Rea heads British supremacy at Portimao
Weather conditions: Overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon.
Temperature: Air: 15 – 20 °C, Track: 12 – 22 °C
Number of riders participating: 20 from 11 teams
Fastest lap overall: Jonathan Rea (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda) 1:42.270 min
Circuit length: 4.658 km
Jonathan Rea powered to the best time at the end of the three-day Infront Motor Sports official Superbike test session at Portimao in Portugal. The Northern Ireland youngster’s time of 1 minute 42.270 seconds was quicker even than Ben Spies’ 2009 pole mark for Yamaha.
The battle between Rea and his fellow-Brit Leon Haslam, who had been quickest on day 1, continued right until the very end, the Suzuki Alstare man ending up three-tenths behind. British rider domination continued with Shane Byrne taking his private Althea Ducati 1098 to third place in the timesheets, and with Cal Crutchlow, one of Yamaha Sterilgarda’s two new 2010 signings, in fourth.
In the final stages, after most of the top riders had used their soft tyres normally reserved for Superpole, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) found himself in fifth place with a time of 1’43.137 ahead of former double world champion James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda), who returns to Superbike after a gap of two seasons.
Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) was the only one of the leading runners not to go out on softer rubber and the Italian finished the test in seventh place with a time of 1’43.364, just ahead of 2009 runner-up Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox), forced to slow with a technical problem during his quick lap.
Jonathan Rea: “This test was a lot of fun, we worked through everything methodically and we are in good shape to begin the season. We got most of the big things like suspension spec, linkage and swing-arm teed off so now we can go to Phillip Island and fine-tune our racing. To say we are ready to go racing at Phillip Island, we’re not sure about that, but the bike is ready and now I plan to put the next three or four weeks to good use with my trainer and hopefully I’ll be ready. We’re all excited about the prospect of racing for a world championship.”
Leon Haslam: “It’s been a really positive test, we managed to test the Suzuki for the first time in the rain and intermediate conditions. We had a few issues at the end of the day but ended up second and I was really happy with that. Every test I’ve been to so far, this is our fourth, we’ve not been outside the top 2. Hopefully we can continue progressing and I can take it to Phillip Island.”
Shane Byrne: “This is my third year riding the Ducati and I honestly thought I knew everything there was to know about these bikes, but this year Genesio (Bevilacqua, team owner) has put together a fantastic team and we have two very good bikes. I have a strong team-mate, everything about the team is very good, the bike is so different from last year, and we made some really good progress in three days. I wish the second day had been dry also, so we still have some more work to do now at Valencia and Phillip Island before the first race.”
The 2010 Superbike winter tests will conclude at Phillip Island the week before the start of the season at the same circuit in Australia on February 28th. In the next few days however several teams, including BMW, Aprilia and Ducati, will be heading to Valencia for some extra testing.
Times:
1. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’42.270;
2. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’42.557;
3. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’42.877;
4. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’42.960;
5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.137;
6. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’43.157;
7. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1’43.364;
8. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’43.417;
9. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.471;
10. Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’43.508;
11. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’43.629;
12. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 1’43.749;
13. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’43.931;
14. Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.108;
15. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.365;
16. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.570
World Supersport
Eugene Laverty (Honda Team Parkalgar) finally made the breakthrough he had been looking for in the three-day World Supersport test at Portimao as he knocked Spain’s Joan Lascorz off the top slot towards the end of the final session.
Last year’s championship runner-up lapped the Algarve circuit in 1 minute 45.104 seconds, a fraction quicker than Lascorz’s lap record, set last October. The circuit best lap of 1’44.836 remains in the hands of Laverty, with his 2009 pole time.
The Irishman was the only one of the leading group to improve in the sixth session and he ended up a tenth quicker than Lascorz, who had dominated Friday and Saturday. Third place, with a time of 1’45.587, went to an impressive Michele Pirro, the Italian putting in some serious lap time on his new Hannspree Ten Kate Honda mount. Team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu was unable to take part in the test as the Turk will still require more recovery time for his fractured left ankle.
Sixth place went to Chaz Davies on the Triumph 675 in 1’46.988, while on the same BE1 Racing machine American rookie Jason DiSalvo also eased his way into the picture with tenth quickest time of 1’47.054.
