A Good Test for the Yamaha Superbike and Supersport Teams at Brno

Both the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team and Yamaha World Supersport Team found success in testing this week at the Czech circuit of Brno. The teams participated in an official two-day test in their role as development teams for FGSport, along with a selection of other teams.

Brno is a naturally rising and falling circuit and is very popular with all riders, making it the perfect place for the Yamaha teams to do tyre testing with Pirelli prior to the next race, which is at Brno in three weeks time. Haga had a good round at this track in 2006, taking the Superpole and Best Race Lap records there and his team mate, Corser, has also had a good relationship with the Czech circuit, taking three wins there to date as well as achieving pole twice.

The main objective of the test was to try out a variety of tyres as well as find the right set-up for the up coming race. Despite damp, blustery and unseasonably cool conditions, Haga proved fastest on day one, setting a lap time of 2’01.0, which was 1.5 second faster than his best lap in 2006. Corser finished the day fifth fastest with a best time of 2’02.3.

Day two saw all riders put in a good number of laps on both qualifying and race tyres despite the temperature barely reaching 20°C, a good ten degrees lower than normally found at Brno at this time of year. Corser and Kagayama set the equal fastest time of the test overall, with them both achieving a 2’00.4 on qualifying and race tyres. Haga opted not to use qualifiers though, and finished the day early as his wrist started to ache following his crash at Misano.

In addition to the Superbike teams, the Supersport teams were also out in force. Last year proved a good race for the Yamaha World Supersport Team at this circuit, with Curtain and Parkes finishing first and second respectively. Positive after taking second at the last race in Misano, Parkes went fastest on day one ahead of Sofuoglu. On day two he took almost a second off his best time to finish third fastest overall.

Following West’s departure, Steve Martin re-joined the team this week to help out at the test. Martin has already ridden the 2007 YZF-R6 this season when he stood in for Curtain at Assen in April so it took him no time at all to get to grips with the bike again. He went fourth fastest overall, ending up only 0.2 seconds behinds Parkes.

Both teams will test at Vallelunga, Italy, on 7-8 July prior to returning to Brno on 22nd July for the ninth race of the 2007 season.

Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “This has been a good opportunity to test a lot of different tyre compounds as well as various suspension settings. Overall, I’d say it’s been a positive test for me; my lap times have been quicker than last year’s race or qualifying times. It’s been good preparation for the race, although it’s a shame about the wet and blustery conditions on day one. The lower temperatures also caused some issues as the tyres that had been brought for the test are designed for the more usual hotter temperatures at Brno.”

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “We’ve been concentrating just on tyre testing with Pirelli. The problem was that the track temperature has been much lower than usual so we couldn’t test in race conditions. The data we’ve got may or may not prove useful in the race, we will have to wait and see in a few weeks. The bike set-up is good, though, and we have another opportunity for testing in two weeks time.

As well as the weather hampering testing, my wrist is still sore from the Misano crash. It has only been ten days since the race and I reckon it is 80% recovered but it still hurts towards the end of the day. This has prevented me from riding to my full potential but I am confident it will be 100% repaired by the next race.”

Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I’m 99% certain that the weather conditions we’ve had here this week are not what we will have here in three weeks for the race! Therefore, most of what we’ve done and achieved will change when it comes to the race weekend. What we did find, though, has given us confidence and shown our potential at this circuit.

Nori is still having some problems with his wrist and finished early because of the pain, but he has been focused throughout practice and found a good set-up and rear tyre for hotter conditions as well as setting some good lap times.

Troy has also posted some good times and, most importantly he has found a good set-up and rear tyre. He also tested some chassis solutions and has been quite satisfied with how it’s gone. The competitiveness of the team is now so good and we are at the top of our game in all conditions and circuits. The team and riders have all worked hard to achieve this.”

Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) “We’ve tested lots of race parts, including chassis components and tyres and I’ve had both bikes going full-time with totally different set-ups to try and find the best one for the race. It’s gone well, though and I’m confident for the race.”   Steve Martin (Yamaha World Supersport Team) “The test has gone okay for me and, I hope, the team. I haven’t ridden a bike for a couple of months now so it was good to get back on one. Getting back on the R6 wasn’t too hard, having ridden it for the Yamaha team back in April. It was just a case of getting back up to speed. We’ve been testing a selection of different tyre compounds and brake solutions and I think we’ve made some good progress. It’s been good to be here with the team and I’m glad I’ve been able to help them out these past two days.”

Terrell Thien (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) “The test has been good for us. The weather has been cool and I’m not sure how much the data we’ve gathered will help us choose tyres for the race weekend as the Pirelli’s are known for being very temperature sensitive. We’ve tested various parts, brake systems and shocks as well as chassis positions and had some good results.

We’re happy that Steven has agreed to work with us just for this test. I feel that the team work has been excellent and everyone’s worked well together. Overall, it’s been a good test for us.”

WSB Fastest Times Kagayama: 2’00.4 (race); 2’00.4 (qualifier) Corser: 2’00.4 (race); 2’00.4 (qualifier) Haga: 2’00.8 (race) Toseland: 2’00.9 (race); 2’00.3 (qualifier) Lanzi: 2’01.0 (race); 2’00.4 (qualifier) Bayliss: 2’01.1 (race); 2’00.2 (qualifier) Biaggi: 2’01.2 (race) Nieto: 2’01.6 (race); 2’00.8 (qualifier) Rolfo: 2’01.7 (race); 2’01.4 (qualifier) Laconi: 2’01.8 (race)

WSS Fastest Times Charpentier: 2’04.1 Sofuoglu: 2’04.1 Parkes: 2’04.4 Martin: 2’05.2 Kallio: 2’05.5 Veneman: 2’05.5 Foret: 2’05.6 Riba: 2’05.9