Super athlete in the endurance test

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Super athlete in the endurance test

8 hour day

Eight hours full. The normal, daily madness. For employees at least. For standard super sports cars, however, it is rather the exception. MOTORRAD declared a state of emergency ?? in the European club.

Full throttle. For eight hours. As is so often the case, it all began with a series of more or less daring predictions. For example: “The R6 never handles it with the gearbox.” Or: “I bet the brakes on the GSX-R are slacking.” Some claimed that the CBR would cover the most kilometers, others would 748 PLC. And at some point the thing had to be extended, with light barriers, stopwatches and all the trimmings. After all, we are athletes. Always ready, always looking for new challenges.
At the start the entire current supersport class, i.e. Ducati 748 SPS, Honda CBR 600 F, Kawasaki ZX-6R, Suzuki GSX-R 600 and Yamaha R6. In addition, 14 racer-tested drivers from six European countries. The venue is once again the race track in Calafat, Spain. Home route of the MOTORRAD editorial team, battlefield of numerous duels with mostly mild results.
The rules for this competition are pretty simple. Eight hours full bottle around in a circle. Every half an hour the frenzy is briefly interrupted to refuel and change drivers, and then it goes on. The clocks stand still during the pit stops. Only the pure driving time is meticulously recorded by a professional timekeeping team. In the breaks between turns every driver has to fill out an evaluation sheet.
In the name of equal opportunities, Pirelli Dragon EVO tires will be used in unison. In a standard mix? because of the longer lifespan. In order to keep the risk of an escalation with a self-destructive effect as low as possible, the lap times remain the closely guarded secret of the timekeeping team until after work. In addition, it starts every ten seconds. And in between, the warning words from Augusto Moreno de Carlos, editor-in-chief of our Spanish sister magazine Motociclismo and patron of this event: “Remember, it’s not a race, it’s a test.”
No problem, Augusto. We understood. French, Swedes, Norwegians, Italians, Spaniards, Germans, they all know what it’s about, do their best and care? what a little miracle ?? until evening not even for the smallest mutilation of the test motorcycles. To introduce the drivers in more detail here would unfortunately go beyond the scope of this story. The willing reader is assured at this point that it is an illustrious collection of European test professionals.
The rating of the five test persons in the evaluation table on page 58 is based on their experience and judgment. Apart from this individual assessment, all other results of this test are limited to pure measured values. Three light barrier measurements on different sections of the route make it clear how tight it is in the super sports class. Both in top speed and in the measurements at the exit of the two chicanes, which allow conclusions to be drawn about the handling, there are only minor differences. The same applies to the fastest, but even more so to the average lap time of all drivers. Only the Yamaha R6 always sets itself apart from its pursuers. And this tick is enough to give it a special place in this field.
The R6 as a moral winner? Balm for the athlete’s soul, which has been badly battered in previous tests. Now it’s finally out what was always to be read between the lines: The Yamaha R6 is an uncompromising heater that does not have to avoid any sporting challenge. However, this victory cannot change the unfortunate circumstance that it is punished with the worst gear of modern times. But ?? it held. In general, everything held up: the Yamaha transmission, the brakes of the GSX-R. There were no failures.
F.If you are interested in who did the fastest laps this time: Fernando Cristóbal, who raced for Motociclismo Spain, Stefan Coutelle from the French magazine Moto Journal and the two MOTORRAD drivers Markus Barth and Gerhard Lindner. Four gentlemen who in the course of this season will no doubt fondly remember the times when the day only had eight hours. You can find out why on page 206 of this issue.

Ducati 748 SPS – The great unknown

She was the great stranger at this rendezvous. As a PLC version equipped with special abilities, the Ducati was given the best chances in the merciless exchange of blows on the racetrack. Above all doubt: the chassis. Where did the waves and holes go that were so clearly noticeable on the other machines? The Ducati simply irons the slope smoothly. The best damper elements and an almost perfect set-up for the racetrack instill confidence. Regardless of how tight the curve radius is chosen, the PLC follows the targeted line like the railway follows the rails. And if the radius has been set incorrectly, a slight correction is enough to bring the world back on track. This chassis is hard to beat in terms of stability. The only disadvantage: In the chicanes you have to help with a lot of strength to force the racy Italian to change lean angles at lightning speed. Even the brakes are unusually good, i.e. biting and stable. The engine? A stunner. Direct response thanks to injection, acceleration in the greatest lean angle thanks to two-cylinder power and a gear ratio that is quite suitable for this course, which makes frequent gear changes superfluous, these are the strengths of the V2, but the Ducati does not quite achieve the big breakthrough. In the sum of the evaluation of all 14 test drivers, she can “only” move up to second place. The same applies to the fastest and the total number of laps.

