation for the race in March. My ankle will be much better then and now is not the time to make things worse after my injury in Kyalami. I also tested a set of qualifying tyres, which gave excellent results. This year I'm in it to win the title. It's my goal and I think we can do it." "I have a great feeling with the new engine and I am very satisfied with today's time" said Regis Laconi. "We also concentrated on defining the set-up for the front of the bike and I'm very pleased with the work we did today. It's a pity about the first part of the day because the track was still damp after yesterday's rain. I lapped on race tyres, which we had already tested and which are a good reference point for working on the set-up of the cycle parts. I feel I'm improving at each session and this is gratifying for the commitment with which I am tackling the tests." Castrol Honda's Tady Okada and Colin Edwards recorded the third and fifth best lap times respectively after two days of World Superbike pre-season testing at the Valencia circuit in Spain on Sunday and Monday. After Monday's closing action - the final testing before the series gets under way, at Valencia on March 11 - Okada was in optimistic mood, the Japanese rider commented: "I'm not happy with the lap time, I wanted to be faster but in general I'm happy." He continued: "Despite the rain it's been a good test with no major problems and I'm really looking forward to getting the championship started. We tried a Michelin race tyre today which was good and Iım still looking at the finer set-up settings." Reigning world champion Colin Edwards found himself working harder than anticipated during the two days but was happy with the final outcome. "I'm happy enough. I did struggle through the first day-and-a-half and had that crash on Sunday but we made some changes to the machine at lunchtime today and it was much better. We set the machine up as we had it in Oschersleben last year and it worked a treat, it means losing a little bit of rear traction but that lap time came. And my best lap came on a race tyre not a qualifier, that's always pleasing." The Kawasaki World Superbike and Supersport teams also finished their final day of testing at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit outside Valencia. All the Kawasaki pilots showing significant gains in lap times. Spanish Superbike pilot Gregorio Lavilla set the fastest time for the team, with a 1:36.691. After 112 laps over the course of the two-day test, Lavilla was also the quickest pilot aboard a four-cylinder machine. Teammate Akira Yanagawa knocked over a second off his previous day's best, turning a 1:36.930 after an even 100 laps. Yanagawa crashed in Turn 4 during the second session of the afternoon, but was uninjured, and very happy with the progress made on his ZX-7RR. Guest rider Hitoyasu Izutsu continued to improve, and finished 18th overall with a best lap time of 1:37.424. "I am very happy," Yanagawa said of his gains in the final day's afternoon session, "Finally, I crash--I went in too fast, and just lost the front end-but I was 1.5 seconds faster than last year. But I'm not pushing very hard, and the setup that we found I'm much more comfortable with. It was easier to slide the bike and get it to turn." "It was a bit better today, we had great conditions," Lavilla explained. "We were trying two different bikes with two different setup directions. We broke last's year's race time by one-half second, and that is still using the 2000 engine. I know some of the other riders are using a qualifying tire to get their fast times, but we've done all our laps on a race tire." |