WSBK – WSBK 2016: first tests for Guintoli and company – Les Bleus against the Reds in Portimao

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WSBK 2016: first tests for Guintoli and company

WSBK - WSBK 2016: first tests for Guintoli and company - Les Bleus against the Reds in Portimao

The 2016 World Superbike season begins in Australia in just one month and a few teams have already returned to work: Yamaha Pata and Ducati Aruba in Portimao, BMW Althea in Vallelunga. Testing intensifies this week in Jerez… Motors, action !

The Blues against the Reds in Portimao

In exactly one month, the 29th season of World Superbike will start at Phillip Island! The teams and their drivers are therefore working to prepare as well as possible for this new campaign which promises to be very hotly contested (see).

Among the very first riders to take to the track is a certain Sylvain Guintoli: our spent last weekend working … on the magnificent circuit of Portimao (Portugal) with his Yamaha Pata team and his brand new R1.

Followed by over 21,000 "followers" on Twitter and liked by over 32,000 "likers" on Facebook, the "Yamaha WSBK rider, married, four children"was happy to get back to work on Friday morning. Definitely not except for a paradox, he considered himself delighted to be working on a noisier motorcycle this year. !

"Very good news for the WorldSBK: more noise in 2016! We go from 107 db to 115 db", informed" Guinters "on social networks,. Rah, the beautiful groan of the Crossplane amplified by his Akra … We understand better why our favorite n ° 50 was eager to go to the turbine !

"Yesterday (Friday, Editor’s note), conditions were wet in the morning", Sylvain reported on Saturday evening."We worked in depth, taking a long time to set up and change parts. So we didn’t focus on the times and the number of laps, but the progress was good".

Still driving in stealth mode (read our), Mr. Guintoli was particularly enthusiastic about the new swingarm and the new Ohlins fork..

"It’s been a good test so far, with lots of new parts and a detailed program to follow", he rejoices."These have been interesting days and it’s great to be able to test new pieces both in Portimao and Jerez, different layouts".

The "Frenchie" and the official Yamaha team quickly packed their bags to cross the Guadiana (river which separates the Algarve from Andalusia, Portugal from Spain) and get to the Jerez de la Frontera circuit. , where many teams had an appointment this morning.

"We will therefore continue to work in order to get the best out of it by focusing more on electronics when we go to Spain."Sylvain Guintoli concluded after his two days of Portuguese testing and his 90 laps of the circuit..

With a total of 116 laps completed on Friday and Saturday, Alex Lowes was not idle either. Guintoli’s English teammate is visibly recovering very well from his dislocation in his left shoulder contracted during his last outing (read).

"My shoulder has not behaved too badly, but I hope these few days of rest will go well and that I can drive better in Jerez"Says the 2013 English Superbike champion (and twin brother of World Supersport champion Sam, now Moto2 star!).

"It was very nice to be able to get back on the bike, especially after a difficult winter, and start to really work", underlines the n ° 22 of the Yamaha Pata team."We had a lot of new parts to test, but the focus was on the electronics and chassis tuning to make it fit me".

Deprived of two precious test days in Jerez in November, Alex praised the work of the team … guided by the feedback from Guintoli! "Thanks to the team, some points I was struggling on in the last test were much better this time. The guys worked a lot during the winter, so a big thank you to them !"

The Blues were not the only ones to turn on the circuit of Portimao: the Reds of Bologna also made their comeback there. They too got the very latest Ohlins fork, and at the same time they tested the latest version of their anti-spin and engine brake systems….

"We tried several updates over these first two days, focusing on the tweaks", reports Davide Giugliano. The Italian, passed because of a serious back injury, intends to bounce back in 2016 !

"Physically I feel good and I am gradually coming back to the best of my shape", assures the n ° 34."Plus, my new techs and I are working well, differently than I usually do, and I’m sure it will pay off. We are in the process of defining the complete package and we are moving in the right direction".

His best time (1’43.6) is still very far from the time that had propelled him to the top of the race – he is almost two seconds missing -, but compared to his lap records in the race, Davide is already in the tempo..

Chaz Davies proves however that it was possible to go faster at the controls of an 1199 Panigale R since the Welshman turned in 1’42.7. "In general, we worked methodically, without hurrying, to understand the new parts", indicates" Chazie ".

The n ° 7 Ducati took advantage of the first painful morning (wet track) to work on the electronics of his Superbike. "We have found some advantages over the 2015 version, but we still have some adjustments to make", he humbly admits.

"We have also confirmed that we are in the right direction with the new fork.", affirms the n ° 2 of the 2015 championship and n ° 1 of the very end of the season …"Today (Saturday, Editor’s note), we ended the session on a racing simulation from which we learned a lot"Davies warns…

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