Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127826
Champion Max Biaggi kept himself locked a~ay in the team's garage. The best time the Italian could manage on the Kanemoto Honda SR250 was a 1:37.00, some 1.6 seconds slower than the fastest of the 250cc riders - Aprilia's Loris Capirossi, who lapped at 1:35.4. But while Biaggi was not forthcoming with comments on his new mount, Chesterfield Honda team manager Herve PoncheraJ, in the neighboring garage, was more approachable. "It is the chassis of the '97 Honda we are working on, and getting the suspension right:' Pond,era! said. "When the chassis is right, riders will always complain about the engine and a lack of power, but that is not the case. Oliver (Jacque) hasn't been to Phillip Island before, so we have to take that into account too." Behind Capirossi, the next best were fellow Aprilia riders Tetsuya Harada and Marcellino Lucchi and Honda's Tohru Ukawa - all lapped at 1:35.80. Then came Stefano Perugini on the Nastro Azura Aprilia at 1:36.80, just clear of Frenchman Jacque with a 1:36.90 on his Chesterfield Honda NSR250 and Noriyasu Numata on the factory Suzuki RGv250, also at 1:36.90. umata's teammate on the Dutchmanaged Suzuki team is Englishman Jamie Robinson; the Brit's best effort was a 1:38.90. Two-time 125cc World Champion Haruchika Aoki recorded a best lap of 1:37.50 on his 1997 Honda NSR250. It was a Honda blitz of the 500cc time sheets with Doohan's Repsol Honda teammate Alex Criville second fastest with a lap of 1:33.80, followed by surprise packet Takuma Aoki on the Repsol Honda NSRSOOV twin at 1:33.90. Then came the first of the Yamaha riders, Norifumi Abe on the unsponsored Team Rainey YZR500 at 1:34.40. Fortuna Honda's Carlo Checa and Promotor Yamaha's Luca Cadalora were next, recording identical 1:34.7 lap times. Although his teammate Alberto Puig didn't make the trip to Australia due to illness, Checa wasted no time in commencing his own 1997 title assault, completing 297 laps over the four days over 100 more than Doohan. Checa's. bike was the only full '97 spec NSR500 in attendance, and although he hadn't tried the "Mick engine," the Spaniard was more than happy with his current setup. "I'm having enough trouble with the old engine, let alone one that's harder to ride," Checa said with a grin.. World Superbike Champion Troy Corser had his first serious outing on the Power Horse YZRSOO, and both he and Promotor team manager Davide Tardozzi expressed satisfaction with his best time of 1:35.20. "We're taking care that Troy doesn't go too fast too soon:' Tardozzi said. "He can ride harder when he knows what he's doing." Corser found the major difference between a superbike and the GP bike was in the throttle response. "On a superbike you move the throttle a lot to get a little, but on a 500 a little movement is a big movement, if you get what [mean," Corser said. Weather conditions varied throughout the four-day test, wi th all bu t Abe recording their fastest times on day four when the strong winds of earlier in the week abated. The times set by the leading Honda riders were impressive, considering the HRC squad (500 and 250) elected not to ride on the opening day. Adding even (Above) Aprilia teammates Tetsuya Harada and Caplross!. (Right) Max Biaggl had his first ouling on the 1997 Honda NSR250, but was well off the pace. (Below) Doohan and Criville have patched things up since their year-end crash in the Australian Grand Prix. more credence to the Honda times was the variety of machinery. Doohan was using a 1996 chassis with ;r "new style" NSR500 engine, Criville had a similar chassis but with a 1996 "big bang" engine, Aoki was on the factory twin (although his best time came with a tow from Doohan) and Checa was aboard a full 1997 SR500 lease bike. Doohan and Criville both clocked speeds of 181.04 mph just prior to tum one, but said the headwind was knocking six mph off the top speed expected in October's Australian GP at this same venue. Both riders only had one bike each to practice on, using this opening session to try tire and suspension combinations. ''1' m using the new-style engine - it's more fun to ride, al though it's a bit more savage," Doohan said. "It wouldn't suit everyone, as it's harder to ride - but I'm looking forward to remaining competitive but perhaps heading 500 development off in a new direction." Doohan's chief mechanic Jerry Burgess emphasized that the engine is "not an old design" as the press has implied. "We've learned some things over the past few years and we've applied that to