Honda CBR 600 F – The first surprise

A real all-rounder, this CBR. Not for nothing chosen as the winner of the comparative test in MOTORRAD 26/1998. Here, however, it is a little difficult despite unrivaled handling. With a lap time of 1.36.24 there is a red lantern instead of laurel. How can that be? After all, when she last met on exactly the same track, she was significantly better at music. One reason: the tires. The new Pirelli Dragon EVO in standard mix makes too tough an impression at the CBR. Not the hardness of the rubber compound, but that of the carcass. On the short waves at the exit of the curve, the hindquarters rub away constantly when you apply the gas. Problem number two: lack of ground clearance. What is really embarrassing is that it is not the practical main stand that furrows the asphalt, but the steel muffler. Height adjustment? Is not. At least not without handicrafts. The regulations do not provide for that: the engine is a real icing on the cake. Especially in the middle speed range, it knows how to inspire and, like the Ducati-V2, saves its pilot many shifting maneuvers. That is a good thing, because occasionally fourth gear does not engage properly during hectic shifting, and you have to step down again. All in all, the Honda at least got third place on the popularity scale.

Kawasaki ZX-6R – Fast, but not great

Whoever bet on the Kawasaki at the beginning of this endurance test was wrong. If the bright green racer with the second-best lap and average time still successfully defends itself against the unruly competition, in the personal assessment of the 14 jury, he falls coldly behind. It seems that the test motorcycle was not built with the necessary love by the Spanish importer. Because the engine of this ZX-6R is unusually weak. Especially in the middle area there is a lack of thrust. The attempt to compensate for this shortcoming simply by higher speeds fails all too often when the limiter is used, and the chassis is also not in top shape. To turn in imprecisely, it takes until you have zeroed in. In addition, the exhaust hits the right bend rather sneakily and the fork locks up early when braking. The brake system itself is rather slack by Kawasaki standards: Little bite and a pressure point that moves backwards after four or five laps disrupt the relationship of trust between man and machine. To make matters worse, the ZX-6R reacts just as stubbornly as the CBR to the chosen Pirelli pairing. It’s a shame, there would have been more.

Suzuki GSX-R 600 – inconspicuous but successful

Neither a spoiled glamor girl nor a swarmed superstar: The Suzuki GSX-R 600 is a real workhorse. Ambitious, inconspicuous but successful. It was she who brought home the title in the hotly contested Supersport World Cup in 1998. Thanks to their balanced talents, the GSX-R is also convincing here in Calafat. Above all because of its good-natured chassis, whereby the very finely appealing, sporty, tightly tuned fork is to be praised in particular. The hindquarters, on the other hand, should be a bit tighter so that the rear does not sag so deep when cornering quickly. That leads to losses in terms of handiness, and the Suzuki doesn’t exactly have an abundance of that anyway. She gives in rather clumsily and has to be balanced with force through the harassment. Surprising: the brakes of the Spanish test GSX-R. Not a trace of diminishing impact. Different countries, different bikes. As far as the engine is concerned, the GSX-R is plagued by the same weakness as the ZX-6R: little pressure in the middle. However, the Suzi can almost make up for this shortcoming with her refreshing revving.

Yamaha R6 – The seeded revenge of the R6

248 laps of full throttle in 6 hours, 55 minutes and 53 seconds not only mean the best lap result just ahead of the Ducati. The Yamaha has managed the feat of combining both the fastest individual lap (by Fernando Cristóbal) and the fastest lap average. In addition, it is ahead in two out of three top speed measurements and finally also in the popularity scale. But how is that possible? Why is the R6 so me-nothing-you-nothing in this test? Well ?? Firstly, the Yamaha R6 brought along by the Swedish friends is in extremely good physical condition. With a lot of steam just above mid-speed, the engine pushes up to well above the 14000 mark, refreshingly. Only shortly before the limiter at 15500 rpm does the R6 seem a little listless, but that doesn’t prevent it from getting into the wool from time to time. Second, the chassis doesn’t cause any problems for the entire eight hours: unlimited freedom of lean angle, Great set-up, best brakes, excellent tire compatibility and an aggressive seating position arouse blind trust in the capabilities of the Yamaha. Only the gearbox is and will remain a disaster. The unanimous opinion of the test crew on the abnormal switching noises: “It’s good that it’s not mine”.

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