Phillip Island continued to resemble Bizarroworld in the second day of World Superbike testing.
Where to start?
Leon Camier saw his Crescent Suzuki sail off track and into trees at 140 mph at Swan Corner, the last turn before the start-finish straight, yet he still led the time sheets for the day with a top lap of 1:31.2. That was five-tenths quicker than the top lap Thursday set by Eugene Laverty's factory Aprilia.
Camier was running four-tenths quicker than his best time when he crashed in the final corner, with his GSX-R taking flight. He was unhurt.
"At the end of the day, we had a massive crash when I was pushing for a really fast lap," Camier said. "I just got caught out by the wind. The bike was absolutely totaled, so the boys have got a lot of work to do tonight. Hopefully we'll be back up to speed as soon as we get back on track on Monday."
Sylvain Guintoli was right behind Camier at 1:31.3 on his factory Aprilia, while Jonny Rea marched in one-tenth lockstep to third at 1:31.4 on his Honda despite crashing in the late afternoon. Marco Melandri was fourth on his BMW at 1:31.6, while Michel Fabrizio rounded out the top five on his Aprilia at 1:31.7.
But the second day of testing was almost as significant for who wasn't on the track.
Both Ducati riders ended up spending the second day of the test in a Melbourne-area hospital. Carlos Checa missed his second consecutive day with a blocked intestine, and Ayrton Badovini was checked and released without injury from the crash house after suspecting a broken rib from a hard morning spill in Turn 9. Badovini's Ducati caught fire and burnt to a charcoal-gray crisp after hitting the ground.
Both Kawasaki riders, Tom Sykes and Loris Baz, didn't ride Friday after suffering injuries in crashes Thursday on the freshly paved surface at Phillip Island. Sykes sustained a broken wrist, while Baz still suffered from back pain due to his massive high-side Thursday.
Camier's teammate, Jules Cluzel, also missed testing Friday due to a minor operation Thursday at a Melbourne-area hospital to repair a deep gash in his elbow suffered in a crash Thursday and re-opened in a second crash later that day.
All of the banged-up and ill riders are expected to participate in the official WSBK race week test starting Monday at Phillip Island.
Medic!
