2012 World Superbike Phillip Island Test Day 1
Bart Madson www.motorcycle-usa.com
Reigning SBK champ Carlos Checa leads the way as official preseason testing kicks off at Phillip Island. The World Superbike paddock gathered at Phillip Island for the official two-day preseason test, with many of the teams having participated in a three-day private test at the Australian circuit last week. Checa topped the timesheet ahead of his old MotoGP foes Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri. Like the previous test, however, action on The Island was marred by injury to a title contender as Leon Haslam fracturing his tibia in the opening session.
Carlos Checa led the timesheet after Day 1 of the official two-day preseason test at Phillip Island. The champ campaigns on the older 1198, as the new 1199 Panigale is not yet homologated to SBK (though it is in STK).
Reigning SBK champ Carlos Checa leads the way as official preseason testing kicks off at Phillip Island. The World Superbike paddock gathered at Phillip Island for the official two-day preseason test, with many of the teams having participated in a three-day private test at the Australian circuit last week. Checa topped the timesheet ahead of his old MotoGP foes Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri. Like the previous test, however, action on The Island was marred by injury to a title contender as Leon Haslam fracturing his tibia in the opening session.
Checa turned 71 laps on Day 1, testing Pirelli tires and fine-tuning suspension/electronics settings on his Althea Ducati mount. The Spaniard set the pace on his Ducati 1198, but was unable to match his best time from the previous week (1’31.8). New 2012 regulations require the Ducati Twin to hump an extra 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds), and Checa campaigns the older 1198 – the new 1199 Panigale homologated only for World Superstock. Where Checa could not beat on his best from last week, Biaggi and Melandri (second and third-fastest on Day 1) did improve their lap times. The 2010-champion Biaggi carved almost two tenths off his previous best, meanwhile Melandri lopped off more than a second from last week’s time. The good news for Biaggi and Melandri contrasts the fate of their respective teammates. Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty watches testing from the sidelines, the Irishman having fractured his hand during the final session of the previous PI test. As for BMW Motorrad’s Haslam, the aforementioned right-tibia break will require surgery in Melbourne to stabilize the fracture by inserting a screw. The participation of both riders in Round 1 is yet to be determined. At the time of his injury, during the opening session, Haslam was on the pace from the previous test (his best last week set on qualifying tires). Honda’s Jonathan Rea was fourth-fastest on Monday, trailing Checa by 0.432. Honda World Superbike teammate Hiroshi Aoyama was 15th on the timesheet, with the former MotoGP competitor seeing action against his new SBK rivals. The Ten Kate Honda team did not participate in last week’s three-day test, havingtested solo at the Australian circuit in late January.
Marco Melandri knocked a full second off his lap time from last week during the official pre-season test at Phillip Island.
Tom Sykes one again proved the fastest Kawasaki rider in the SBK paddock. The Englishman lapped sixth-fastest aboard the ZX-10R (Sykes was second-fastest during the preceding Phillip Island test). Teammate Joan Lascorz was tenth-fastest on the day. As for the satellite Pedercini squad, Aussie Bryan Staring was 17th with David Salom 18th – the latter rider only able to muster a half-day in the saddle after breaking his scaphoid during the earlier test (Staring is a temporary replacement for the already injured Leandro Mercado).
Crescent Fixi Suzuki’s Leon Camier ended Day 1 more than a second adrift of Checa’s best. The former factory Aprilia man lapped 11th-fastest with temporary teammate, Josh Brookes, buried back in 22nd. Australian Brookes crashed hard during the opening day of testing, with the British Superbike regular having replaced injured American John Hopkins for the opening round. Hopkins broke his right hand during the first session of the previous three-day test and was recently confirmed out until Round 2 at Imola. A brace of Ducati privateers filled up the testing top 10. Effenbert-Liberty riders Sylvain Guintoli and Jakub Smrz were seventh and ninth. Former Pramac Ducati rider Niccolo Canepa was ninth-fastest, the Italian campaigning a Red Devils Roma Ducati. Scanning further down the timesheet sees BMW Italia rider Michel Fabrizio in 12th, while teammate Ayrton Badovini was relegated to 19th. Badovini’s result was one-spot better than the 2011 World Supersport Champion, Parkingo Aprilia’s Chaz Davies.
Jonathan Rea rides the Honda World Superbike at Phillip Island. The Northern Irish rider was fourth-fastest on Day 1.
The SBK test will conclude on Tuesday, with Round 1 action beginning with practice and qualifying sessions running on Friday.
1. Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1'31.947
2. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'32.132
3. Marco Melandri (BMW) 1'32.232
4. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1'32.379
5. Leon Haslam (BMW) 1'32.397
6. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'32.465
7. Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati) 1'32.768
8. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1'32.836
9. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1'32.848
10. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) 1'33.005
11. Leon Camier (Suzuki) 1'33.104
12. Michel Fabrizio (BMW) 1'33.141
13. Maxime Berger (Ducati) 1'33.246
14. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) 1'33.366
15. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 1'33.479
16. Lorenzo Zanetti (Ducati) 1'33.566
17. Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) 1'33.704
18. David Salom (Kawasaki) 1'33.812
19. Ayrton Badovini (BMW) 1'34.234
20. Chaz Davies (Aprilia) 1'34.303
21. Raffaele de Rosa (Honda) 1'34.400
22. Josh Brookes (Suzuki) 1'34.667
23. Marc Aitchison (BMW) 1'35.223
