WSBK Testing

[pink69]

Does anyone have any info about the recent batch of WSBK testing from Qatar in regards to times? I've heard it was the Suzuki pair of Kagayama and Corser who set the pace while Toseland threw it down the road!

[racer69]

www.superbikeplanet.com has the top 20 times from the second, third and fourth sessions.

Cardoso topped the times in session 2 on the DFX Yamaha, Corser the third and Kagayama the fourth.

The Honda's are struggling big time, though Ten Kate's lacklustre effort can be put down to both riders being ill

[Hazza]

What is sickening is the pace of the FP1s - they are about 3 seconds off the pace!
But it looks like the Yamaha's will be a threat to the 'Zooks. And maybe the ZX10 could be a wild card...

I seem to rememger the Vander Goober's wasn't setting the world alight on the supersport.

[chunder]

Another one who was notable by his absence was B Boz, who was only a couple frm the bottom of the times, utterly hopeless and slower than a few supersport runners.
Looks like the Gixxers are flying though and fair pay to Yuki san for being so quick first time out on Pirellis, they are soooo different to any other tyre!
You are right Hazza bout FP1 aswell, but i think that has to be expected, the bike has never and will never have enogh power, despite the chassis being a total gem. I think you can only hope that McCoy manages to get a wizard setup like he used to have on the Red Bull GP bike, then maybe he can do some damage, otherwise i think they owuld be better of in supersport!

[BootsOntheSide]

Toseland's fine from his fall, although the team seemed a bti worried by his pace.

It's probably too early to derive an awful lot from the times, although it seems possible that Suzuki and Yamaha have better machinery than Honda and Ducati right now. Foggy are really in a mess, things've gone against them over the years and they really would need a change of strategy on the engine to have any hope. The prospect of seeing McCoy really slide the bike as he did in 500ccs is an exciting one, but sadly it could all happen well behind the TV cameras.

[SALEEN S7R]

Good to see the Suzukis pretty much dominating the overall test times, Kagayama fastest overall. Could the ex BSB front runner take the 2005 WSBK title? I just hope Suzuki are going to be as dominant in WSBK as they have been in BSB.

[ATF]

It certainly looks good but I expected the Hondas and works Yamahas to be closer to the front. Hopefully things will sort themselves out but (reliabilty aside), it's clear who will be the team to beat this weekend!

[N I Tram]

The last thing the series needs is for one bike to be dominant, especially one that only 2 riders will be on. I'm banking on 10 riders winning races across the 5 different bikes. The field as a whole is amazingly close - the Foggies may be outside the top 20, but they're only 3-4 seconds off the pace, on a 2 minute plus laptime.

[chunder]

Think it is gonna be the Suzuki riders out front, especially on a new track as it is all gonne be new for everyone. Think you might find the gap pegged a little when the established teams get to tracks they know and can pick the Pirelli's they want. ALstare have had a year off remember so might not yet know the Pirell tyres as well as other teams.
Yamaha has yet to prove itself anywhere in the world with the new R1 apart from in AMA Superstock. The Virgin Mobile have struggled a bit in UK and the AMA teams have not done much, but if anyone can do its it is the old Belgarda set up.
Is a shame for Foggy but why don't the team just either race somewhere else where they have a chance or take time out to develop a newer 1000cc bike, it could still be atriple if they wanted it to be!

[N I Tram]

The Virgin team had a pretty feeble rider lineup last year - once they got James Haydon in he won a race and challenged at several others for them. Ducati didn't win a dry-weather race all last season despite having Emmett on the reigning champion team's bike plus occasional races from Renegade. Considering how they went with Scott Smart in the UK the Kawasaki may be better than people think, especially on twisty circuits.

[chunder]

Erm Emmet won at Thruxton and Brands didn't he me thinks, it was Haslam that won on the Renegade bike in the wet at Brands.
I agree about Haydon though. I think the thing was that Plater,Mason and especially Hill are not riders with much experience of setting up a new bike. Haydon has ridden for a number of teams over the years in GP,WSB and BSB so will have plenty of experience of working with a new bike and the techincal aspects. Hill got the better results coz he just sat on it and rode the wheels off it, PLater is just a crasher and Mason is over rated as he will prove for Stobart this year, though in fairness i think again he just has not a lot of experience in setting a bike up for himself as someone like Reynolds,Emmett,Haydon,Rutter might have.
Gonna be interesting to see how Haydon and Haslam get on this year, then we will see if the Duke really has lost its way coz Emmetts form last year was so up and down, there one minute and notthe next.
Look at Oulton, he pulled in the furst visist there (obviously making the point to Bird that the bike wasnt there and i need help), yet later in the season he gets a couple of podiums on the same track! These bike racers are a strahge bunch!!

[BootsOntheSide]

MonsterMob did flop a bit with the Ducati last season, but the Sendo team did well with it despite eveyrone there being inexperienced, and Renegade's half-hearted effrots still produced some strong showings, so it's not neccessarily a long way behind the Suzuki and Honda. Virgin did have a weak lineup last year, although things could've been different if Plater hadn't missed much of the season, so I don't think you can write the bike off based on that, especially as Ellison won the Cup and occasionally challenged the works guys with it.

[ATF]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

Renegade's half-hearted effrots still produced some strong showings, so it's not neccessarily a long way behind the Suzuki and Honda.

You can't really call Renegades 2004 season a half-hearted effort. They did fantastically well in WSBK and Haga was probably more deserved of the title than Toseland. Plus they contested BSB rounds they didn't really need to and won a race there as well. Take into account that Haga had never raced at some circuits like Oulton and the team being on Pirellis which are nowhere near as developed as Dunlops/Michelins, and you can't really put them down.

[chunder]

Still couldnt help them getting Bostrom higher than 28th though could it!!