Corser and Haga make progress at Valencia tests

Curtain fastest after strong test results for Yamaha riders Yamaha World Supersport Team rider Kevin Curtain secured the quickest supersport lap time after two days of official testing at Valencia, and in a highly positive shakedown for all Yamaha riders, four of the top six riders were YZR-R6 mounted. Curtain, concentrating his efforts on race distance testing and preparations for the Valencia race in mid April, was still clearly the fastest rider on show, with second quickest time overall going to Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni). Broc Parkes, Curtain’s team-mate, was fifth fastest, and like Curtain, expended his energies on tyre endurance and race set-up. The tests were blessed by warm conditions and a dry track on each of the two days, but on day two the ever-present wind peaked in its intensity, making conditions tricky for all in the last afternoon session. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We accomplished a little bit at this test. We spent a bit of time working on suspension settings to get more life out of the rear tyre and I guess we doubled the life we could expect to get. That was pretty good. There was a lot of wind across the track today but the times I did this morning were a little bit better. It would have been good to get into the 1’36s but we were not really here to do fast single lap times; but you have to ride at race pace to test properly. So all we did were long runs and long runs. I think we did about 60 laps each day. We’re pretty happy, and this was a step in the right direction." Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We did a lot of race testing here, concentrating on tyre endurance after the last couple of rounds, and we went in a good direction. We worked through a few new springs and settings and we did more work on the new rear suspension units that we started the year with. I think they are really ready now. I didn’t put in a tyre in to try and do a single fast lap, but even my times on a race set-up, with a full tank of fuel, were still pretty fast. It all looks good." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "This proved to be a good test for us because I have sometimes had problems at this track in the past, so to set the second fastest time was a good result. Also we found a good set-up for the race here, and worked a lot with the suspension and tyres, so I think we will be ready for the race." 1 Curtain K. Yamaha 1'37.126 2 Roccoli M. Yamaha 1'37.498 3 Foret F. Kawasaki 1'37.556 4 Fujiwara K. Honda 1'37.590 5 Parkes B. Yamaha 1'37.635 6 Salom D. Yamaha 1'37.984 7 Alfonsi L. Honda 1'38.104 8 Riba P. Kawasaki 1'38.145 9 Kallio V. Suzuki 1'38.333 10 Peris C. Yamaha 1'38.724 11 Ivanov V. Yamaha 1'38.575 14 Peris C. Yamaha 1'38.724 19 Talmacsi G. Yamaha 1'39.966 20 Forner D. Yamaha 1'40.174 24 Vincent A. Yamaha 1'40.622 25 Enjolras J. Yamaha 1'40.883