Kuja Racing Honda’s Paolo Cazzola, the first woman to take part full-time in the world championship, finished in a respectable 13th place on her debut.
Times:
1. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.104;
2. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’45.292;
3. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.587;
4. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.834;
5. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’45.988;
6. Davies C. (GBR) Triumph Daytona 675 1’46.610;
7. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’46.836;
8. Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 1’47.054
— Ten Kate Report
Jonathan Rea emerged with the fastest overall time after the World Superbike three-day pre-season test concluded at Portimao in Portugal this afternoon.
After a total of 143 laps of the 4.592km circuit, the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider’s time of 1’42.470 – set two minutes before the end of the final session – beat the circuit best lap of 2009 World Superbike champion, Ben Spies, by two tenths of a second.
The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland was also fastest in this morning’s penultimate session, when he beat fellow Brit Leon Haslam by just 0.001s. Haslam was second fastest overall, with another Briton, Shane Byrne third.
Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team mate, Max Neukirchner, was ninth fastest overall after finding an improved set-up on his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade just eight laps before the test concluded this afternoon.
Jonathan Rea – 143 laps, 1’42.270s
These three days have just been part of our preparation for the new season – preparation that started almost as soon as last season finished. We were fast at Valencia in December but didn’t get the chance to put all our best settings together. We were able to do that here, and throw in a number of different tyres this afternoon. It was good to see P1 on the pit board for a lot of laps here and we know we have a good package to take to Australia now. We’ve got something that won’t be so hard on the tyres, which was a problem there last year. I’m feeling in great condition and feel that my focus and concentration have improved on last season. The bike itself is now just clicks away, rather than having to change lots of different things. We’re actually not that far away from when we first changed to Ohlins last June and now it’s all about fine-tuning.
Max Neukirchner – 166 laps, 1’43.471s
The first day here I really didn’t have a good feeling, and then yesterday it was wet. Although it was good to ride the bike in those conditions, it didn’t allow us to improve the feeling. Today we tried a setting similar to Johnny’s but our riding styles are quite different and I ended up having a small crash. Then we made a change to take the bike back towards where we were on the last day at the Valencia test – we made the rear a little softer and the bike was completely different. The last eight laps I was really enjoying myself and I think we have a good base to work from now and we can make the bike better suited to my style of riding. Now I can look forward to Australia much more, because I love riding at Phillip Island – it’s very fast and my kind of track!
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
Well, the weather didn’t really help us stick to our testing plan, the main thrust of which was to narrow down our options before the start of the season so that both riders might have something they could call a base setting. However, I believe we’ve achieved a lot here and we are better prepared than we’ve ever been at the start of a season. Max is on schedule and, although he has some ground to make up, he is improving step-by-step. Jonathan has been quick in all conditions and the smile on his face and his apparent sheer joy of riding the bike, tells us more than megabytes of data from his bike!
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s new World Supersport signing, Michele Pirro, continued to impress this afternoon at Portimao in Portugal where he finished third fastest after a three-day pre-season test.
With team-mate and 2007 World Champion, Kenan Sofuoglu sitting out the test due to a fractured ankle, it was left to the 23-year-old Italian to undertake sole testing duties for the team at the 4.592km Portuguese circuit.
Over the three days of the test, Pirro has evaluated new electronics and suspension components for the Honda CBR600RR, as well as helping Pirelli to develop the latest generation of Supersport tyres.
Michele Pirro – 96 laps, 1’45.587s
Since I first rode for the team last November, the bike has improved a lot and I have a much better feeling. Electronics, suspension and the engine have all improved and I’m very happy with the work we have done over these three days. Unfortunately, the weather has not been so good and the track has been wet a lot of the time, so I was not able to push as hard as I wanted. It has been an important test though, and it confirmed to me that we can compete for the top positions when the season begins next month. I would like to thank the team for all the hard work they have done to help me. My confidence is building all the time and I believe we can hope for a good result at the first race in Australia.
