WSBK – WSBK 2013: drivers warm up at Phillip Island –

Posted on by admin

WSBK 2013: Drivers warm up at Phillip Island

WSBK - WSBK 2013: drivers warm up at Phillip Island -

The main teams entered in the 2013 World Superbike Championship turned (and fell!) Yesterday and today in Australia. Camier set the best time ahead of Guintoli and Rea, who offers us a nice on-board video. Action !

The great Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki teams registered for the World Superbike 2013 have shot two days on the Phillip Island circuit (Australia) for the official tests on Monday and Tuesday next and – above all! – the opening of the new season on Sunday February 24 !

Author of the unofficial best time (see the list at the end of the article), Leon Camier marked the spirits: at the controls of his Suzuki GSX-R 1000, the blue giant turned less than half a second from the record of the race lap established by Biaggi last year.

Note, however, that the Australian track has just been resurfaced, which makes any comparison with the lap times of previous years wobbly. On the other hand, this change of coating does not call into question the classification of these "unofficial" tests..

The n ° 2 of the Suzuki Fixi Crescent team is also likely to fuel the "buzz" in the small world of Superbike thanks to the photos of his GSX-R 1000 posted by his boss, Paul Denning: "200 km / h, gravel trap, protective barrier, through the trees, stop !", comments the apprentice paparazzi…

According to his team, Leon Camier was driving 0.4 seconds faster than his reference time just before his Suz ‘flew into the trees … which says a lot about the Briton’s motivation … and on the fact that you should never ride over your boots !

"Kamir" is not the only one to have left at the fault: his compatriot Tom Sykes, in particular, covered only ten laps yesterday before falling from his ZX-10R and estimating that "his" unofficial tests were completed !

The big favorite of the 2013 championship is therefore at the last place on the timesheet, but his sore left hand should not prevent him from riding next week. Phew !

Tom’s teammate – and our compatriot! – Loris Baz also antics. "It was my first time here and I really like the track", says Bazooka:"everything was going very well but I fell into the second corner after 30 laps".

Crestfallen, the young and very great French rider preferred to rest his bruised back, leaving his team all the time necessary on the second day to properly reassemble his Kawasaki. So Loris will be ready to attack – but not too strong ?! – official practice on Monday.

Jules Cluzel was not more varnished: he is "fell at high speed during the first day of practice and landed heavily on his left elbow, aggravating a previous injury. The accident left him with a large, deep gash in his arm", reported his team last night.

Our World Supersport runner-up was operated today (tonight) "by renowned plastic surgeon, Dr Michael Weymouth", reassure the Yellows this afternoon, but Jules will undoubtedly be embarrassed on Monday when he finds his Gex … Courage, Jules !

Our third representative, Sylvain Guintoli, did not fail and even appears in an excellent second place. The n ° 50 continues to gain experience on the handlebars of his new companion: the RSV4, reigning world champion with Biaggi !

Carlos Checa on the contrary, continues to fall behind in the development of the all-new Panigale F13: considerably slowed down in his program by the rain in Jerez, the Spaniard suffered an intestinal obstruction and could not ride…

As for his teammate Ayrton Badovini, he scared the whole paddock: evacuated from the circuit by helicopter, the BMW rider fortunately came out of his highside at 180 km / h (!) And will be back on his Ducati Alstare from Monday.

Marco Melandri, who is preparing to play a second season in the BMW, is in fourth place in the standings and is happy with the progress made despite a "track still very dirty Thursday", cause of these numerous falls.

But n ° 33 is not 100% satisfied: "physically, I am not happy because my shoulder was still a problem for me. I could do a few laps (he completed 114 over the two days, against 157 for Chaz Davies, Editor’s note) but then I struggled and suffered a lot. I thought it would be much better", regrets Marco.

Jonathan Rea, meanwhile, not only rode Phillip Island but also recorded a video. The Honda rider, third fastest in the two days, invites us for a ride on the brand new Phillip Island track !

We can’t wait for Sunday … "in eight", to follow the first round of the 2013 Superbike World Championship live on Site: stay tuned !

Chronos of the WSBK tests at Phillip Island, February 14-15, 2013

  1. Leon Camier – Suzuki Fixi Crescent: 1 ‘31.2

  2. Sylvain Guintoli – Aprilia Racing: 1 ‘31.3

  3. Jonathan Rea – Honda Pata: 1 ‘31.4

  4. Marco Melandri – BMW GoldBet: 1 ‘31.6

  5. Michel Fabrizio – Aprilia Red Devils Roma: 1 ‘31.7

  6. Eugene Laverty – Aprilia Racing: 1 ‘31.7

  7. Leon Haslam – Honda Pata: 1 ‘31.8

  8. Davide Giugliano – Aprilia Althea: 1 ‘31.8

  9. Chaz Davies GBR – BMW GoldBet: 1 ‘32.1

  10. Ayrton Badovini – Ducati Alstare: 1 ‘32.2

  11. Jules Cluzel – Suzuki Fixi Crescent: 1m 32.5

  12. Max Neukirchner – Ducati MR: 1 ‘32.6

  13. Loris Baz – Kawasaki Racing: 1m 33.2

  14. Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing: 1 ‘34.5
  • Lap record: Carlos Checa – Althea Ducati (1098R): 1 ‘30.882 (2011)

  • Best lap in the race: Max Biaggi – Aprilia Racing: 1 ‘31.785 (2012)

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *