Motourage

Andrea Dovizioso

A weather-hit, three-day MotoGP test session at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia ended in positive fashion for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow today.

Torrential rain on the first and second day led to restricted track time, but both riders took advantage of hot, humid and dry conditions on the final day to carry out crucial development work on the new Yamaha YZR-M1 1000cc machine.

Dovizioso completed 54 laps on his way to setting a best time of 2.00.802 that left him in third place on the final timesheets. He was only 0.329s behind reigning World Champion Casey Stoner in first position, and he finished the fastest non-factory rider. Close to full fitness after breaking his right collarbone in a training accident in early January, Dovizioso got through a packed testing schedule, which included experimenting with different riding positions to help him feel more comfortable on the YZR-M1. He also successfully analyzed a revised Yamaha engine spec that improved corner entry, and on the final afternoon he completed a long run of 15 laps to understand the endurance performance of Bridgestone’s new softer construction tires designed specifically for the 1000cc machines.

The second Sepang test was also a big success for British rider Crutchlow, who declared himself satisfied with the updated Yamaha engine made available in Sepang. The 26-year-old set a personal best time of 2.00.986, which was only just over 0.1s slower than factory Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo and he set the fifth best time to continue his excellent pre-season form for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.

Andrea Dovizioso, 2.00.802 min:
“Despite the rain disrupting the first two days, this has been a really positive test and I am very happy. I did my first laps in the rain on the Yamaha and I had a very positive feeling. The engine was very smooth and I could manage the sliding but one very important area was my physical condition. My shoulder was much better than the first test here and this enabled me to understand the potential of the YZR-M1 machine much more. I am much more confident on the bike and I am happy with the lap time and the position and we have done a very good job understanding many things here. I like the new engine because it helps with the corner entry, and this was already a really strong point of the Yamaha. I did a long run of 15 laps today and it was important to learn the characteristics of the bike over a longer distance. It was really interesting to understand about tire wear and we have some work to do but the potential of the bike is already at a very high level. Now I am really looking forward to the next test in Jerez because it is a completely different track with different temperature and this will be good experience for me to understand the bike even more.”

Cal Crutchlow, 2.00.986 min:
“I am really happy because the weather obviously played a big part the first two days but we were able to get some dry track time today and make some good progress with the bike. I like the new engine from Yamaha and credit to them because they have been working hard and the improvement bodes well for the start of the season. I’m happy with my lap time because this is not my favorite track at all, and I am fifth fastest and very close to the top three. A major positive too is that I am very consistent and this is something that I have improved from last year. This gives me a lot of confidence and encouragement and I’m really enjoying riding the 1000cc bike. I did a long run of 12 laps, and the new tires were sliding around quite a bit. It made it very physical but quite good but it looks like tire management is going to be more important than ever. The bike is working well at Sepang but now I’m curious to see how it performs in Jerez. That’s a completely different track and the weather will be much cooler, so this will give us another indication of the potential of the bike.”

Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies were back in action today for the second official IRTA test of 2012 at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. Weather proved to be the biggest challenging factor for the day with rain sweeping in after lunch to wash out much of the afternoon’s testing.

Lorenzo and Spies made the most of the dry time they had to make a final shake down on differing YZR-M1 engine specifications to finalize a standard set-up for the start of the season. The focus is also on finding a solution to the chattering problem affecting all teams on the track.

Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd, 2.02.436, 22 Laps
“We started with a different engine spec to the one we used in the last test. Today it was difficult to make any comparisons as the track was in much worse condition than last time and the lap times were much slower. The rain also meant we couldn’t finish everything we wanted to today on the track so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Ben Spies, 4th, 2.02.819, 31 Laps
“Everything was good this morning; we were just waiting for the weather to improve in the afternoon. The Yamaha engineers delivered a lot for us to test again, it’s important we go the right way with the parts and not worry too much about what everyone else is doing. We have to focus on the task at hand which is what we’re doing and getting through all the updates methodically. We will keep working and hope for some good weather in the next two days.”

Test Times
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 2’01.761
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’02.005
3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.436
4. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.819
5. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2’02.959
6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2’03.132
7. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2’03.213
8. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2’03.245
9. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2’03.612
10. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2’03.820
11. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2’03.830
12. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2’05.563
13. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2’05.563
14. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’08.109
15. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing 2’08.767

Sepang Record Lap
C.Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2’02.108

Sepang Best Lap
V.Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 2’00.518

Four weeks after the first official 2012 test, MotoGP teams and riders returned to Malaysia for the second winter; a three-day practices session ahead of the season kickoff on April 8 in Qatar.