Kenan Sofuoglu
I tried sitting on the bike on Thursday evening and on Friday morning with some careful strapping and a special boot. I knew it would be difficult, but we had to try and unfortunately it was not possible for me to ride here at Portimao. If I had damaged my ankle further I would have missed the first race for sure. It’s much better for the championship and for my body to be fit for Phillip Island. It certainly hasn’t been easy to watch everybody else here but this time it has been better for me than riding. I will go home now and keep my leg in plaster for another 10 days and keep cycling to stay as fit as possible. It will be difficult in Australia after more than two months without riding the bike, but Michele and the crew have been working hard here and we made a good test in Valencia in December. Michele has been doing a great job and certainly put his name in the picture for the season ahead. But I’m very confident in myself and the CBR600RR and cannot wait for the first race.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
After consulting with the doctors at the Clinica Mobile, we took the decision for Kenan not to ride here. It’s always a pity to miss out on a testing opportunity but he has been fast in our other two winter tests and he’ll be fully fit again for Phillip Island. Michele has done a great job here – he’s consistently improving himself and working better all the time with his crew. I believe there is a lot more to come and at least he won’t be an unexpected surprise at the beginning of the season.
— Ducati Report
On the third and final day of Superbike testing at the Portuguese track, the Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio were finally able to get properly to work having been impeded over the last two days by both the heavy rain and, for Michel, influenza.
The asphalt had completely dried out by mid-morning and lap times started to tumble with Noriyuki and Michel able to clock up a decent number of fast laps during the first of the day’s two sessions. The riders made small set-up changes and tested the three rear solutions that Pirelli provided and by lunchtime the team-mates had powered their Ducati 1198 machines to 3rd (Noriyuki) and 4th (Michel) place.
The afternoon remained dry and the final two-hour session saw Noriyuki and Michel continuing to work with various rear tyre compounds in an attempt to maximize grip, but unfortunately the softer compounds didn’t bring the results that were hoped for.
Over the three-day testing period, consistently fast performances have come mainly from the “Brit-pack”, or rather Rea, Haslam, Byrne and Crutchlow and in the final list of timings over all three days, it was those four riders ahead of Michel with the fifth fastest time and Noriyuki with the eighth. Respectable performances were also given by Ducati privateers Team Althea Racing, with Shane Byrne and Carlos Checa riding their Ducati 1198 bikes to 3rd and 11th position respectively.
Noriyuki Haga
“We got in a lot more track time today, and the weather held thankfully. This morning I had a fairly good feeling on my bike and was able to record some consistently fast laps but then in the afternoon, even though we didn’t make many changes between the sessions, I found it harder to improve. It seems like today was the day of the four cylinders! Having said this, these days were definitely useful after the long break over winter. We have worked well as a team and now we go straight on to Valencia to continue with the work.”
Michel Fabrizio
“Today wasn’t an easy day, despite the fact that the weather stayed dry. I don’t know why but I just didn’t find the right feeling. We tried three different tyres and we also changed the clutch but I couldn’t really feel the differences in riding the bike. Maybe we needed more track time in order to solve the problem. I hoped to go faster but we’re remaining positive; we’ll see if we can make further improvements at Valencia this week.”
Ernesto Marinelli – Team Manager
“In the last three days we have started the work that we will continue for a year, we have seen some changes of personnel and the team is responding well. This first test didn’t give us exactly the results we were hoping for but the long break away from the track and the difficult conditions yesterday certainly didn’t help. Now the team travels directly to Valencia where we will carry out two more days worth of important testing; it will be a hard-fought championship but we are ready to give it our all.”
— BMW Report
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport today worked on the chassis set-up of Troy Corser’s (AUS) and Ruben Xaus’ (ESP) BMW S 1000 RR. Ruben crashed in the first session, but was able to return to the garage under his own steam and continued testing. Troy’s crew had no technical difficulties.
Troy Corser:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Test kilometres today: 302 (65 laps)
Fastest lap free practice 1: 1:44.608 min / Fastest lap free practice 2: 1:43.931 min
“We tried a lot of new stuff today on the chassis side and compared the different tyre compounds. The lap time on the race tyres was quite ok, but we did not quite achieve what we expected with the softer tyre. We gained a lot of valuable information which is good as there is still a lot of work to do.”
