SUZUKI ONE-TWO IN VALENCIA TESTS
13 March 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama took first and second places in the World Superbike Championship two-day tests in Valencia, Spain that ended today.

Corser dominated yesterday and was still on top today, but with less than five minutes left on the clock, team mate Yukio Kagayama - who had been struggling all weekend with grip problems - stuck on a soft rear tyre in the closing minutes and leapfrogged his rivals, slotting into second place with a time just over a tenth slower than Corser.

Aussie Chris Vermeulen (Honda) finished third quickest overall, with Regis Laconi (Ducati) fourth ahead of Karl Muggeridge (Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha).

Troy Corser - 1st, 1:35.566:

''I am really happy with these two days of tests because we have been able to try a lot of different things and have many good ideas and good directions to move towards. We tried different pivot positions, played around with the rear shock and the geometry and I am happy with how it has all gone these two days. It went exactly how a test should go - very productive. I tried a few starts because I knew I had to work on them after Qatar. And I managed them pretty well, so I''m in good shape there also. I think I could have done a flat 1:35, but I made a little mistake on my quick lap. It doesn''t matter though because nobody went any quicker.

''I also want to congratulate Yukio for doing a good job. All weekend, he was struggling a little, but he pulled one out of the bag right at the end and that was a hard thing to do. It''s great to leave a test with the top two times and also because of all the good things we found out here. Now we are in a good position for our next race in Phillip Island for sure.''

Yukio Kagayama - 2nd, 1:35.698:

''Over the two days I had some problems with rear end grip. We tried many different settings and adjustments but the results were always more or less the same. But because we tried many different things, we managed to get a lot of very useful information and many good ideas to work with. Over the two days, I never found a perfect setting but I know which directions we should take and that is good. Valencia is a funny track because the track conditions change a lot depending on the temperature. And that affects the tyres and grip of course.

''When I set my fastest lap today - right at the end - it was the first time I had used a very soft tyre. The rest of the time I had been only on race rubber. But I did not want to end the test just in the top six or so - I wanted to be the first! In the end, I was second but with Troy first, it is a good result for our team.''

Superbike Results (overall for two days): 1 Troy Corser (AUS - Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.35.566 126 laps; 2 Yukio Kagayama (J - Alstare Suzuki Corona) 1.35.698 134 laps; 3 Chris Vermeulen (AUS - Honda) 1.35.724 126 laps; 4 Régis Laconi (I - Ducati) 1.35.881 126 laps; 5 Karl Muggeridge (AUS - Honda) 1.36.084 124 laps; 6 Noriyuki Haga (J - Yamaha) 1.36.347 115 laps; 7 Jose Luîs Cardoso (ESP - Yamaha) 1.36.433 94 laps; 8 Andrew Pitt (AUS - Yamaha) 1.36.766 127 laps; 9 Chris Walker (GB - Kawasaki) 1.36.793 108 laps; 10 Pierfrancesco Chili (I - Honda) 1.36.613 103 laps.

WORLD SUPERSPORT:

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Javi Fores continued to suffer grip problems today and so was unable to grab a place in the top six as he had intended.

But he and the team found some good directions and left Valencia feeling positive about the next outing in Phillip Island.

Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) dominated the two-day test finishing with a lap of 1:37.880, nearly three tenths of a second ahead of his team mate Katsuaki Fujiwara. Third was Broc Parke s (Yamaha) with his team mate Kevin Curtain fourth.

Javi Fores - 10th, 1:40.072:

''I still didn''t find the rear-end grip I was looking for today although we tried many different settings. But all the information we gathered was good and gave us some ideas to think about and work on. All in all, I would say that these two days were very useful and, in a way, it''s the first real and proper test we have had with the new bike. I am looking forward to Phillip Island. I know it''s a hard track, but I learn tracks pretty quickly so I think I am going to have fun there.''

Supersport Results (overall for two days): 1 Sébastien Charpentier (F - Honda) 1.37.880 85 laps; 2 Katsuaki Fujiwara (J - Honda) 1.38.178 88 laps; 3 Broc Parkes (AUS - Yamaha) 1.38.804 104 laps; 4 Kevin Curtain (AUS - Yamaha) 1.38.913 82 laps; 5 Fabien Foret (F - Honda) 1.38.943 97 laps; 6 Michel Fabrizio (I - Honda) 1.39.238 111 laps; 7 Stefan Folkesson (S - Honda) 1.39.382 86 laps; 8 Gianluca Nannelli (I - Ducati) 1.39.535 96 laps; 9 Barry Veneman (NL - Suzuki) 1.39.985 104 laps; 10 Javi Fores (ESP - Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1.40.072 109 laps.

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