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/128367
World Superbike Testing: The Dusty Two-Dozen and, as we all know, has a nasty habit S of getting just where we don't want it to be. In the case of the magnificently shaped, appointed and facilitated Losail International Circuit, that means it gets everywhere, from the corners of the pit garage to the surface of the track. And for some time, it stayed there. Thus, the racing line took some time to get cleaned and grippy enough to let the top World Superbike riders exploit their prowess to the max. But it certainly happened eventually. And in a year when the unknown unrav- els into a new fact, seemingly day-on-day, the first real all-out dry weather test delivered some peculiar names up the finishing order. If you're British, Japanese or pay attention to domestic racing outside your own country, you'll know just how good Yukio Kagayama really is. If you've seen the results of the GSX-R 1000 all over the world in the last few years, you know it makes a speedy and tidy Superbike. If you've seen the Alstare Suzuki team at work, and their lap times from testing, you'll know that they will be formidable opponents in the forthcoming (nay, imminent) 200S World Superbike season. And the Pirelli tires appear to have improved in performance, despite some worries about ultimate longevity on the bizarre Losail surface. year's Suzuki really is. Cardoso could be thought of as more of revelation than even Kagayama, as his show- ings at a wet Valencia could have been put down to familiarity with both track and damp conditions. Here, it was the same for every- one, and Cardoso has many a point to prove, just like half the field. "We've got consistent rhythm, and I've been able to ride confidently," the Spaniard said. "I had a moment on my fast lap when, on corner 13 on a qualifying tire, the rear end broke away the same place as Dames) Toseland crashed. But my bike went only went sideway for a long way, so I lost my chance for a better time. I've arrived at this championship with very strong morale and a Spanish title. I won it from good riders in a high level championship. I know I'm going to be much more competitive in Superbike than in MotoGp, because the level of the bikes is much more even. ,. With the top two Suzukis not just fast but consistently fast, Cardoso (Yamaha DFX Extreme) easily proved the closest challenger, going third quickest, with a 2:0 I. 797 lap. The factory Xerox Ducati 999F05 of Regis Laconi recovered from some early set- backs to post fourth best time, but all the Ducati riders looked to be trying hard for every single tenth, from first to last. World Champion James Toseland experienced a horrid and exceptionally fast highside crash at turn 13 on his Xerox Ducatl. His fall halted the session, and as Toseland Put them all together and they are so good they even beat this year's favorite for the title, Troy Corser, to a single lap of supremacy at Losail at least. And he is on their side in the forthcoming World Superbike combat. With far better track conditions appearing on day two, and with an outbreak of 2004-spec qualifying tires for some, Kagayama slashed away to the new track Superbike best of 2:0 I.4BO. To put that into garage. He was seen later walking around pit lane, ready to make a quick recovery for the first rounds of his title defense, having dropped to 10th-fastest overall. Not an ideal start, especially after a good first day. Yamaha Motor France's Sebastien Gimbert secured a magnificent fifth place, having led the ranking with only minutes of perspectjye, at the same 3.3-mile circuit, the final two hours and 20 minute session the MotoGP troops did a best of I:S8.988 (Carlos Checa, Yamaha, Michelin) on qualifiers and I:59.239 (Colin Edwards, Honda, Michelin) in race setup. So Kagayama was only 2 1/2 seconds from the GP bikes, and faster than his own qualifying time in MotoGP last year. In fairness, day two provided better track conditions for all 29 Superbike riders than most MotoGP riders had the first time out on a virgin circuit, but the point remains valid in any case. Most World Superbike riders present made good use of their opportunities to set much improved lap times overall, after a first day well off the final pace. Corser (suffering from the flu somewhat) could have been fastest man but saved himself from that fate by rolling the throttle when he saw the lurking Yamaha of remaining. Gimbert is a full-time World Superbike rookie but a veteran of some excellent performances at Brands Hatch and Magny Cours last year, and he looks to have sharpened his teeth and his RI in the winter. On a good day for riders new to the championship, wildcard Spaniard Ivan Silva A1bertola Jose Luis Cardoso waiting on him to give a tow down the long Losail straight. As Cardoso still ended up third, and his bike no real slouch, it shows just how fast this 8 MARCH 2, 2005 • was examined in the medical center, there were some nervous looks from the Ducati went sixth fastest on his Yamaha, another World Superbike star in the making, and if he gets the nod, he could be in the series full time this year - not part of the plan over the winter. Top Brit Chris Walker ran out a promising seventh on his PSG-I Kawasaki, no mean feat in what is proving to be a closely contested series for all riders. He was within one second of Kagayama's leading time, with a 2:02.442, set on a Oust) sub-200 hp machine, with more to come. Underlining the fact that the Qatar race and the 2005 Superbike series in general will be unpredictable affairs, Marco Borciani and his DFX Yamaha made a giant leap from 25th CYCLE NEWS (Top) Yuklo Kogoyama led the World Superbike men during final preseason testing in Qatar. (Middle) Kagayama's teammate Troy Corser ended up second best but is the title favorite heading into the opening round. (Bottom) Ben Bostrom had his first outing with the Renegade Honda Koji team and ended up 23rd fastest. on day one to eighth on day two, one place ahead of the qualifier-shy Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor ltalia) and two up on the luckless Toseland. Two more big names, Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) and Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor ltalia) found the pace tough and had to settle for I Ith and 12th, respectively, with Abe simply not able to get on the unexpectedly high pace and Pitt experiencing worries with his closed-throttle grabbiness, engine braking and general setup. Lorenzo Lanzi (Scuderia Caracchi Ducati) fought hard for his 13th place in the run-up to his rookie World Superbike race but was simply swamped by the competitive field. His seemingly nominal teammate Fonsi Nieto slipped down the order after a bright showing on day one, ending his two days in 20th place. Not what was expected after a good Valencia test. Rookie of the Year in World Supersport in 2004 Max Neukirchner, on a streetbikeengined Klaffi Honda CBR IOOORR, was 21 st overall, happy with his induction into the bigger class, if not the power from his bike. It was breathing problems of another kind for the expected leading Honda team. A flu virus, seemingly rampant in the pit garages at Losail, claimed the best efforts of Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) and his teammate Chris Vermeulen. With their heavily modified bikes unable to show their best due to their riders' illness, PierFrancesco Chili (K1affi Honda) took his hastily prepared machine, without a full race spec as yet, to 14th, the top Honda slot over the two days. Vermeulen was 15th, Muggeridge 17th, after posting a very small lap count. Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji) ended 23rd overall, with suspension woes and a motor still being run in. Happy to be back, he should show more in race situations. The future looks bleaker than a lunar surface for Foggy Petronas FP-I three-cylinder riders Steve Martin and Garry McCoy. Each struggled badly against the more powerful 10000c machines, taking their 900cc machines to only 24th and 27th places. With only 2004 backmarker Miguel Praia, now on a Yamaha, behind them (discounting the five seconds off the pace local Telal aI Nuami), the Petronas riders' prospect of premier race points looks perilous. The same reason for this demotion may well herald a new golden age of four-cylinder riding, but we won't really know until the racing starts for real. For all these results, and all the pleasing new names at the top, there were no points up for grabs at this test. It seems Suzuki has an early season march on every- one, but with some results masked by the desert haze, there will be a lot to find out next weekend. Gordon Ritchie