Ruben Xaus:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Test kilometres today: 247 (53 laps)
Fastest lap free practice 1: 1:45.810 min / Fastest lap free practice 2: 1:44.925 min
“Today was not a lucky day for me. In the morning I crashed and later I faced some technical issues we have to work on. However, the test was worth a lot. During the season, there will be a couple of days like that. We have to make the best out of it. I know what I can achieve, and the team is really motivated.”
Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport will head directly to Valencia. Both Troy and Ruben will test at Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo on Wednesday and Thursday.
— Yamaha Sterilgarda
Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team finish up the final day at Portimao
Riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland completed their final day of testing today at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. The two British riders have worked hard over the three days, experiencing a variety of weather conditions from dry to wet to intermediate as they and the team worked through various electronic and bike set ups ahead of the 2010 season.
The final session saw Cal fall victim to the drastically reduced grip of the track following yesterday’s rain. Fifty minutes from the end he lost the front of the bike on the slippery surface on the last corner before the home straight. In typical form he was back on his spare bike shortly afterwards for the remainder of the session. Team-mate James was consistently fast all day, ending the last test day just outside the top five in sixth position.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (4th, 1’42.9)
“it was frustrating to fall today, the track so was so slippery it was unavoidable, but it cost me some time on the track. Having said that we’ve had a really good test, we’ve worked through a lot of things and I think we’ve got closer to a good set-up for the first race. I’m really keen to get to Australia and start the next test before we kick-off racing.”
James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (6th, 1’43.1)
“I’m really pleased overall. We’ve worked through a lot of stuff over the last three days and I feel I’ve got a lot more understanding of the bike. The team has worked really well and I’m pleased we’ve managed to keep consistent fast pace over the test. I think there’s more to come so I’m looking forward to getting started again!”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“Unfortunately the grip level was much less than Friday, so until the soft tyres went on the lap times were not as fast as when we started the test. All the riders struggled to find good grip, so the problem was with the track, not the riders. Cal lost some time after his fall, he switched bikes but had no experience on the tyre on the second bike so couldn’t push so hard. James rode really well today, he is always consistent and was definitely fast enough for the conditions out there. Overall we go to Australia feeling confident and with a good spirit. We’ve had a really successful test, we’ve got some great feedback and have made a good start to 2010.”
— Suzuki Report
Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli made a positive start to the 2010 season at the three-day official World Superbike Championship test in Portimao, Portugal in second and 10th places respectively aboard their Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000s.
Haslam led the first day and was second in day two’s damp conditions before finishing just behind fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda) today. His continuing good form was all the more impressive considering that he had arrived at the tests suffering with the Flu virus, but once he was on his Suzuki, he was able to overcome it and stay in the top-two all weekend.
Team mate Guintoli also performed well during the test and says he now is ready to race the bike.
Leon Haslam – 2nd, 147 laps, 1:42.557:
“On the first day of the test, the track was in good condition and my lap times came easy, so I was looking forward to more of the same. But Day Two started wet and although that put-paid to some of our plans, it did allow us to work on finding a good wet set-up and that’s what we did. Today, the track felt a bit slippery – probably because of yesterday’s rain – and then the wind picked up in the afternoon so I couldn’t really make any big improvement on my lap times. Also, I got baulked on my hot lap and lost some time and, if it had not have been for that, I may have just sneaked ahead of Jonathan.
But the important thing is that I am happy and the team are happy. We got through a lot of things and achieved everything we set out to do.
“The good work started the first time I rode bike, back in October, and since then we’ve just kept on improving and now I feel we are ready to race. This track is an excellent track for testing because it has got a bit of everything and it is also very demanding. I think if you can get a good set-up here – which we have done – it will be a good base for all the other tracks on the calendar. I am really happy with the whole team and I think we’ve got a great all-round package to challenge for the title.”
Sylvain Guintoli – 10th, 191 laps, 1:43.508:
“We started these tests with a lot of work to look forward to and I am happy because we have done a lot of good work and we are now already a stage where I feel I can race this bike. In dry conditions, we found the best setting for the bike that suits me and one that makes me happy and comfortable. The wet was good because, once again, we found a good set-up and I was again able to feel comfortable and ride the bike easily. Today the track was not in such good condition and it also was quite windy in the afternoon. I didn’t feel it had as much grip as the first day, but in the end it didn’t matter so much because we achieved what we wanted to do and ended with very good feelings. I am very happy with the bike and the team and now all I want to do is start racing!”
