Spies and Sykes put the 2009 WSB Yamaha R1 through its paces in South Africa

2009 Yamaha Motor Italia Superbike riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes have endured some serious heat on their three day test in Kyalami. The young riders have endured track temperatures approaching 50 degrees as they put the all-new-for-2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 through its paces on only its second outing on track.

Spies was second quickest on day one with an impressive best lap time of 1'41"599(46 laps) in the African sunshine. Team mate Tom Sykes was struck down with a mysterious bug, and he only managed to put in some laps prior to returning to the hotel.

Day two saw Spies fall in testing, so missing the final time on track, he still managed to improve on his day one times, finishing the day with a best lap of 1'41"049 (38 laps). Sykes managed to improve dramatically on day two with a best time of 1'42"933 (18 laps).

The final day saw Spies pull in his fastest time of the test, taking second fastest honours overall and only a mere 0.2s behind Michele Fabrizio and beating Noriyuki Haga to the second spot,making him one of only three riders to break the 1.40 barrier with a time of 1.39"978. Tom Sykes was getting back on form until an unfortunate crash curtailed his testing for the day, he again improved on his times in the limited laps run with a 1.41"562. The re-entered Aprilia squad took 8th and 9th and the new for 2009 BMW factory team finished 11th and 13th.

The new 998cc bike, featuring a high tech powerplant closely linked to the M1 MOTOGP bike, is currently at the very beginning of its development for the 2009 WSB season and is still relatively close to production specifications. The M1-derived crossplane crankshaft design and uneven firing interval, give very good traction to the bike and improved tyre life. The new chassis gives an unparallel feedback to the riders, improving stability and feeling out of corners. The WSB spec engine is being developed step by step, improving power output at each stage in the run up to the first race in 2009.

So far the team's minor modifications to the standard bike include a modified cam-shaft, an enlarged radiator for extra cooling and the addition of an oil cooler. The new bike has no rear sub-frame but incorporates a strengthened frame. The exhaust is unique, and was developed in partnership with Akrapovic. The standard fuel tank has also been replaced with an aluminium tank with increased capacity. The bike features the latest Magneti Marelli electronic systems. The new swing arm is also developed purely for the WSB race bike based on knowledge taken from the 2008 racing season.

Since Portimao the team have changed the seating position slightly for both riders and taken the engine one step further in tuning.

Ben Spies
"I'm really happy with the bike, the team and the progress we're making," Spies continued. "This was the first time we had the opportunity to go out and size ourselves up against everyone in a major test. We're ahead of where we thought we'd be at this point. There are two more test sessions this winter and I expect the bike will continue to improve as we move towards the season opener at Phillip Island in March. The fan support here is pretty amazing. It was a good week to get to know some of the other riders too. I had a lot of them come up and shake my hand and welcome me to the series. Max Biaggi came up and talked with me for awhile. That was pretty awesome for me. I've been a fan of Max since I was a kid. In AMA there might be two or three guys in testing who get down to business from start to finish," Spies admitted. "There's no lollygagging here. No one's going around doing wheelies the length of the straightaway. Everyone pushes hard here all the time. The competition is going to be good for sure."

Tom Sykes -

"It's been a tough test! I missed one and half days through this bug I've had so was a long way behind with laps. When I got out I still managed to get some good laps in and the team were brilliant, they improved the bike massively every time I came in. I've got a very sore shoulder from falling today but it's nothing serious."

Massimo Meregalli Yamaha Motor Italia Team Manager -
"In the end we tested almost everything while we were out here, tyres, different suspension set ups, different mappings and so on. We've found some good set ups to take forward to the next test. We've been waiting out for the evenings here for the temperature to drop so we could get back out on the track and try some new things. Both Tom and Ben have performed really well, it's been really unfortunate that Tom has been held back by things out of his control. We're still very much running in the new bike, this is only the second session since Portimao. All in all we are very satisfied, we know what our potential is and we are very happy."

********************

BMW:

The final day of the three-day Pirelli test provided Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport with both challenges and improvements, but in the end, the team left Kyalami in a positive frame of mind and ready to make further progress at the next outing. Troy and Ruben continued to try as many different ideas as possible and give valuable feedback to the team instead of chasing any lap times. Troy was happy that his fastest lap, on race rubber, was not far off the pace and a sign that there is still more to come.

Italian Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) posted the fastest lap of the test, with a time of 1:39.714. Second quickest was American Ben Spies (Yamaha), with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) third.

Troy

I am reasonably happy with what we managed over these three days and Ruben and I have certainly given the team lots of info for them to work with. There was no point chasing lap times because we wanted to try different things and see what effect they had on the bike. It was so much hotter today than the past two days and it really wasn't worth going out in the middle of the day. I think we made the right decision because hardly anybody went out either. It did cool off later in the afternoon and it would've been good to have gone a bit faster, but my bike had a bit of a problem and I wasn't able to do it. I had a small crash today, when I lost the front end going into Wesbank, but wasn't hurt at all.

All in all, I am realistic about what we did here these three days and we ended up more or less as I expected, though possibly a bit better. The important thing is that we improved steadily throughout the three days and now we've got lots to work with for the next test.

Ruben

Of course, I would've liked to have gone faster at the end, but that wasn't the reason we came here. We came here to try and understand the bike and get it to do what we wanted it to do. Troy and I have different riding styles and he has a lot of experience with four-cylinders, so I always knew he would be faster than me here. But the important thing is that we have both given the team good feedback and now they will go away and work on what we have said. I am happy with our progress and happy that I finished without any crashes and now can enjoy Christmas fit and healthy and ready for next year.

