WSBK – Vacation Homework Completed for Sykes, Guintoli, Baz and Company –

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Vacation homework completed for Sykes, Guintoli, Baz and company

WSBK - Vacation Homework Completed for Sykes, Guintoli, Baz and Company -

Ten World Superbike riders took part in the official testing which was held Monday and Tuesday at the Portimao circuit. World champion Tom Sykes leaves Portugal with the best time, followed by his two big rivals: Guintoli and Baz.

While thousands of tourists crowded on the pretty beaches of the Algarve (extreme south of Portugal) and twiddled their thumbs under a hot sun while chaining the ice, ten World Superbike riders met on Monday and Tuesday on the Portimao circuit for a series of … laps…

The meeting was important since it was the last opportunity to work on motorcycles before going on a long vacation (six weeks!). Pirelli, the sole manufacturer of the WSBK championship, was also present to give the pilots a taste of new compounds..

Unsurprisingly, it was Tom Sykes, reigning world champion and current leader with 325 points, who turned the fastest during the two days. His time of 1’42.719 on race tires would have enabled him to secure pole position three weeks ago during the Portuguese event..

"The first day, we did 70 laps and started a good job in a few areas ", declares the mysterious Sykes. "We played with the geometry of the bike and other stuff that we don’t have time to do on race weekends.".

"I only used one tire on the second day", underlines the" Number One ","and when I got out a little later in the day, we still had some competitive times until the end. We have further improved the motorcycle on used tires".

Slowed down by some technical issues on Tuesday, Tom and his chief mechanic Marcel Duinker were unable to complete their test program, but felt very satisfied with the work accomplished. The English Ninja will be able to savor his holidays…

Second in the timesheet and in the provisional classification (261 points), Sylvain Guintoli finished his tests earlier than expected: "Big fall this morning, she sent me waltzing !"," Guinters "tweeted, obviously not too upset with his factory Aprilia.

Guintoli in the wheel of Sykes

"No serious injury", happily pointed out our favorite No.50:"a good pace and good results. Home now, for a little rest"… well deserved! Sylvain is the only one to have accompanied Tom under the 1’43 mark. Bodes well for the end of the season !

Fifth at the end of the first day, Loris Baz finally finished on the "podium" of these official tests, less than half a second behind his leader. "We made some progress", retains the n ° 76 of the official Kawasaki team.

"The track might be slower this afternoon (the temperature on the ground was close to 60 ° C, Editor’s note!), we still improved our lap times at the end of the session", rejoiced the" Guepart Savoyard "visibly very swift under the dodger…

"We had some issues on the first day and wasted a lot of time", admits its chief mechanic Pere Riba,"but today we tried new parts on the chassis and it was very positive.

To say: our "Green Giant" turned practically as fast during these tests on used tires (1’43.110) as three weeks ago during the Superpole test on qualifying tires (1’43.048). "Now rest and preparation for Jerez", concludes Baz.

Fourth of the two days, Marco Melandri was also thrown out by his RSV4 Factory: "Papa Marco had a nice glide at 200 km / h, but only grazed his knee", tweeted his compatriot Claudio Corti.

Marco must be doubly careful now, because he and his dear Manu have a toddler to nurture: "this summer my goal is to beat the diaper change record !", jokes Marco in a recent message to his fans (or).

The Italian rider talks about football and politics, before briefly talking about World Superbike: "the championship is out of reach, so I’m going to fight race after race, give the best of myself on my bike and in the pits, while being careful".

Could it be that the "Hedgehog of Ravenna" is slowing down with the arrival of his bambino? Nothing is less certain: on the other side of the Aprilia box, Guintoli father of four children, has never been so fast and incisive in the race. Ditto for Sykes, Rea and Haslam who had their first child last year…

Davide Giugliano has time to see it coming: the Roman pilot will only celebrate his 25th birthday on October 28. He can therefore concentrate exclusively on his career and on his motorcycle: the 1199 Panigale R, which has still not reached the highest step of a world podium….

"This test, which precedes the summer break, was important to organize our activities for the races in September.", recalls the director of the Superbike project at Ducati, Ernesto Marinelli. Incidentally, he succeeded the, where Davies and Giugliano went on Friday and Saturday.

Ducati on the wheel caps

In Misano, the two official riders were able to compete against their MotoGP and Italian championship counterparts, as well as elders such as Fogarty, Bayliss and Laconi in a "Drag Race" competition on the Diavel. Two days later in Portimao, Chaz and Davide went through the start procedures … on their Panigales this time !

"We have focused on the problems encountered recently and we have obtained information and solutions that will most certainly be useful for the last races.", welcomes the big boss of the Bologna Reds.