On day one, LCR Honda MotoGP Team rookie Stefan Bradl and his colleagues were greeted by warm humid weather conditions including some rain at lunchtime, but the German rider completed 31 laps aboard his Honda RC213V getting the tenth-fastest lap of the day (2’03.820) while Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner topped the time sheet at 2’01.761.

Bradl, 10th:
“Well, the surface conditions today were not very good due to the rain but we could make our first long run in the wet to see my feeling on wet tires. I lapped 2 seconds slower than my first test here but on these conditions I take the most of the bike and we will proceed our set up work in the next two days. Technically speaking we have compared the 2 chassis spec. working on rear suspension too and we have tested a new map which includes the wheelie software.”

Oscar McIntyre (Image courtesy of Keith Muir)

Queensland, Australia rider Oscar McIntyre, has died from injuries sustained during a crash in the ASBK Superstock 600cc Championship race yesterday at about 2pm local time. McIntyre was involved in a crash with two other riders – Luke Burgess and Michael Lockhart – on the second lap of the race. Burgess has now been released while Lockhart is still being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. ASBK was participating as a support series for this weekend’s World Superbike Championship season opener at Phillip Island. WSBK Superpole was canceled as the result of the tragedy. The starting grid for tomorrow’s race will be determined by combined qualifying times.

Tomorrow’s WSBK Starting Order:
1: Tom Sykes, Kawasaki Racing Team
2: Max Biaggi, Aprilia Racing Team
3: Carlos Checa, Althea Racing
4: Jakub Smrz, Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
5: Sylvain Guintoli, Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
6: Leon Camier, Crescent Suzuki
7: Niccolo Canepa, Team Ducati Roma
8: Jonathan Rea, Honda World Superbike Team
9: Maxime Berger, Team Effenbert Liberty Racing
10: Michel Fabrizio, BMW Motorrad Italia
11: Eugene Laverty, Aprilia Racing Team
12: Leon Haslam, BMW Motorrad Motorsport
13: Marco Melandri, BMW Motorrad Motorsport
14: Davide Giugliano, Althea Racing
15: Chaz Davies, ParkinGO Aprilia Racing Team*
16: Joan Lascorz, Kawasaki Racing Team
17: Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda World Superbike Team

*Davies will not participate in tomorrow’s race after sustaining a broken wrist during a qualifying crash

Tom Sykes took his Kawasaki Racing Team machine to top spot on the combined testing sheets at Phillip Island, heading up all his rivals with mere days to go until the start of the new 2012 World Superbike Championship season.

Tom Sykes

Like many of his fellow riders, Sykes tested at Phillip Island last week and used knowledge gained during those sessions to help his set fast lap times this week. In the final analysis of the time sheets Sykes set the leading 1’31.648 lap time in the morning session today to stay above Carlos Checa and Jakub Smrz in the rankings.

Joan Lascorz was happy with his race pace on the second official Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R, and in setting a personal best of test 1’32.540 lap time he was eleventh out of 23 riders. The Spanish star is confident he can improve on that when the racing starts for real on Sunday February 26.

Pedercini Team Kawasaki regular David Salom had a tough test after confirming that he had broken his wrist in a recent test crash, only riding for a short time in each of the two morning sessions to save himself for the start of the season proper this Friday.

Local star and regular Pedercini Superstock force Bryan Staring rode the other Pedercini Kawasaki Superbike in these tests, as he will in replacing the injured Leandro Mercado for the opening race weekend itself. He finished twentieth on the timesheets but knows more is to come in true race trim.

The 14-Round/28-race season kicks off in Australia with two races on Sunday, February 26. The 4.445km-long Phillip Island circuit is a popular starting point for the season as February falls in the southern hemisphere’s summer season. So far, conditions have varied between mild and firmly hot, and a repeat of the recent dry weather would make for a perfect start to the season for all involved.

Tom Sykes: “We were fast this morning and also this afternoon in hot conditions, and we even improved our time compared to yesterday’s hot track conditions. Overall we did quite a bit more testing today and certainly stumbled across a couple of good things. At the end of the sessions we did 14 laps on race tires and it was very consistent, with the times coming easier than they were doing with previous settings. Honestly speaking, this is not one of my favorite circuits; in fact it is one of my least favorite ones, so I am happy that we are towards the front at this track because I know that the performance should increase at the other circuits. I do not want to get too carried away because I like to keep my feet on the ground, so we’ll keep working and see what happens on race weekend.”

