[timmthehuman]

http://i.imgur.com/elHHFC7l.jpg

Ducati Riders:
8th. Xavie Fores 131.661
9th. Chaz Davies 131.678
10th. Davide Giugliano 131.810
18th. Fabio Menghi 133.251

(Compared to motogp Ducati times of 1:29.361(4th fastest) - 1:31.055(19th fastest))

Following on from his impressive winter form in Spain, Tom Sykes set the early pace in Australia as he led Kawasaki team-mate Jonathan Rea on the first day of the final preseason test.

Sykes was quickest thanks to a 1m 31.097s lap that eventually saw him better Rea's best by 0.196s as the 2016 ZX-10R demonstrated its adaptability at different tracks.

In an afternoon that saw two stoppages thanks to firstly a collision between Team Toth's Peter Sebestyen and Grillini Kawasaki's Dominic Schmitter, then a frightening fall for Chaz Davies at the final corner, Michael van der Mark placed third despite failing to better his morning time.

A potential surprise in fourth came in the shape of Jordi Torres, winner of the final race of 2015, as he showed his Althea BMW was a match for the machines outside the KRT Kawasaki garage.

Indeed van der Mark's third fastest lap of 1m 31.510s was just less than two tenths of a second faster than Davies' ninth best time, underlining the added strength in depth in the 2016 field.

A late flyer promoted Nicky Hayden to fifth, as the Crescent Yamaha duo of Sylvain Guintoli (sixth) and Alex Lowes' (seventh) times were separated by 0.065s.

Xavi Fores headed up a Ducati trio in eighth, with Davies, unharmed after his high-speed fall, ninth and the returning Davide Giugliano a place behind in tenth.

There was also a crash for Milwaukee BMW's Josh Brookes, who fell at turn eleven, the same place that claimed team-mate Karel Abraham in the morning. The reigning British Superbike champion ended the day in 14th.

Read more at http://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/2277...lead-kawasaki-onetwo.html#CgqLfyQAMvl4mXYd.99

 

[34566]

Should have highlighted Michael van der Mark. :stickpoke

Hoping for a great competitive season. :yo:

 

[timmthehuman]

Should have highlighted Michael van der Mark. :stickpoke

Hoping for a great competitive season. :yo:

For sure he will. Only bolded Nicky for the fact that a lot of people are interested in how he will do transitioning from GP to SBK. Van Der Mark is another honda to watch though.

 

[rubbish]

Difference between 3rd and 9th is less than 0.2 seconds?? Wtf?? lol

 

[NoTec]

Yep, gonna be one hell of a season.

 

[timmthehuman]

DAY TWO (this is more like it)

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 31.249s
2. Davide Giugliano ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 31.400s
3. Michael van der Mark NED Honda Racing CBR1000RR 1m 31.458s
4. Sylvain Guintoli FRA PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 1m 31.473s
5. Nicky Hayden USA Honda Racing CBR1000RR 1m 31.585s
6. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 31.885s
7. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 31.938s
8. Alex Lowes GBR PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 1m 31.958s
9. Xavi Fores ESP Barni Ducati 1199R 1m 32.109s
10. Jordi Torres ESP Althea BMW S1000RR 1m 32.202s
11. Markus Reiterberger GER Althea BMW S1000RR 1m 32.272s
12. Roman Ramos ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 32.478s
13. Lorenzo Savadori ITA IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 1m 32.587s
14. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta RC F4 RR 1m 32.702s
15. Josh Brookes AUS Milwaukee BMW S1000RR 1m 32.903s
16. Mike Jones AUS Desmo Sport Ducati 1199R 1m 33.420s
17. Sylvain Barrier FRA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 33.314s
18. Alex de Angelis RSM IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 1m 33.882s
19. Fabio Menghi ITA VFT Ducati 1199R 1m 33.622s
20. Josh Hook AUS Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 33.850s
21. Karel Abraham CZE Althea BMW S1000RR 1m 34.062s
22. Dominic Schmitter SUI Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 35.038s
23. Saeed al Sulaiti QAT Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 34.942s
24. Peter Sebesteyen HUN Team Toth Yamaha R1 1m 35.541s
25. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth Yamaha R1 1m 36.150s

Jonathan Rea ended Tuesday as the fastest rider courtesy of the 1m 31.249s lap he set in the morning, after the afternoon proved to be another test of attrition for the World Superbike field.

Temperatures were significantly higher in the afternoon, yet circuit conditions produced the same results as the red flag was shown on three occasions, thwarting riders' intentions of making a race simulation in the process.

With the 2.7 mile track offering less grip only three riders improved in the afternoon, meaning the order of the top 15 remained unchanged with Davide Giugliano and Michael van der Mark completing the top three, behind reigning world champion Rea.

Sylvain Guintoli was fourth as Nicky Hayden (fifth), Tom Sykes (sixth), Chaz Davies (seventh) and Alex Lowes (eighth) followed in Tuesday's overall classification.