Chrono point of view however, the Ducatis are still far from the score: the n ° 34 is 8 tenths of the n ° 1, and the n ° 7 (Davies, not Checa!) Is at a full second. Not fully recovered from his nasty fall at Laguna Seca during the first round, "Chazie" hopes to be back 100% at the start of the school year….

Injured at, Claudio Corti was back on the same track at the controls of the F4RR which he had kindly loaned to Leon Camier for the races at Laguna Seca. The only MV Agusta rider was also able to evaluate the latest Pirelli tires..

The tires brought in by the Italian manufacturer were "designed to increase their performance and endurance in the hottest events, starting with the opening next year at Phillip Island"… The 2015 season has already started !

The 2015 season in sight

David Salom was also getting ahead in his homework: "we worked on the 2015 developments of the bike and everything went well", says the leader of the Evo category."We tried loads of new parts and it was really good. The big difference was the electronics".

Its chief mechanic, Toni Alfeosa, assures us that "the first tests went well, the electronics worked well from the start, but the work on the chassis settings has only just begun".

Timed in 1’44.487, the Spaniard n ° 44 is already as fast as Corti and the MV Agusta: the Greens only give back exactly 2 thousandths of a second to the Italian duo. David is only a tenth off his fastest time on the ZX-10R Evo 2014 at the Superpole: the new Kawa is on the right track !

Behind Salom are the last two participants in his Portuguese trials: the Italian Alessandro Andreozzi and the French Jeremy Guarnoni. "Super positive first day of testing"Jey" reported on his Facebook page Monday night.

"I was able to complete 10 laps at the end of the day with the Kawasaki Motors Racing swingarm and the feeling is very good. I look forward to tomorrow so that I can continue to improve! Thanks to KHI and KME via Fabien Raulo for giving me the opportunity to test it. Thanks also to Tech Solutions for providing me with a new chassis !"

Our fourth compatriot registered in WSBK this season, Sylvain Barrier, was unfortunately not in Portimao: "everything was scheduled with my BMW Italia team, it was to be my first real testing outside of race weekends, but the crash in the US knocked it all down", explains Syl’20 interviewed by Site.

Operated on Friday in Lyon by doctor D’Ingrado – "who had operated on Biaggi a few years ago when he also injured his foot"- our two-time Superstock champion heals his wounds."I was put two screws in the talus. Fortunately, the fracture was clear and the operation was so clean that I quickly went without pain medication.".

No vacation for Sylvain Barrier !

"I had to cancel my vacation, I’m starting to see the physiotherapist and if all goes well I’ll go back to the pool next week, then I’ll resume my usual activities crescendo", Sylvain predicts."I will be back in Jerez, but even if I will be back on the bike by then, I probably won’t be 100%".

There are also other "brand" absences: Suzuki not having chosen the Portuguese track as a training circuit, its two pilots Eugene Laverty and Alex Lowes were able to go on vacation a little earlier than their little comrades….

At Honda, on the other hand, Superbike riders Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam as well as their teammates (in the Supersport category) Michael van den Mark and Lorenzo Zanetti are not idle: they are all at Suzuka to compete in the famous 8 hour Endurance race. , won and !

All these little people (the Kawasaki, Aprilia, Ducati, MV Agusta, BMW, Suzuki and Honda riders, but also EBR and Bimota riders!) Will be back at the beginning of September in Jerez, for the tenth round of the 2014 championship. . Superpole and races to follow, almost live as always on the Site: stay connected !

WSBK Portimao test: 1st day

  1. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R: 1’43,128

  2. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory: 1’43,279

  3. Davide Giugliano (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale R: 1’43,963

  4. Marco Melandri (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory: 1’44,288

  5. Loris Baz (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R: 1’44,587

  6. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati 1199 Panigale R: 1’44.737

  7. Claudio Corti (ITA) MV Agusta F4 RR: 1’45.032

  8. David Salom (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R Evo: 1’45.048

  9. Alessandro Andreozzi (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R Evo: 1’45,400

  10. Jeremy Guarnoni (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R Evo: 1’45,793

WSBK Portimao test: 2nd day

  1. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R: 1’42.719

  2. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory: 1’42,954

  3. Loris Baz (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R: 1’43,110

  4. Marco Melandri (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory: 1’43.315

  5. Davide Giugliano (ITA) Ducati 1199 Panigale R: 1’43,592

  6. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati 1199 Panigale R: 1’43,742

  7. Claudio Corti (ITA) MV Agusta F4 RR: 1’44,485

  8. David Salom (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R Evo: 1’44.487

  9. Alessandro Andreozzi (ITA) Kawasaki ZX-10R Evo: 1’44,924

  10. Jeremy Guarnoni (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-10R Evo: 1’45,109

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