Kawasaki WSB / WSS - Portugal test

[MadKaw]

Ninja ZX-10R And Parkes Meshing Well
Newsflash, 25 January 2009
New signing Broc Parkes took his Kawasaki World Superbike Team Ninja ZX-10R to 15th place in the overall WSB ranking after three days of testing, despite frequent interruptions due to rain. Parkes has raced in World Supersport for many years recently and the team is new to Kawasaki machinery this season; facts which make the final mid-placing on the time-sheets highly respectable, particularly given the strength and depth of the 2009 WSB entry.

Makoto Tamada was recovering from a bout of illness as he recorded 21st position overall, also fighting against the poor weather which disrupted many practice sessions. His physical problem did not help his stamina as he evaluated many parts and settings for the 2009 specification machine.

Each rider set his personal best time, 1’44.704 for Parkes and 1’45.446 for Tamada, on day two, which had the longest spells of dry track conditions.

There will be one more test before the first race on March 1, each to be held at Phillip Island, Australia.

Broc Parkes: “When we came here we didn’t really know what expectations we should have. We were always around 14th to 15th and we ended up 15th. We tried a lot of things in these tests but now we need to go back to the workshop and fine tune a lot of stuff. For us this was sort of a shakedown test and it all went pretty well. There are a lot of guys with more experience behind us and we were surprised to be quite far up there a few times. I hoped we would be between tenth and 18th so we are in the middle of that, I suppose. The weather didn’t help and we lost a lot of track time but it was a good all round effort. We have a test in Australia before the first race and we will have even more new things to try because of what we learned from here.”

Makoto Tamada: “We have been getting better all the way through. It’s a good team and we worked well, and on many things. Our suspension settings and electronics in particular, and we did a lot of testing with the KHI machine. The performance is good. I am still not 100% fit after suffering food poisoning during this test, so I have had nothing to eat for a couple of days. That made me very tired today.”

Overall Best Times
1 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'43.294 
2 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'43.484 
3 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'43.487 
4 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'43.546 
5 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'43.657 
6 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'43.674 
7 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'43.767 
8 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'43.951 
9 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'44.115 
10 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'44.170… 15 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'44.704… 21 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'45.446

-----------------------------

2009 Ninja ZX-6R Fastest Of All As Lascorz Shines
Newsflash, 25 January 2009
The brand-new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R set the fastest lap of the official three-day World Supersport test at Portimao, in the hands of new signing Joan Lascorz. Lascorz' Provec Motocard Kawasaki World Supersport team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara was 17th fastest after spending his three days on track working though a variety of engine and chassis set-ups, all of which allowed the new Kawasaki team to make improvements, despite the ever changing weather conditions.

Each rider’s best time was set on day two, as this offered the driest tack surface and a reduced force from the blustery and sometimes challenging wind. On the final day Fujiwara was second fastest in the wet conditions that plagued the morning session.

Lascorz had a fantastic debut in Kawasaki colours against all his peers, fastest on day one and day two, and fully competitive throughout.

For the enthusiastic team one final test session at Calafat in Spain precedes the first round of the championship, at Phillip Island in Australia.

Joan Lascorz: “Obviously the bike is competitive, even if we still have work to do to get the set-up 100%. I think we have a good chance because Sofuoglu, for example, knows his bike very well and his team very well. It is all-new for us, but we are at more or less the same level. By working in better directions we can be even more competitive. We will be concentrating on the suspension at our Calafat tests but we have been able to make good laps here and we have more to come.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I spent a lot of time at this test working with the engineers to try out a lot of different settings and parts. I did that more than think about lap times. We made very good progress, on both engine and chassis settings, and I think we are in a good place. We are ready to take on the championship next month in Australia. I think the bike is already at a very good level, in many areas.”

Overall Best Times
1 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'45.214 
2 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1'45.264 
3 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.397 
4 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.757 
5 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.817 
6 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1'45.960 
7 77 Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 1'45.971 
8 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'46.018 
9 69 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'46.024 
10 99 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'46.036 
… 17 21 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'47.095

[hoffy]

Fark Yeah ! New 6 is a Go-er !

[mfzx6r]

Fark Yeah ! New 6 is a Go-er !

what he said x 2

[mfzx6r]

EVENT SCHEDULE 2009 PHILLIP ISLAND SBK
FRIDAY 27th FEBRUARY 2009
0830 – 0850 Australian Supersport Qualifying #1 (20 min)
0900 – 0910 TRACK INSPECTION
0935 – 1020 WORLD SUPERSPORT Practice #1 (45 min)
1030 – 1130 WORLD SUPERBIKE Practice #1 (60 min)
1140 – 1200 Historic Qualifying #1 (20 min)
1210 – 1230 Australian Superstock Qualifying #1 (20 min)
1240 – 1300 Australian Superbike Qualifying #1 (20 min)
1315 – 1400 WORLD SUPERSPORT Qualifying #1 (45 min)
1415 – 1515 WORLD SUPERBIKE Qualifying #1 (60 min)
1530 – 1550 Historic Qualifying #2 (20 min)
1600 – 1620 Australian Superbike Qualifying #2 (20 min)
1630 – 1650 Australian Superstock Qualifying #2 (20 min)
1700 – 1720 Australian Supersport Qualifying #2 (20 min)
1730 – 1745 Historic Race #1 (5 Laps)
SATURDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2009
0825 – 0830 Australian Superbike Warm-Up (5 min)
0850 – 0900 TRACK INSPECTION
0910 – 0925 Australian Superstock Race #1 (5 Laps)
0945 – 1030 WORLD SUPERSPORT Practice (45 min)
1045 – 1130 WORLD SUPERBIKE Qualifying (45 min)
1140 – 1155 Historic Race #2 (5 Laps)
1205 – 1225 Australian Supersport Race #1 (8 Laps)
1225 – 1250 PIT WALK (25 mins)
1235 – 1250 Australian Superstock Race #2 (5 Laps)
1300 – 1345 WORLD SUPERSPORT Qualifying (45 min)
1400 – 1445 WORLD SUPERBIKE Practice #2 (45 min)
1500 - 1512 WORLD SUPERBIKE (First 20) SUPERPOLE
1519 – 1531 WORLD SUPERBIKE (First 16) SUPERPOLE
1538 – 1550 WORLD SUPERBIKE (First SUPERPOLE
1600 – 1625 Australian Superbike Race #1 (10 Laps)
1635 – 1650 Historic Race #3 (5 Laps)
1700 – 1715 Australian Superstock Race #3 (5 Laps)
1725 – 1745 Australian Supersport Race #2 (8 Laps)
SUNDAY 1ST MARCH 2009
0805 – 0810 Australian Supersport Warm-Up (5 min)
0815 – 0820 Australian Superbike Warm-Up (5 min)
0825 - 0845 Australian Supersport Race #3 (8 Laps)
0900 – 0910 TRACK INSPECTION
0920 – 0940 WORLD SUPERBIKE Warm-up (20 min)
0950 – 1010 WORLD SUPERSPORT Warm-up (20 min)
1020 – 1045 Australian Superbike Race #2 (10 Laps)
1110 – 1130 PIT WALK (20 mins)
1200 WORLD SUPERBIKE RACE #1 (22 laps)
1325 WORLD SUPERSPORT RACE #1 (21 laps)
1425 – 1450 Australian Superbike Race #3 (10 Laps)
1530 WORLD SUPERBIKE RACE #2 (22 laps)