— Althea Ducati
Carlos Checa and Shakey Byrne have today concluded the tests taking place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve near Portimao in Portugal. After yesterday’s rain, the track was still very wet for the morning practice but the sun came out mid-session and on a dry track Byrne was able to finish twenty eight laps with a best lap time of 1,44,527. Teammate Checa finished twenty two laps and his best time was 1,44,599. The afternoon session took place on a sunny and dry race track. Both riders worked through electronic and chassis settings on their Ducati 1198 superbikes, showing their growing improvement with every outing. Byrne scored an excellent third position (1,42,887) while Checa ended in eleventh place (1,43,629). The Althea Racing team now move on to Valencia in Spain for two more test days on 27th and 28th January, to take the next steps in the development of the bikes.
Carlos Checa :”It was good to be here and get more time on the bike and work with the team. We worked on some settings over the test we got to try a few things with the bike and made a big step up. Unfortunately the weather didn’t allow us to get more. Unfortunately this afternoon I was not able to take any advantage from the soft tyre. Anyway we’re continuing to improve and I’m confident for the incoming season. The team have been great and we’re working really well together. Now I’m looking forward to getting to Valencia for two more days of testing ”.
Shane Byrne :”I think that all my team done a very good job this weekend and I want to thank Genesio Bevilacqua for his great work and also Ducati, because they gave us a really strong bike. It has been hard work and I was surprised to see how difficult it was to go fast with this bike. I started the test with exactly the same setting from my race bike from last year so the bike should be easy for me to ride, but the electronics of my 1198 are really very advanced and it took all Friday and today’s test to make the most from my Ducati. I think I learned more in these test than in all last year. It has been a very good test and I’m very happy with the team and I hope to continue to work like this for all the season and now I look forward to the next test in Valencia“.
Genesio Bevilacqua – Team General Manager :”As a first test, I think it went really well. We didn’t have any problems and both riders did a very good job and so I’m very satisfied with how the test has gone. We didn’t test as much as we would have liked to here, but in the end our riders performed brilliantly and worked well with the team. I would like to thank all our technicians for their big effort and also Ducati who put our team in the condition to reach these good results. There’s still stuff we have to fix, but considering we have a new bike and new riders we are pretty satisfied and confident. For sure we will have more performance from the bike next week at the Valencia test”.
— Earlier Reports – Day 1 Report – Day 2 Report
— Pirelli Report
Pirelli continued its successful development plan in Portugal at the season-opening tests, improving on Best Laps made at the Algarve circuit by previous World Champions Troy Bayliss and Ben Spies. Jonathan Rea of the UK took his Honda CBR1000RR through the track with a time of 1’42.270, a tenth and a half below the time set by Spies in October’s final weekend of 2009. Additional news came from online press presentation hosted Friday evening, where Pirelli hinted at the availability of new race-replica slick tyres, called the DIABLO SUPERCORSA PRO, a new tyre with Superbike technology dedicated to racers preparing for competition and racing for fun users looking for more long-lasting trackday fun.
The Superbike grid saw the arrival of two MotoGP riders and former World Champions, James Toseland (Yamaha) and Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki), whose experience shall offer valuable new feedback for Pirelli tyre development. 2010 will be the second season for British riders Jonathan Rea (Honda), Tom Sykes (Yamaha), Leon Haslam (Suzuki) and last year’s World Supersport champion Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha); combined with the same strong Ducati squad of Noriyuki Haga and Michel
Fabrizio, the Superbike’s incredibly diverse gird shall be an intense arena for PIRELLI’s tyre engineers.
Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director for Pirelli Moto commented: “2010 is the seventh year for Pirelli as the sole tyre supplier for the Superbike World Championship and the first year a new 3-year partnership. We continue to focus on what we call the three ‘I’s’: Identity, meaning to keep the same rules that identify each of the four production-based classes and our continuous tyre development; Investment, as Pirelli and Infront continue to invest in the visibility through TV and will begin awarding riders for performances in each race; and new Ideas, like the introduction of the long-lasting DIABLO SUPERBIKE PRO slicks which bring user friendly technology from this championship to our end consumers who seek value as well as performance.”