The morning outing claimed Fabio Menghi after he fell at turn twelve and broke a bone around his left hip socket. Australian Josh Hook suffered a similar grim fate several hours later as a fall at turn two dislocated his left shoulder and broke a bone in the joint, ensuring he will his home round at the weekend.

Hook's Grillini Kawasaki dropped oil and a chunk of the session was lost as marshals attended to the spillage. The same corner was to be the undoing of Guintoli, the fastest man in the afternoon, several hours later.

The Frenchman walked away after a high-siding on the exit of turn two but was otherwise pleased with the Yamaha R1's feeling on the side of the tyre, even without substantial grip on offer.

To confirm this, Alex Lowes was third fastest in the afternoon, behind Rea and ahead of Sykes with Markus Reiterberger – eleventh fastest in Tuesday's combined sessions – recovering well from his morning fall at turn eleven to end the afternoon outing in fifth.

Notable improvers in the afternoon were Desmo Sport Ducati's Mike Jones, who climbed a place from 17th to 16th and World Superbike debutant Alex de Angelis who jumped two places to end the day 18th on his Ioda Aprilia.

Read more at WSBK News - WSBK: Rea time enough for first amid high attrition rate

 

[34566]

That's pretty competitive.

Fingers crossed for a great season.

 

[rubbish]

Karel Abraham still sucks!

 

[timmthehuman]

Good ol' Jordi Torres from moto2 in motogp 2 years ago was top BMW s1000rr. lol

 

[cbr6]

I think this shows more of Hayden's skill set, 5th fastest with a bike that's said to be uncompetitive.

 

[rubbish]

FP1 done. Top 8 guys covered by less than .4 seconds! Tough competition. should be a fun race. Hoping for dry weather for the weekend.

 

[pat1098]

I think this shows more of Hayden's skill set, 5th fastest with a bike that's said to be uncompetitive.

Which makes are more competitive is looking a bit different this year. With v d Mark in third, also on the Honda, I think we can expect them to be amongst the front-runners a bit more this season.

But Hayden is bound to be quick, almost regardless of the make of motorcycle.

Likewise for the Yamahas, which haven't made much of an impression in this series since Ben Spies left, but which are doing good times at PI. Guintoli in particular, although we know he likes the circuit.

The times being so close is a bit ominous for the Ducati team. They were probably hoping they had made more progress than the other makes.

Just going to have to ride harder boys..

But the Kawasakis are still looking the quickest so far. Those two appear to have their own race going on.

 

[pat1098]

1 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'31.543 20 174,803 309,5
2 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.640 0.097 0.097 19 174,618 309,5
3 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'31.641 0.098 0.001 21 174,616 314,0
4 2 L. CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta 1000 F4 1'31.650 0.107 0.009 15 174,599 303,4
5 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'31.718 0.175 0.068 19 174,470 309,5
6 69 N. HAYDEN USA Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP 1'31.789 0.246 0.071 19 174,335 309,5
7 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 1'31.792 0.249 0.003 20 174,329 309,5
8 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR SP 1'31.826 0.283 0.034 23 174,264 310,3
9 34 D. GIUGLIANO ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'31.844 0.301 0.018 18 174,230 305,9
10 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.922 0.379 0.078 18 174,082 304,2
11 12 X. FOR…S ESP Barni Racing Team Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'32.070 0.527 0.148 19 173,803 304,2
12 32 L. SAVADORI ITA IodaRacing Team Aprilia RSV4 RF 1'32.121 0.578 0.051 19 173,706 312,1
13 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S1000 RR 1'32.383 0.840 0.262 12 173,214 314,0
14 40 R. RAMOS ESP Team GoEleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.689 1.146 0.306 16 172,642 305,1
15 46 M. JONES AUS Desmo Sport Ducati Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1'32.821 1.278 0.132 16 172,396 295,9
16 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM IodaRacing Team Aprilia RSV4 RF 1'32.827 1.284 0.006 21 172,385 315,8
17 20 S. BARRIER FRA Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.852 1.309 0.025 17 172,339 305,9
18 25 J. BROOKES AUS Milwaukee BMW BMW S1000 RR 1'33.354 1.811 0.502 20 171,412 303,4
19 54 T. RAZGATLIOGLU TUR Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.844 2.301 0.490 25 170,517 300,8
20 17 K. ABRAHAM CZE Milwaukee BMW BMW S1000 RR 1'34.277 2.734 0.433 12 169,734 306,8
21 9 D. SCHMITTER SUI Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'34.347 2.804 0.070 16 169,608 299,2
22 56 P. SEBESTY…N HUN Team Tóth Yamaha YZF R1 1'34.909 3.366 0.562 13 168,604 295,1
23 10 I. T”TH HUN Team Tóth Yamaha YZF R1 1'35.891 4.348 0.982 21 166,877 301,7
24 11 S. AL SULAITI QAT Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'36.082 4.539 0.191 13 166,545 290,3

Rea's got good top speed. Must be coming through T12 pretty well. De Angelis the fastest on the Aprilia.

 

[Aussie_Bob]

Geeze - Pos 2 & 4 - the bloated pigs are flying.