Joan Lascorz: “We have a good rhythm but to do faster single laps is a little more difficult. I can put in a new tire but lap times are the same. I think it is a lot of things together, but every time we try anything else we come back to the same kind of settings. The bike works best in small, slower corners, in the fast corners and over the bumps it feels very hard. It turns very well in the slower corners but the line in the fast corners is critical. The plan for the first practice in Friday is more gas! But seriously, we will make a plan to find out the best settings for race weekend.”

Bryan Staring: “I am happy with it in general but I wanted to put in a bit better lap time. Some of the guys have been here testing for three days last week but I was not. The real important day is next Friday. I am happy with the motorbike but we can still improve a couple of small things. It is only on the one flying lap that I have not been able to do so well, but we put in a reasonable time. I think we are in a bit better position than the timesheets suggest. It is a good motorbike and I think we can do a pretty good job with it, I just hope to get a strong lap time out of it on Friday.”

David Salom: “The problem is that I have had a pain-killing injection to allow me to ride this morning, but after an hour the pain came back and it was too much. I did not try this afternoon. It is not necessary to try for another good lap time today but save myself for first practice on Friday. For the race I can run with the injections in my wrist but I am not sure how things will be. I hope for the best and aim for the best. After Phillip Island it is possible to have an operation on my wrist but it is not decided yet as I already have a pin inside the scaphoid from an old crash.”

Having completed a three-day test session at the Phillip Island track only last week, team Althea Racing returned to the circuit today for the final official tests before the 2012 World Superbike Championship’s opening round gets underway this coming weekend.

Reigning champion Carlos Checa

In very warm conditions (air temperature 26˚C, track 50˚C in the afternoon) this morning, Althea Racing’s riders Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano took to the track to work with their technicians to make final preparations with their Ducati 1198s. They worked mainly with the different tires made available by Pirelli; the team wants to fully understand how the rubber behaves under hot conditions, so as to be prepared if the track is at a similar temperature for this weekend’s races.

Although the team was not focusing on lap times, Checa, reigning SBK world champion, projected himself to the top of the timesheets, recording the fastest time of the day, a 1m31.9, during the morning’s session. The Spanish rider put in 71 laps in total and was the only rider to duck under 1m32 today, despite the 6kgs of extra weight that the Ducati machines are carrying this year in accordance with championship regulations.

Checa’s new teammate, Davide Giugliano, continued to build up feeling with his Ducati while working with his squad to refine settings in readiness for his first SBK races of the 2012 season. He suffered a small crash in the afternoon session but returned to the track almost immediately; timing was unfortunate however as he fell just as his pace was beginning to pick up and so lost valuable time as a result. Making a total of 59 laps today, Giugliano recorded his best time during the morning, a 1m33.3, when the track was significantly cooler.

Carlos Checa:
“I’m pretty happy. We’re still up there with the times, though it seems difficult to improve beyond that point. Today we continued to work on set-up, with the suspension and the electronics, trying to find the best compromise when it comes to performance. Tomorrow we still have a few small things to work on and we’ll look at the tires again of course as tire choice for this weekend’s races will be extremely important. So tomorrow we’ll get everything in line as much as possible and then our concentration turns to the first races of the season.”

Davide Giugliano:
“Unfortunately I crashed at the wrong moment this afternoon. If it hadn’t been for that, I believe I’d have been able to improve on my lap time. As a result of the crash we lost valuable time sorting the bike and so my best time was that set earlier in the day. Anyway I know I can do more tomorrow. I realize I have a lot to learn, in a short space of time, but I still have high hopes.”

Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing:
“I’m very happy with the work completed by the team today. We concentrated on minimizing the gap, considering the extra weight that the 2012 regulation has given us. Carlos, thanks to his expert knowledge of this track, seems to be able to hold his position at the top of the timesheets – today he has the fastest time with a small advantage over the competition. Davide is improving the feeling he has with his bike and hopes for a good day tomorrow and an improvement in his times. He seems happy with his bike’s potential. Tomorrow it should also be hotter and so we’ll have chance to test the tires in preparation for a hot race day this coming Sunday.”

