Six hours in Imola

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Six hours in Imola

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One route, four motorcycles, six hours of driving time, 13 drivers, 14 turns, one motto: full throttle with Ducati 996 Biposto, Honda VTR 1000 F, Kawasaki ZX-7R and Suzuki GSX-R 750.

At the start: four off-the-peg sports bikes, mass-produced, marketed under the image of the potential superbike. Two 90-degree V-Twins with full liter displacement, two 750 in-line four-cylinders. The announcement is clear: The four candidates – Ducati 996 Biposto, Honda VTR 1000 F, Kawasaki ZX-7R and Suzuki GSX-R 750 – fight as quickly as possible over the demanding up and down of the Imola GP course. Drive at the limit of the material load capacity, don’t scratch anything, at most the footrests.
To ensure that it is fair, Michelin Pilot Race racing tires (see box) make all four machines extremely sticky to the traditional racing asphalt. 13 sports riders – from the occasional knee slider to ex-Grand Prix pilots – are available, each of whom has to move each motorcycle once, one twice during the 14 scheduled turns for 25 minutes each – at over 35 degrees in the shade.
Evaluation criteria? Sure, the fastest driver always sets the bar. Then the motorcycle that covers the most laps has good cards. The average lap time of all laps driven represents the actual performance of the test object over the entire distance. After all, the difference between the average lap times in a turn achieved by the slowest and fastest rider per motorcycle shows how easy it is to handle this motorcycle. Understand everything Then specifically about the individual mopeds.

Ducati 996 Biposto
The wonderful Italian feels right at home on the Italian Imola racetrack. Since the ideal line here even negotiates the Formula 1 braking chicanes quickly and smoothly, the drivers do not struggle quite as doggedly with the unwieldiness of the 996 as they do on winding courses. The uncompromising Michelin also make the Bolognese Diva more manageable.
It pleases everywhere with impeccable cornering and exemplary feedback, the tight spring elements create calm in the chassis and pull the fangs of many a bump, just great. The most successful of the V-twin cylinders contributes its own to the qualities of the 996: gentle and well-dosed on the gas, powerful without angry power peaks, plus a greedy, tightly geared transmission. And the much-cited seating position could hardly be sportier. However, tall drivers sometimes miss the grip on the pegs, and also struggle with enormous support forces on the handlebars when braking, which makes it even more difficult to dose the not very biting front brembos.
Lots of light with little shade overall, which pays off in excellent performance: The Ducati and the Honda do the most, namely 140 laps, is just ten seconds slower than Mick Doohan in the Grand under the fierce whirl of Markus “Barth Simpson” Prix ​​1998. The Suzuki as the second fastest follows with a respectable gap of almost two seconds. It is also remarkable that the difference between the slowest and fastest average turn times on the Ducati is comparatively small, an indication that it is fairly easy to control on the racetrack. So: game, set and victory.

Honda VTR 1000 F.
The evening before, there was still skepticism about the VTR 1000 F. Not that anyone would have doubted the quality of the Honda, but certainly its supersport talent. And that is exactly what should be determined. Wouldn’t the VTR, with its comparatively comfortable spring elements and its – also relative – weakness, have a hard time against its aggressive competitors?
She didn’t. Not only did it complete as many laps as the Ducati, the bottom line is that it also surprised with amazing lap times. In terms of speed, it has to bow to the Suzuki, the superior Ducati anyway, both in absolute terms and on average. In absolute terms, however, the gap to the competition is surprisingly small. How come?
The VTR celebrates the lightest drivability. The notches drag themselves briefly? Don’t stress. The brakes bite a bit? Never mind. Nothing is particularly strenuous, almost touristically the driver swings the Honda through turns and chicanes. Light. Easy. Easy. And, perhaps because of that, unexpectedly quick. The slightest difference between the slowest and fastest turn underpins the playful handling of the VTR. And recommends it as one of the most enjoyable country road or race track bikes. Strike!

Kawasaki ZX-7R
Green, aggressive, crouched – the styling of the ZX-7R promises pure dynamism. Dynamism that it has demonstrated in many racing series through to the Superbike World Championship. So she has talents, but they want to be trained out of the production version with great effort. Clear, snappy and well-dosed, i.e. great brakes and a harmonious front section score points, the steering properties are just as impressive as the suspension and damping work of the fork. But the Kawa is heavy, a weight that actually presses everywhere when accelerating, braking, at the apex of a bend. In addition, the translation does not harmonize for Imola, and the ground clearance should also be greater.
The bottom line is that the track performance confirms said weaknesses, because the Kawasaki reaps the red lantern in every discipline. The irony of fate is that engine failure – probably a valve broken – brings an involuntary end to the ZX-7R’s characteristic, martial intake hiss in turn 13. Time for model maintenance.

Suzuki GSX-R 750
It’s light, it’s strong, but it’s not easy to drive. The capricious Suzuki drives too nervously. When braking, she lifts the rear wheel, likes to punch with it, bites mercilessly or, better still, the engine slams, lets you feel the great play in the drive train in every situation. Anyway, there is always some form of movement, of restlessness, and when it finally grows out of a pumping shock absorber.
A.If it works then it works with power. The long friendship phase costs the wild GSX-R two rounds against Ducati and Honda. Once you get used to it, it hails fast laps, which, however, require more care than with the V-twin. The trick is to carefully avoid peak loads, i.e. brake more carefully, accelerate more carefully, do gymnastics more carefully, shift gear more carefully. Because it’s not that easy, the Suzuki simply sweats more than the other mopeds. But fast, fast it is. Difficult to get more speed per mark in this class. And thus tie with the Honda.

Michelin Pilot Race – Sticks: Michelin Pilot Race

The four motorcycles rolled equally on Michelin Pilot Race racing tires measuring 120/70 ZR 17 at the front and 180/55 ZR 17 at the rear. In the interests of good high-speed stability, the Michelin are based on a radial carcass with a zero-degree Kevlar belt. In order to achieve maximum dimensional stability under circumferential and lateral forces, two layers of cut belts, inclined at 45 degrees to the circumference, cross over it. In conjunction with the rubber compound and profile, this racing tire structure guarantees fantastic grip as well as fantastic feedback and road holding with great steering precision and astonishing durability.

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