Kawasaki WSB - testing 10 Jan
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:17 am
IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE APACE FOR NEW NINJA ZX-10R
Newsflash, 10 January 2008 - PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse riders Régis Laconi and Makoto Tamada took part in a positive three day test of the all new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R World Superbike machine at Phillip Island between 8 and 10 January, and each found improvements day-by-day.
Conditions at the 4.445km circuit varied from a cool first day to an incredibly warm final day, complicating the task of finding a consistent set-up, and evaluating the latest batch of control tyres.
Laconi was slightly the faster of the two, putting his vast WSB experience to good work in ending the test with a time of 1’33.0 - less than one second from the quickest time of all over the three days. Tamada, with more recent experience of MotoGP racing than Superbike racing, took some time to get up to speed but still posted a highly respectable 1’33.4.
Régis Laconi: “We’ve worked hard all three days, especially today, as I completed over 100 laps. That included two race simulations. Right now I am very tired but I am very happy because the bike is giving me a really good feeling from both the front and the rear. Also, when we change the settings I can really feel the difference. Now the bike is easy to change direction plus the new electronics are working really well and giving me a good feeling. The new bike already has more power than last year, yet with the help of the new electronics it is wheelying less, making it much easier to ride. Overall, I am very happy.”
Makoto Tamada: “It’s been a while since I was on a Superbike so I feel that I am still getting used to it, all of which made me ride carefully for the first couple of days. We’ve had some difficult times during this three day test but it is getting better day-by-day. One of my priorities is to bring the team together because I am new and we have new team members, so we will focus on this at Qatar. From a machine set-up point of view, we had some chatter problems, especially over the bumps. We need to concentrate on this aspect so that I can really start pushing.”
The team returns to its European base before preparations are made for the last pre-season test, at Qatar, to be held one week before the opening race of the scheduled 15-round SBK championship on Saturday 23 February.
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GIL KAWASAKI’S NEW RIDERS MAKE STRONG PROGRESS
Newsflash, 10 January 2008 - Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker (GIL Kawasaki) both found their latest test sessions, at Phillip Island in Australia, immensely beneficial in getting to know the GIL team and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Supersport machine.
Fujiwara, coming into the team after a long and illustrious WSS career, and Walker, a class rookie but one of the most experienced riders in the SBK paddock, made great improvements in set-up across the three days, and ended up with highly respectable times in their first big test against their new peer group. Fujiwara set a time of 1’35.6, while Walker was only one tenth of a second off.
Neither rider pushed hard on the first two days, but despite temperatures which sometimes hit 38°C on the last day, ultimate lap times were still improved.
Katsuaki Fujiwara: “This is still a new bike and a new team for me so we spent the first two days working hard with the geometry and suspension set-up, so it was not always possible to go full gas. At the end of day two we made a big improvement with the front fork and that meant I was able to do a lot of fast laps. I have not been focussing on one fast lap because consistency is the key as it is the last five laps of the race that are the most important ones.”
Chris Walker: “I’ve still got a lot to learn but I’m really enjoying it. Having three days at a track like Phillip Island has been so worthwhile and I feel that I’m riding the bike much better now than when I first arrived. I’m a lot more relaxed and doing a 15 lap run on the final day felt a lot easier than doing seven laps on day one. The only thing I’m annoyed about is that I didn’t really push for a lap time on day two when the conditions were a bit cooler. But that’s not the end of the world as we’ve ended up pretty close, especially on a race run.”
The WSS season starts at the same time and venue as the SBK class, at Qatar on 23 February.
Newsflash, 10 January 2008 - PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse riders Régis Laconi and Makoto Tamada took part in a positive three day test of the all new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R World Superbike machine at Phillip Island between 8 and 10 January, and each found improvements day-by-day.
Conditions at the 4.445km circuit varied from a cool first day to an incredibly warm final day, complicating the task of finding a consistent set-up, and evaluating the latest batch of control tyres.
Laconi was slightly the faster of the two, putting his vast WSB experience to good work in ending the test with a time of 1’33.0 - less than one second from the quickest time of all over the three days. Tamada, with more recent experience of MotoGP racing than Superbike racing, took some time to get up to speed but still posted a highly respectable 1’33.4.
Régis Laconi: “We’ve worked hard all three days, especially today, as I completed over 100 laps. That included two race simulations. Right now I am very tired but I am very happy because the bike is giving me a really good feeling from both the front and the rear. Also, when we change the settings I can really feel the difference. Now the bike is easy to change direction plus the new electronics are working really well and giving me a good feeling. The new bike already has more power than last year, yet with the help of the new electronics it is wheelying less, making it much easier to ride. Overall, I am very happy.”
Makoto Tamada: “It’s been a while since I was on a Superbike so I feel that I am still getting used to it, all of which made me ride carefully for the first couple of days. We’ve had some difficult times during this three day test but it is getting better day-by-day. One of my priorities is to bring the team together because I am new and we have new team members, so we will focus on this at Qatar. From a machine set-up point of view, we had some chatter problems, especially over the bumps. We need to concentrate on this aspect so that I can really start pushing.”
The team returns to its European base before preparations are made for the last pre-season test, at Qatar, to be held one week before the opening race of the scheduled 15-round SBK championship on Saturday 23 February.
---------------
GIL KAWASAKI’S NEW RIDERS MAKE STRONG PROGRESS
Newsflash, 10 January 2008 - Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker (GIL Kawasaki) both found their latest test sessions, at Phillip Island in Australia, immensely beneficial in getting to know the GIL team and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Supersport machine.
Fujiwara, coming into the team after a long and illustrious WSS career, and Walker, a class rookie but one of the most experienced riders in the SBK paddock, made great improvements in set-up across the three days, and ended up with highly respectable times in their first big test against their new peer group. Fujiwara set a time of 1’35.6, while Walker was only one tenth of a second off.
Neither rider pushed hard on the first two days, but despite temperatures which sometimes hit 38°C on the last day, ultimate lap times were still improved.
Katsuaki Fujiwara: “This is still a new bike and a new team for me so we spent the first two days working hard with the geometry and suspension set-up, so it was not always possible to go full gas. At the end of day two we made a big improvement with the front fork and that meant I was able to do a lot of fast laps. I have not been focussing on one fast lap because consistency is the key as it is the last five laps of the race that are the most important ones.”
Chris Walker: “I’ve still got a lot to learn but I’m really enjoying it. Having three days at a track like Phillip Island has been so worthwhile and I feel that I’m riding the bike much better now than when I first arrived. I’m a lot more relaxed and doing a 15 lap run on the final day felt a lot easier than doing seven laps on day one. The only thing I’m annoyed about is that I didn’t really push for a lap time on day two when the conditions were a bit cooler. But that’s not the end of the world as we’ve ended up pretty close, especially on a race run.”
The WSS season starts at the same time and venue as the SBK class, at Qatar on 23 February.