World Superbike Teams Get to Grips with New Pirellis

14 November 2003

Following last months announcement that Pirelli would be the exclusive tyre supplier to the World Superbike Championship for 2004, the Foggy Petronas and Fila Ducati teams were out to test the new rubber at the Valencia Circuit in Spain. Foggy's new signing Chris Walker was in action on the FP1 for the first time since signing for FPR and joined team-mate Troy Corser in the first chance to test the Pirelli tyres.

The focus of four-times world champion Foggy was firmly on his new man, who has replaced fellow Brit James Haydon. Carl said: “This has been one of the best tests I have been to and the atmosphere within the team has been really positive. Chris had a few mechanical problems on the second day but the first day went very well. He loved the bike from the word go, especially the way it handled in the corners. And I was very surprised to see that he was nearly as fast as Troy at such an early stage. Chris did not really have much of a chance to test the Pirelli tyres, but Troy went very well on them on the second day.

“I was very impressed with Troy’s performance. He did around 16 laps on the same tyre, with his last lap quicker than the first. I don’t think I ever saw that with our Michelins. We still have a bit of work to find the perfect tyre for our bike but Troy said the Pirelli tyres gave good consistent grip throughout. So everything looks good for exciting racing and close competition in the championship next year.”

Chris had finished the first day with a best time of 1:38.2, just half a second down on his team-mate. But, while Troy broke into the 1:36s, mechanical problems prevented Chris from making progress with lap times on the second day. Chris commented: “I spent the first day familiarising with the bike and the way the team works, but I was unable to make much progress on the second day because of a few problems with the bike. But I already know that the bike does certain things very well. All I can do at this early stage is use Troy as a benchmark and I was only half a second behind him on the first day which was very encouraging. I didn’t get much chance to test the new tyres but there will be time for that.”

Troy said: “I was doing lap times today as good as the ones at our last test here, with similar engine performance. It is still early days in our selection but the signs are that the one-tyre rule is going to work well for the championship.”

The Ducati Fila 2004 World Superbike championship pairing of Regis Laconi and James Toseland made their first appearance for the team this week as they completed a three-day testing session at Valencia.

The 28 year-old Frenchman, who finished fourth in this year's championship, was quick right from the start of the test on Tuesday and ended up with a time of 1'35.6 on qualifying tyres, which was the quickest time recorded in the three days. During his total of 215 laps, Laconi also did several long runs, setting a quickest time of 1'35.9.

"It's the first time I have ridden the 999 after following them around all year so I'm very happy!" declared Regis. "Ducati have made the 999 fast, it's so enjoyable to ride and I'm already working very well with the team. We have a good feeling with the bike and we did a lot of work in these days, testing a lot of tyres and changing the settings. The front tyre is already OK and good for my style of riding and it's important to set a good lap time right at the start".

Britain's James Toseland also got to grips with the championship-winning Ducati 999 and Pirelli rubber for the first time and the 23 year-old from Sheffield was pleased with his time of 1'36.4, recorded during a total of 195 laps.

"It's all new for me and the only thing familiar is the track!" joked Toseland. "The first three days have been difficult as I knew they would be, but we've just got to get into the massive learning curve. The chassis and the riding style of the 999 are very different so we're working hard on that as well. It's all just a confidence-building exercise really. I'm pleasantly surprised with the way everything went and we're not far off the times I set earlier this year. If we improve like this, I know it's going to be a good championship".

Lorenzo Lanzi continued testing with the Ducati 749R the Italian will race in the 2004 World Supersport championship, setting a quickest time of 1'39.3 in his 180 laps.

See series calendar for SBK World Superbike Championship 2004

Related Story 27.09.2003 - Pirelli Appointed Exclusive Tyre Supplier for 2004 World Superbikes