Four days of SBK testing for Alstare Corona Suzuki (Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama) Foggy Petronas (Steve Martin and Craig Jones) and Yamaha Motor France (Norick Abe, Sebastian Gimbert and Shinichi Nakatomi) at Phillip Island wrapped up on January 20 with fine weather for the entire duration—although the normal Phillip Island winds and high track temperatures played their part in proceedings.

Reigning World Superbike champion Troy Corser was the quickest overall of the SBK riders, carding a 1:32.7; he was delighted with the team's—and Pirelli's—progress in his last test before the series opener at Qatar on February 25.

The Superbike lap record at Phillip Island belong to Corser, setting them on a freshly resurfaced track waaaay back in 1999 on a Michelin-shod Ducati in Superpole, turning a 1:32.193 and lap record of 1:33.019

In last year's WSBK round at Phillip Island, in Superpole, his team mate, Kagayama, won the watch with a 1:33.241, Corser was 4th with a 1:33.396 against his qualifying time of 1:33.191.

Fastest times for most riders occurred during the morning of the third day before track temperatures soared to over 50 degrees (Celsius) to curtail afternoon testing for many riders.

Most riders had packed up by lunchtime on the final day with only Kagayama still putting in the laps in the afternoon, the Suzuki rider doing more 'kays around the Island than the rest to post his fastest lap (1:33.5) when others thought it too windy to venture out

"It has been really worthwhile to do the full race test," explained Corser. "We've now done a race, before a race. We've been testing tire life for Pirelli, checking clutch wear and things like that. Last year, I struggled with a lot of wheel spin and not too much side grip, but no longer.

"We did a race simulation over 22 laps and I was over 30 seconds faster over last year's race time. That's nearly a second a lap faster than my lap times last year, so I am very happy. I'm really racing against our own clock, but you have to be happy with consistent 1.33's.

Corser said a similar thing last year, but he was jumping off the three-cylinder Petronas!

"The 32.7 lap was one lap and on race tires we did basically 33 dead through to 33.7 pretty much for the whole "race". I'm lapping on race tires quicker than what we did on qualifiers last year.

"I'm a lot more comfortable on the new Pirellis, I'd say there is half second there with the tires, with better grip. And the rubber is lasting, from the first to the 17th lap, there was only 2/10ths of a second difference.

"The new tires offer a lot more feel and better side grip than the old tire—front and rear. The front tire was always a bit vague for me last year, where now, I feel confident I can just put the bike into the corner on the brakes and it's going to be there. I'm pretty happy. The rear tire has definitely picked up a lot of side grip which will lift corner speed I reckon.

Although Suzuki aren't running a new bike, Corser is happy with the improvements the team has made at its Belgian HQ during the winter.

"There is new electronics and fuel mapping. We're definitely got more power, better torque right through the power curve."

He also hinted that the team have been playing around with traction control via engine management, attempting to get the most out of the Pirelli's that are renowned for spinning the rear and that struggle to last a race distance. At the same time he added that the grip and performance of the new generation Pirelli's has improved to such an extent that the traction control mightn't be as critical for performance and drive.

When Mat Mladin and Troy Corser's times are compared and analyzed, it's clear that the Pirelli's are on the way up, as considering the blustery conditions Troy's fastest time was just 0.6 sec off last year's qualifying time on race tires. But any comparison isn't really fair—neither rider were on the same bike and there's more of a chance of world peace than that transpiring. It's a tantalizing prospect, however, as both won Aussie 250cc Production titles (Corser in 1990 and Mladin the year after), both won Aussie Superbike titles; Mladin in 1992, Corser in 94. And both have won US Superbike titles; Corser in 95 and Mladin well, six times in the past seven years while Corser has added two SBK crowns to his resume.

Both are exceptional riders, it's just that having the both of them on the track at the same time begs comparison.