For Portimão’s season opening tests, the PIRELLI tyre supply consisted of 3700 tyres with nearly 16 new solutions for the participating Superbike and Supersport classes, including a full compliment of racing-slicks, intermediate, rain and DOT tyres. This year’s product range will benefit from advances
in the compounding process which have a positively effect on tyre compound stability, duration and resistance to temperature changes. At the start of the testing, reference tyres from the last two years’ races in Portimão were used as a way of acclimating riders to their new bikes. PIRELLI enters the new
season with a tough challenge: to reach lap times and overall race times that surpass the 20 seconds per race improvement achieved during the 2009 season. PIRELLI’s presence in Portimão was comprised of racing development engineers from R&D, compound experts and the regular team technicians who will follow each of the season’s 13 races and various testing events.
Day 1-2:
The first day of Pirelli’s testing experience at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve opened with a bit of fanfare, as Lean Haslam climbed aboard his new Suzuki race bike topped the charts with a 1’42.778, just three tenths off Ben Spies’ best lap from last season. This time was registered on the DIABLO SUPERBIKE tyres in a standard production compound, since the riders would not development product until the following day. Haslam’s near record time was not far in front of fellow Englishmen Crutchlow (Yamaha), Rea (Honda) and Italian rider Max Biaggi (Aprilia). Teammate Toseland’s (Yamaha) time of 1’43.378 put the first five riders within just a half of a second of this mark.
The rainy weather in the morning of the second day of testing left only the possibility to make sessions with the DIABLO RAIN tyres, followed with the DIABLO WET tyres in the afternoon. These conditions, however, were perfect for confirming PIRELLI’s new wet solution which offers a significant advantage to the SBK riders in a flag-to-flag environment, a product not available in the MotoGP series. Jonathan Rea (Honda) made the best time on rain tyres in the morning sessions with a 1’55.062, and led the charts again in the afternoon sessions with a lap time nearly six seconds faster.
Considering the adverse conditions, the best times on Saturday were posted by six of the seven manufacturers: Haslam (Suzuki), Corser (BMW), Crutchlow (Yamaha), Sykes (Kawasaki) and Haga (Ducati), all following the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda of Rea. The new DIABLO WET tyres proved to be durable enough to make a race distance as well as versatile enough to offer performance among these varieties of setups.
Friday/Saturday – Test Results
Pos. Rider Bike Team Lap time
1 L. Haslam Suzuki GSX-R1000 Team Suzuki Alstare 1’42.778
2 C. Crutchlow Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Sterilgarda Team +0.182
3 J. Rea Honda CBR1000R HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 0.255
4 M. Biaggi Aprilia RSV4 1000 Aprilia Racing 0.586
5 J. Toseland Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Sterilgarda Team 0.600
Day 3:
Sunday morning’s session seemed more of a warm-up, as Superbike riders were not yet confident with the track temperature and conditions to reach the maximum potential out of the new solutions being tested. It was again Rea (Honda) who marked the lowest time with a 1’43.059, but this was only one thousandth faster than Haslam (Suzuki), opening a dual which might last the entire season. Ducati riders Haga and Fabrizio finally found their rhythm in the second session, putting in the next two best laps. The favourite for the weekend seemed to be that of Supersport champion Crutchlow, but he was unable to find Friday’s setup and could not move up past fifth for the day.
With the track finally dry on Sunday afternoon, testing could truly begin with new development solutions, including those dedicated to compound stability, duration and resistance to temperature changes. Rea (Honda) registered a time 0.142 seconds below Spies’ Best Lap of ’09 for a weekend best time of 1’42.270. In each PIRELLI’s last three visits to Portimão, the track times have continued to fall. These significant elements of progress are in line with the development plans set forth by Pirelli engineers at the start and finish of each Superbike season.