Rainer Baeumel (Project Leader)

Yesterday we did go sideways a bit, but still managed to get a lot of useful information at the same time. Although our lap times weren't so good, I felt that this test was very positive and it makes me optimistic about our next test. We are a new team and I am happy because everybody worked really well together and are very motivated about this challenge. It will be good for all of us to have a bit of rest now and then come back ready to continue the good progress at the next test.

Final best lap times

1. Fabrizio (Ita-Ducati) 1'39"714; 2. Spies (Usa-Yamaha) 1'39"978; 3. Haga (Jpn-Ducati) 1'39"984; 4. Rea (GB-Honda) 1'40"035; 5. Checa (Spa-Honda) 1'40"170; 6. Neukirchner (Ger-Suzuki) 1'40"394; 7. Kagayama (Jpn-Suzuki) 1'40"675; 8. Biaggi (Ita-Aprilia) 1'40"768; 9. Nakano (Jpn-Aprilia) 1'40"968; 10. Kiyonari (Jpn-Honda) 1'41"067; 11. Troy Corser (Aus-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1'41"102; 12. Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1'41"562; 13. Ruben Xaus (Spa-BMW Motorrrad Motorsport) 1'41"996.

***************

Team Suzuki Alstare news
Superbike World Championship
Pirelli Tyre Development Test
Kyalami, South Africa, 12th December 2008

TEAM SUZUKI ALSTARE IN POSITIVE MOOD AFTER KYALAMI TEST.

Yukio Kagayama, Max Neukirchner and the Suzuki Alstare team left Kyalami circuit in a positive frame of mind after three days of testing. This was the second test of the all-new GSX-R1000 K9 and a lot of work had to be completed in the three days, but the team used the available time well and gathered a lot of information and data. Now they will go back to the workshops and begin the work analysing all the info before preparing the bikes for the next test in January.

Italian Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) posted the fastest lap of the test, with a time of 1:39.714. Second quickest was American Ben Spies (Yamaha), with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) third.

Max
Generally I am happy about this test and the work we did here. It's always difficult testing or racing at altitude, but we managed to try lots of different things and made a lot of progress. We changed the balance of the bike for the afternoon and I was doing a long run when the red flag came out and that prevented us getting some valuable data. We had some problems yesterday, but still went fast, but today we had problems and could not go fast! It wasn't so hard to do good lap times, but it was hard to then shave off those fractions of a second and go even quicker. We have learned a lot about this new bike and my team and I are happy because we know that we'll improve further at the next test. For me, it was important for me to understand this bike and I feel that I have achieved that goal.

Yukio
We changed the set-up today and in the morning we definitely improved from yesterday. For me, one of the problems was the bumpy track because that upset the bike a lot and made it difficult to ride smoothly. I wanted to do a lot of work with the engine, but maybe high altitude is not so good for working with the engine because we didn't get the answers we wanted. We tried some tyres in the afternoon but when it was very hot (the track temperature went over 57 C) the bike was not so easy to ride. But, don't forget that this is a new bike and we have a lot to learn before we push at the front. I feel positive though, that we will meet this challenge.

Fastest laps of the 3 days
1. Fabrizio (Ita-Ducati) 1'39"714; 2. Spies (Usa-Yamaha) 1'39"978; 3. Haga (Jpn-Ducati) 1'39"984; 4. Rea (GB-Honda) 1'40"035; 5. Checa (Spa-Honda) 1'40"170;
6. Max Neukirchner (Ger-Suzuki Alstare) 1'40"394; 7. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn-Suzuki Alstare) 1'40"675; 8. Biaggi (Ita-Aprilia) 1'40"768; 9. Nakano (Jpn-Aprilia) 1'40"968; 10. Kiyonari (Jpn-Honda) 1'41"067; 11. Corser (Aus-BMW) 1'41"102; 12. Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1'41"562; 13. Xaus (Spa-BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1'41"996.

*****************

FABRIZIO BREAKS RECORDS AS THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM CONCLUDES THREE-DAY KYALAMI TEST

Kyalami (South Africa): Friday 12th December 2008: The Ducati Xerox Team has spent the last three days on track at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa, participating in the Pirelli tyre test session.

On the third and final day both Ducati Xerox factory riders, Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, continued to make strong progress on board their 1098 F09 machines. In the first half hour of this final day, Michel went well under the 1m40s barrier,  registering a flying lap of 1m39.7s on a qualifying tyre, the fastest lap ever made by a motorcycle at the Kyalami track.

Noriyuki has built up confidence with his new Ducati F09, and leaves South Africa in a positive frame of mind. Nori also lapped in under 1m40, registering a fastest time today 1m39.9s, the third fastest time to be clocked this week.

Michel Fabrizio

"We tried qualifiers today and as I thought it allowed me to go just a little faster than I had so far. I was aiming to break the 1m40s barrier and succeeded, and even on the race tyre I managed 1m40 dead which wasn't bad. This afternoon got more difficult as I was very tired after the non-stop riding but all things considered, I'm very happy with how the three days has gone. This winter I'm concentrating a lot on training and physical preparation so as to be as fit as possible in time for the opening round at Phillip Island."

Davide Tardozzi - Team Manager -

"I'd say that for a first test session we are more than satisfied. Both our riders have worked very hard and the results speak for themselves, very positive. Haga has  been working well with his new team and there have been no particular problems. We're confident that we'll be ready for the start of the new season."

TIMES: Day 3 - Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m39.7s; Spies (Yamaha) 1m39.9s; Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m39.9s; Rea (Honda) 1m40.0s; Checa (Honda) 1m40.1s;  Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1m40.3s; Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m40.6s; Biaggi (Aprilia) 1m40.7s; Kiyonari (Honda) 1m41.0s; Corser (BMW) 1m41.1s; Nakano (Aprilia) 1m41.2s; Sykes (Yamaha) 1m41.5; Xaus (BMW) 1m42.0s

*****************