a new design:' Burgess said. "It's different to what everyone calls the "big bang" engine, but it's not a pre-1992 design." The one thing that was new on both Criville and Doohan's bikes for '97 was the bodywork, which was plain black carbon-fiber for the Phillip Island tests. Criville is a past winner at Phillip Island, claiming victory in the 1989 125cc Grand Prix to clinch the World O,ampionship. "I like the circuit - it has good memories:' the .Spaniard said.. "It's a little bit bumpier, but not much - the major difference is the speed of the 500. It's mud, faster." Tadayuki Okada was also present for the test, but c.rashed heavily on day three when he got off line at Lukey Heights, injuring his neck and wrist. He sat out the final day and his best time in two days of testing ended up being a 1:35.30. "Tady has found the jump from a twin to a four bigger than the jump from the 250 to the 500 twin:' team manager Simon Bleasdale said. "You can't impose your will on a 500 four like you can on a twin." Abe was another of the 500cc riders to crash, but he escaped without injury. The four Yamaha riders present were on 1997-spec bikes, with Cadalora commenting that the YZR500 felt just like the bike he raced in 1995, but with more power. As the Ltalian won more races on the Yamaha than he did on the Kanemoto Honda NSR500, thi must be a promising sign. Team owner Wayne Rainey was putting on a brave face with the sudden loss of the Marlboro sponsorship, his bikes sporting hastily covered logos. The local government regulations forbid tobacco advertising anyway (unless dispensation is asked for), but in the case of Team Rainey every possible Marlboro logo or decal was totally covered - and not just the lettering (as was the case with the Chesterfield bikes). "It was very sudden, but we've got a factory team, two riders, and it's business as usual," Rainey said. "We only signed Sete (Gibernau) this week, and he's been brought in to help with development - he's ridden for me before and will be an asset to the team." Rainey was adamant that hi team was the official Yamaha factory squad. In the garage next door, however, Power Horse team manager Davide Tardozzi had a different view. "We are now the official Yamaha factory team, and will be known as Yamaha Promotor," Tardozzi said. "You only have to look at where all the Yamaha factory personnel are..." Rookie Corser was pleased with his times, even if they were slightly slower than his best recorded times on the Ducati Superbike - a 1:34.20 in pre-season testing last year. "Every time I go out the bike is different - I'm just trying to find out what effect changes in ride height and 'suspension have:' Corser said. "The team is comparing computer data from Luca's bike, but other than that I haven't been asking for his settings." Abe was not perturbed by his "single rider" status in Team Rainey, with Gibernau very much the junior member. "Team Rainey is not the only Yama- ha team," he said. "Luca and Troy are on the same bike, so Wormation is not a problem." The IRTA Winter Test squad now moves to Malaysia to continue testing at Shah Alam, although HRC won't be attending any more mixed test sessions. "We're back at Phillip Island in two weeks with our full '97 bikes, so we'll back-to-back them with the things we've learned here," Doohan said. "Then we've got a test at Eastern Creek and another at Shah Alam before the season gets under way." Looking fit, relaxed and enthusia tic, Doohan's pre-season form suggests he'll be just as hungry for title number four as he was for his first championship. His Phillip Island test showed he's lost none of the drive for pushing a 500cc V-four to the limit. ''I'm looking forward to this season, developing a new bike and hopefully winning a few races along the way," Doohan said. "I'm surprised how quickly I've got back into it these past few days - I really enjoy riding this bike." l~ Who did what SOOcc Michael Doohan Alex Criville TakumaAoki Norifumi Abe Carlos Checa Luca Cadalora Troy Corser Tadayuki Okada Sete Gibernau Honda Honda Honda Yamaha Honda Yamaha Yamaha Honda Yamaha 1:33.6 1:33.8 1:33.9 1:34.4 1:34.7 1:34.7 1:35.2 1:35.3 1:36.9 250cc Loris Capirossi Tetsuya Harada Marcellino L.ucmi Tohru Ukawa Stefano Perugini Oliver Jacque Noriyasu Numata Max Biaggi Haruchika Aoki Sebastian Porto Jamie Robinson Franco Battaini Osamu Miyasaki Aprilia Aprilia Aprilia Honda Aprilia Honda Suzuki Honda Honda ApriJia Suzuki Yamaha Yamaha 1:35.4 1:35.8 1:35.8 1:35.8 1:36.8 1:36.9 1:36.9 1:37.0 1:37.5 1:37.6 1:38.9 1:39.5 1:42.4 17