Sunday – Test Results – Superbike
Pos. Rider Bike Team Lap Time
1 J. Rea Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 1’42.270
2 L. Haslam Suzuki GSX-R1000 Team Suzuki Alstare +0.287
3 S. Byrne Ducati 1098R Althea Racing 0.607
4 M. Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 0.867
5 C. Crutchlow Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Sterilgarda Team 0.871
Final Times – Superbike
Pos. Rider Bike Team Time
1 J. Rea Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 1’42.270
2 L. Haslam Suzuki GSX-R1000 Team Suzuki Alstare +0.287
3 S. Byrne Ducati 1098R Althea Racing 0.607
4 C. Crutchlow Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Sterilgarda Team 0.69
5 M. Fabrizio Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 0.867
6 J. Toseland Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha Sterilgarda Team 0.887
7 M. Biaggi Aprilia RSV4 1000 F Aprilia Racing 1.094
8 N. Haga Ducati 1098R Ducati Xerox Team 1.147
9 M. Neukirchner Honda CBR1000RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 1.201
10 S. Guintoli Suzuki GSX-R1000 Team Suzuki Alstare 1.238
WORLD SUPERSPORT
Day 1-2:
A strong talent of Supersport riders is elemental in both the population of the Superbike grid as well as the development of PIRELLI’s DIABLO SUPERCORSA SC tyres, which eventually make their way into national championships and club racers worldwide. Two new entries came from AMA Pro Racing, American Jason Di Salvo and Welsh rider Chaz Davies, both taking seats on Triumph bikes this year.
Triumph’s increased presence with its four riders, along with the ParkinGO European cup will add significant feedback from yet another manufacturer. Pirelli also welcomes female rider Paola Cazzola, winner of last year’s Metzeler R6 Cup who will pilot a Honda for Kuja racing.
The grid of Supersport riders was off and running Friday, when Spaniard Lascorz (Kawasaki) ripped a 1’45.292, just a fraction away from his own race time from October. A great performance was also seen by the three Hondas of M. Pirro, M. Praia and E. Laverty, the latter two of whom represent Parkalgar Honda and its home track.
Saturday morning’s weather forced the use of wet tyres, but PIRELLI took the opportunity to test new DIABLO RAIN and DIABLO WET solutions which offer more traction, aquaplaning resistance and overall duration in these conditions. In the second session of the day, DOT tyres came back out, but with a damp track it was not possible to reach the maximum potential.
Friday/Saturday – Test Results – Supersport
Pos. Rider Bike Team Lap time
1 J. Lascorz Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com 1’45.292
2 M. Pirro Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda +0.295
3 M. Praia Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 0.542
4 E. Laverty Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 0.617
5 K. Fujiwara Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com 0.696
Day 3:
The local Parkalgar team and the vice-champion Supersport rider Eugene Laverty (Honda) left Portugal with the weekend’s best testing time for the 600cc bikes, cutting .082 seconds off the 1’45.186 lap record of Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) on a new DIABLO SUPERCORSA SC solution. Lascorz, even though his performance was strong all weekend, having led both of the sessions on Friday, could not surpass Friday’s best time of 1’45.292. The Honda unit of former Lorenzini pilot Michele Pirro completed the first three, with the Triumph piloted by Chaz Davies coming in fifth for the day.
Sunday – Test Results – Supersport
Pos. Rider Bike Team Lap time
1 E. Laverty Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 1’45.104
2 J. Lascorz Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com +0.29
3 M. Pirro Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 0.567
4 M. Praia Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 1.374
5 C. Davies Triumph Daytona 675 ParkinGO Triumph BE1 1.624
Final Times – Supersport
Pos. Rider Bike Team Lap time
1 E. Laverty Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 1’45.104
2 J. Lascorz Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com +0.188
3 M. Pirro Honda CBR600RR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda 0.483
4 M. Praia Honda CBR600RR Parkalgar Honda 0.730
5 K. Fujiwara Kawasaki ZX-6R Kawasaki Motocard.com 0.884
6 C. Davies Triumph Daytona 675 ParkinGO Triumph BE1 1.506
7 F. Foret Kawasaki ZX-6R Lorenzini by Leoni 1.732
8 D. Salom Triumph Daytona 675 ParkinGO BE1 Triumph 1.950
9 J. Di Salvo Triumph Daytona 675 ParkinGO BE1 Triumph 2.669
10 D Dell’Omo Honda CBR600RR Kuja Racing 2.994