Top-10 Times (day one):
1. Checa (Ducati) 1m31.9
2. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m32.2
3. Melandri (BMW) 1m32.2
4. Rea (Honda) 1m32.3
5. Haslam (BMW) 1m32.3
6. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1m32.4
7. Guintoli (Ducati) 1’32m7
8. Canepa (Ducati) 1m32.8
9. Smrz (Ducati) 1m32.8
10. Lascorz (Kawasaki) 1m33.0

John Hopkins has broken a bone in his right hand after suffering a corner-entry high-side crash on the first day of World Superbike testing at Phillip Island in Australia today. The Crescent Fixi Suzuki rider will fly back to the Sates tomorrow morning and see his hand surgeon immediately, before deciding if he will be able to return to Australia and race at the opening round of the World Superbike Championship on February 26.

John Hopkins:
“This feels so devastating because I was feeling really comfortable on the bike right from the start. I was running the 2011-spec bike with just small modifications to the engine and the new Yoshimura exhaust and hadn’t yet got on the full 2012 bike. But I felt that the GSX-R had already been improved in the areas it needed to be.

“The track conditions were not the best and we started the day a bit late because there were some damp patches around from the overnight rain. Having said that, it wasn’t the damp that caused the crash. I was on a used tire and probably on the last lap before pulling in. I exited turn one and might have been just a little bit too hot for the condition of the tire going into turn two, when suddenly the rear came round even before I got on the brakes. I was spat off and unfortunately came down on my right hand – the same one that is missing a bit of finger. The X-rays show that I have fractured a bone in the base of the hand near what’s left of my fourth finger.

“I will fly home tomorrow and see my hand surgeon, Doctor Chao, and we’ll decide what has to be done. I would say that my chances of racing at Phillip Island next week are very slim, but the important thing is to get the hand sorted correctly and be completely right before I race. It may be better to miss Phillip Island and then use the six weeks or so before Imola to get back to 100 percent – we’ll see. I want to say thanks to the Crescent Fixi team for all its efforts and sorry to Suzuki and all the team’s sponsors – we’ll be back and fighting for the podium soon.”

Jack Valentine:
“It is a bit more than unfortunate what happened to John today. We had a late start because of the overnight rain and a bit of sea mist this morning, but everything was going fine. John looked good on the bike. His lap times were right up there with the others and there were no problems with his finger. He was unlucky to high-side, but more unlucky to come down on his right hand. We’ll wait to see how he gets on in the USA tomorrow and although there is a possibility that he might race, I think we’d all rather that he got his injury sorted out properly and then return when he’s full and ready.

“The positives are that both riders have already gelled really well with the bike. Hopper looked good right from the start and Leon got comfortable straight away. Leon ended the day really happy with the bike and he’ll carry on the work we’ve got to do and keep improving tomorrow.”

Ben Spies

Yamaha Factory Racing Complete Successful Test at Sepang

The Yamaha Factory Racing Team today completed the first test of the 2012 MotoGP season at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies spent the three track days working to develop the base set up of the 1000cc YZR-M1 ahead of the second Sepang test in one month’s time. The riders and engineers focused on the balance of the M1 chassis along with improving the electronics package to gain the optimum performance from the increased horsepower. New Bridgestone tires were also assessed ahead of the upcoming race season. The times from today’s final session saw Lorenzo slot in as the second-fastest rider, 0.59 seconds behind Casey Stoner. Teammate Spies wrapped up in fourth position, 0.88 seconds from first.

The riders will now return to the USA and Spain respectively while the engineers return to Japan with the valuable data to make the next steps forward in development. The team will return in four weeks’ time to test the work done.

Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd, 2.00.198, 35 Laps
“I’m really, really satisfied, I have improved on my best record here in Sepang. We tried a lot of things; some have been a lot better, especially one major improvement. We also know where we have to improve in the future. The electronics are not perfect yet, we still need to make it smoother but the bike has so much potential we are very optimistic. The Yamaha engineers have worked really hard so they have done a good job. I made my best time today at midday which is the hardest time with the conditions so it was pretty good. Let’s see what we can do when we come back.”

Ben Spies, 4th, 2.00.495, 16 Laps
“It’s been a good test, we’ve got a lot of things accomplished, we’re definitely moving in the right direction with my bike. I tried the Yamaha test rider’s bike today which had a slightly different set up to make a fair comparison with mine. I made a small mistake, losing the front but that’s testing; it can happen when you’re working out the good and bad. All in all it’s been great and I’m really happy and looking forward to coming back and seeing what’s new.”

