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/311007
IN THE WIND P30 self .085 of a second from a morale-boosting top spot, as he strove to get rid of high frequen- cy vibration from his Ducati Pani- gale. He partially succeeded and went for a quick time only late in the two-part track sessions. "We've mainly concentrated on the clutch setting and engine brake management, to figure out some of the rear vibration issues I've been having," Davies said. "We've also tested a couple of new electronic strategies and new front and rear settings. I'm pleased with the day's work and the feeling I had with the bike by the end of the day. Hopefully the data I'm providing to the team is useful and can help us improve the bike further for the next races." The testing order mirrored the race result from the weekend in each of the top two positions, but things changed behind the lead- ing duo. A great day's effort from Toni Elias put him third after what he said was his first proper test this season, when he could try out new things on the Red Devils Roma leased Aprilia. He did 99 laps, more than any other rider. Finding a positive in his ma- chine's ability to keep its balance entering corners allowed Volt- com Crescent Suzuki's Eugene Laverty to jump up to fourth fast- est right at the end. Ducatis' Davide Giugliano slot- ted in fifth, while Laverty's team- mate Alex Lowes made more progress as he completed a final swap to the FTR rear swingarm that Laverty has used for some time. He found no chatter with it this time around and will likely continue to use it. Aprilia's Marco Melandri was depressed by his performances on the weekend but found some- thing in his set-up to improve his mood and performance on used tires, as did his teammate Sylvain Guintoli. They finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Leon Haslam tried to break into the 1:47s on his Pata Honda and eventually succeeded with ease. He ended up ninth and just .497 of a second from his teammate Rea. There was no Kawasaki Racing Team presence at these tests, so no Tom Sykes, Loris Baz or David Salom. Gordon Ritchie MOTORCYCLE-ONLY CHECKPOINTS T he AMA has launched a peti- tion drive aimed at ending the discriminatory law-enforcement practice of setting up checkpoints that target only motorcyclists. The AMA began tracking mo- torcycle-only checkpoints when they first appeared in New York in 2007, when New York State Police stopped motorcyclists traveling to and from the Ameri- cade motorcycle rally. Since then, more than $500,000 in federal funds has been spent on these traffic stops. "This money could have paid the Motorcycle Safety Founda- tion Basic Rider Course fee for 10,000 potential motorcyclists," said Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government affairs. "That money could have been used to combat distracted driv- ing or been invested - as federal matching dollars - in the current comprehensive study to analyze the root causes of motorcycle crashes." The AMA is calling on every- one to support legislation - such as the Stop Motorcycle Check- point Funding Act (S. 2078 and H.R. 1861) now under consider- ation in Congress - and to sign the AMA petition. The petition provides an op- portunity for motorcyclists and others to tell Washington what they think about these discrimi- natory, costly and ineffective motorcycle-only checkpoints, the AMA says. For more information, visit https://cqrcengage.com/amacycle/ app/sign-petition?0&engagementId=47742.