- Offizieller Beitrag
HONDA RACING INFORMATION
FIM SUPERBIKE / SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 01 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 26 PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA PREVIEW
REA IN COMPETITVE PRE SEASON FORM AS HONDA RIDERS GET READY FOR LIFT-OFF
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) enjoyed a strong showing in a two-day official organisers’ pre-season test at Phillip Island, just a few days before the season gets underway for real on Sunday 26th February.
Rea was a few tenths from the fastest man in these sessions and appears to be in podium capable form in terms of race pace over a long distance. He ended up fourth on the combined final testing sheets while still working towards finding an ideal race set-up, rather than concentrating a single quick lap.
Rea and his team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) tested In Qatar in December, at Phillip Island last month, as well as joining their peer group at these tests on 20th and 21st February. Each is now happy that they will start the important business of gathering championship points just as fully prepared as they can be.
Rea and Aoyama will start the season on the latest model of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, which sports new suspension and electronics advances compared to the 2011 model, plus a host of other small modifications.
Raffaele De Rosa (Pro Ride Motorsports Honda) is the only other full-time Honda rider in SBK this season and this was his first ever test on a Superbike, having been a GP rider in the smaller classes until recently. He was enthused by the power and speed of his new bike, especially at a fast and flowing circuit such as Phillip Island.
The 4.445Km circuit, located close to the Bass Straight off Australia’s southern coast, is both a historic motorsport venue and a modern classic.
Fast corners then combine with two hairpins and the circuit changes elevation frequently, sometimes dramatically. A firm favourite on the SBK calendar, it boasts corners called Honda, Doohan and, of course, the downhill Gardner Straight.
PARKES AND THE HONDA HORDES ARE ALL READY FOR NEW BATTLES
With only a few days to go until the first practice sessions of the opening FIM Supersport World Championship round get underway most of Honda’s strong entry enjoyed two days of fine weather at the official IMS test sessions at Phillip island in Australia.
A perfect way to prepare for the imminent new season, the tests featured 14 Honda riders and there will be even more when the championship reaches Europe for round two at Imola. In all, 28 riders made it to Australia for testing and then the race on Sunday 26th February.
In a last minute push to set a strong lap time, after two days spent working on race set-up, seasoned WSS campaigner Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) hoisted his name to the top of the official time sheets at his native circuit.
Fourth quickest was Briton Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) who returns in the same team as last year, but with different title sponsors. Another of many PTR supported or supplied riders, former GP star Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) had a great introduction to the class by going fifth fastest and he is already feeling that Supersport should suit him just fine.
Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) enjoyed a return to Honda machinery in the tests and feels anything will be possible in 2012. Back for more in the same set-up he rode in last year talented young Hungarian Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda) reached his top ten placing at the tests, while changes to his set-up compared to 2011 allowed Polish rider Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Racing
Honda) to burst into the top ten after testing – a position he will try to keep when the action starts for real in a few days.On the entry list for the first round and the rest of the year are South African Mathew Scholtz (Bogdanka PTR Honda), Hungarian Imre Toth (Racing Team Toth Honda) and Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (SMS Racing Honda).
Roberto Tamburini (Team Lorini Honda) made a decent transition to Honda power at the Phillip Island tests, going 17th, and two places behind Lukas Pesek (PRORACE Honda).
Martin Jessopp (Riders PTR Honda), Andrea Antonelli (Team Lorini Honda) and Thomas Caiani (KUJA Racing Honda) round out the Honda entry for the first race of a 13-round season.
HONDA RIDER COMMENTS:
Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) “Last year at this time I was riding injured and I am glad to have avoided that. I am really happy with what has been done on the bike over the winter and we are certainly closer than last year – especially at a circuit that favours the twin cylinders. We are not getting carried away with lap times and the team is pushing me to work for a race set-up, but it is very hard at an official test with transponders fitted to the bikes and screens in the garage, not to look at the lap times, but we worked away with our own thing. In the last run of the tests we tried a different shock, but we keep coming back to a sort of base setting. The shock and forks from Öhlins have been a big improvement and we used them at the last test here. Electronically the bike is really good. Now sometimes I come into the pitlane and the guys ask me if I have too much engine braking and I say I cannot get the bike to ‘back-in’ to corners at all. So that will make the bike much easier to pass people with. I can dart to the inside and it all seems OK. We are where we, kind of, expected to be and we know that to win here is going to be a very big task. It’s been really good just be on track with the others though and I’m really enjoying riding bike. The smaller, sharper bodywork on the new bike helped us to be third fastest in the speed trap today, which was great.”
Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda World Superbike Team) “These two days I have learned a lot more and one thing in particular: that this is a very tough championship! We have been working more on the bike and it’s been good to get more laps and try some set up changes. We’ve found some positive things, especially on corner exit, but other things have not been so good. So we have concentrated on the positive and worked on that to move things forward. At the moment, there is a gap to the top riders, so I hope to catch up a little bit during this first race weekend because I believe there is still some space to improve.
It seems that when the conditions and
temperatures change here, the feeling with the bike is a little different and because I don’t have so much experience on the bike, this has been a little difficult. It’s something that is helped not only by changing the setting – I must adapt, too, and I am learning to do this but I still need some more time. We weren’t able to do so many long runs during this test but we have still found out some ways to improve the tyre life here. Now we just need to get a better lap time.”Raffaele De Rosa (Pro Ride Motorsports Honda) “It was a nice feeling riding a 1000cc, as there is so much power. I had never ridden a bike like this before. The most for me until now was a 600cc and honestly I thought that the bike weight would be more evident, but actually it isn’t something that you feel a lot. It feels big, but this is not an obstacle. It was very nice and I had a lot of fun. The idea today was making laps, but I was not riding for some time and I got a bit tired, mainly because some muscles you work only when you ride and today I felt them again.
Concerning the bike, we started working on it, but there are a lot to test and to work on.
However the important is to go step by step and at the end it is what we are doing.”Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) “In general I am very happy. I have not ridden a bike for four months and we sort of rolled in here, having only just put the deal together in the past three weeks. Yesterday we worked well and today we just fine tuned the bike to suit my style and every time we went out we went quicker and quicker. At the end we saved a couple of tyres to do a fast lap after we did some race runs, but now we will go into the weekend working on our race set-up.”
Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda)
“Having a test so close to the first race weekend is always good. We were the fastest in the morning of the final day of the tests and then fourth overall, so that was positive. I had a crash and that held us back a bit when I was going to try for a fast lap. We also worked a lot on race pace and I think we are basically there.
We have a lot of time to go until Sunday’s race, but I think race pace wise we are pretty much there already. The team has done a mega job and the bike is pretty good. The winter was too long for me so I just want to get underway now.”Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda)
“It was my first time on the bike in these tests and also in Supersport so I am happy because I feel OK on it. It is easier compared to the Moto2 bike; also the traction control and the engine braking are nicer and I prefer that. I am happy with this style of bike and I did not expect to be fifth after the first test, and close to the fastest lap time. I think we can make a battle for the podium at the first race and this is not so bad because I want to try to improve on every exit out of pitlane. This test worked out that way.”Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda)
“Our tests went well and I think the tests were mainly based on finding set-up for this race weekend coming, We had a bit of a bad first day because the generator had an issue on the bike, but the second session on Monday went well. On day two every single time I came in we tried a new setting to find one that was perfect and we found a really good one. I went out there and did ten laps on the same tyre and still did consistent times. It’s great to be on a Honda in this championship, the bike is just an easier bike to ride than some, and we will be on it for the weekend I’m sure.”Balasz Nemeth (Racing Team Toth Honda)
“We will make some changes to the bike and I think we can gain some time still, but I am happy to be inside the top ten after the last test of the pre-season. We should be good for the race.
We had so many problems here last year, but this test has gone well and we found a good setting early on. I think our race settings are working and in the race I should just concentrate on doing the lap times. I think we can in the top regularly so that is our aim, and to get as many points as possible.”Pawel Szkopek (Bogdanka Racing Honda)
“We changed the bike position compared to last year, and now we found more grip in the rear wheel. I have better speed in the corner and I felt safer, more stable, on the brakes. Our improvements in performance are due to just this, the bike geometry change. I have more confidence into the corners. And we found a good tyre set-up, so it all worked pretty well today as I am in the top ten. We know our direction for the race so maybe we will get better and better over the first race weekend.”