Positive start to 2012 for Crutchlow and Dovizioso

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MotoGP 2012 finally got underway today with the first of three days of testing at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies took their first ride on the 1000cc YZR-M1 since last year. Both riders blew the cobwebs off quickly and settled down to an impressive pace, Lorenzo proving to be the fastest man on track with his team mate always close behind him.

The focus for the first day was to get back into the swing of riding and also to establish a good base set up. Tomorrow and the day after, Lorenzo and Spies will compare various new settings to provide valuable data for the second Sepang test in one month’s time.

Jorge Lorenzo, 1st, 2.01.657, 30 Laps:
“I’m very happy with today. For the first ride on the bike in some time, it’s been very positive. Yamaha has worked very hard over the winter for this M1. I can see very easily where I have to adapt my riding style for the bike and I can see a lot of potential. We have many areas where we can improve so I’m looking forward to beginning again tomorrow. I’m also very happy that my finger is fine and doesn’t affect my riding at all.”

Ben Spies, 4th, 2.02.234, 28 Laps:
“I’m happy. It was fun to get back on the bike today. I haven’t ridden any type of motorcycle since Valencia. It didn’t take too long to knock the rust off, we tried a few things in set up and every step we did made small improvements. We have a lot to do in the next couple of days and a lot more in the second test. It’s been a confidence inspiring start, Yamaha have put in a lot of effort for this season so we’ll work day by day to be even better.”

Test Times:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’01.657
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’02.003
3. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2’02.221
4. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.234
5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2’02.392
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2’02.751
7. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2’02.773
8. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (JPN) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.829
9. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2’02.869
10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2’03.151
11. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2’03.668
12. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 2’03.781
13. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2’04.986
14. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 2’07.163
15. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2’08.240
16. Jordi Torres (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’10.671
17. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’11.267

Sepang Record Lap:
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2’02.108

Sepang Best Lap:
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 2’00.518

Suzuki GSX-Rs swept to 10 titles in 2011 with the Polish accessory distributor-backed Team Suzuki GRANDys duo.

Andy Meklau

The team picked up 10 overall Championship titles – and several runner-up positions – after competing in the Polish, Alpe Adria and Austrian Championships, plus two rounds of the German IDM series aboard its GSX-R1000 and GSX-R600 machinery.

Andy Meklau was the team’s leading performer with six titles: the Alpe Adria Superbike, Austrian Superbike, Superstock 1000, Polish Superstock 1000, Formula X-Treme and Superbike championships; the final victory totally unexpected as favorite – and teammate – Greg Junod crashed out of the deciding showdown race.

Daniel Bukowski also lifted the Supersport Championship and Przemek Janik raced to victory in the Rookie 1000 Cup.

Team Suzuki GRANDys duo also took the top accolades in the Manufacturer and Superbike Team categories.

“We won more titles this year than in 2010, which is great for us all,”  said Team Manager and owner Jacek Grandys. “Andy Meklau is like wine, and the older he gets, the better he seems to get. He kept winning in great style this year and also posted some new circuit lap-records.”

“Greg Junod was a bit unlucky at the final round, but this is racing. He had to fight Andy and we all know the outcome. Also Daniel Bukowski was great all season; he is a very smart rider. Przemek Janik was a favorite from the start, but it was great to see him take the Rookie’s Cup on the GRANDys duo GSX-R1000.”

Polish Superbike Championship: 1 Andy Meklau (Suzuki) 146, 2 Greg Junod (Suzuki) 138, 3 Janusz Oskaldowicz 133, 4 Bartek Wiczynski 103, 5 Hubert Tomaszewski 64, 15 Adam Kropiwnicki (Suzuki) 18, 18 Mariusz Durynek (Suzuki) 16.

Superstock 1000: 1 Andy Meklau (Suzuki) 172, 2 Mariusz Kondratowicz 139, 3 Gwen Giabbani 103, 4 Pawel Górka 89, 5 Waldek Chelkowski 82, 17 Slawek Janus (Suzuki) 20.

Supersport: 1 Daniel Bukowski (Suzuki) 160, 2 Marek Szkopek 152, 3 Marcin Kaldowski 105, 4 Patrik Vostarek 89, 5 Sebastian Zielinski 62, 14 Kuba Wróblewski (Suzuki) 26.

Junior Superstock 600: 1 Artur Wielebski 192, 2 Mateusz Korobacz 181, 3 Artur Wielebski 162, 4 Natalia Florek 98, 5 Kuba Wróblewski (Suzuki) 92.

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