FACTORY SUZUKIS TOP SUPERBIKE TESTS
20 January 2006 - Suzuki Racing

Double World Superbike Champion Troy Corser and six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin topped this week’s four-day WSB Tests at Phillip Island in Australia.

The two Australians – Corser on World Superbike-specification Pirelli tyres and Yoshimura factory rider Mladin on race Dunlops – dominated from the start; Corser smashing both his 2005 test time and also his 2005 race time under a full-race simulation as his Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team-mate Yukio Kagayama finished fourth in the unofficial timings.

Unlike Corser, Kagayama was only able to do his race simulation on the final day - in extremely windy conditions, which the other riders described as ‘scary’.

Troy Corser:

“I was happy with our pre-season tests at Phillip Island last year and I’m even happier this year! These four days have been very positive for all of us and we’ve done a lot of very useful work. The 2006 bike feels better than last year’s bike already and although there are no major changes, a lot of things are working better and I feel very comfortable on the bike straight away.

“The engine feels better - both in mid-range and top-end - and, thanks to all the work we’ve done, the electronics are working better as well. I can easily adjust more things on the bike and that’s a great feeling to have at this stage. The 2005 GSX-R1000 Alstare Suzuki was a great bike, so there was no need to make any radical changes, but this year’s bike feels really good. I’m also pleased with the progress Pirelli have made and looking forward to even more improvements.

“Overall, I’m very happy how the tests have gone and I feel ready to race this bike tomorrow!”

Yukio Kagayama:

“The tests were very good and very positive for our team. There were no problems and no crashes, though the last day was a little dangerous because of the strong winds. There was a very big tail-wind when I was doing my race distance simulation and going into turn one was a little scary - but no big problem for me.

“ There were a couple of other turns on the track where I had to be careful but I was determined to do the race distance so I stuck it out. I just couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to because I did not want to crash. I think the 2006 bike is an improvement over last year’s bike. For me, the engine feels a little stronger and I’m happier with the front suspension now.

“We tried many things over the four days, including spending a lot of time on the electronics. It’s an area where you need to spend time away from a race weekend so it was good to make progress there also. Like Troy-san, I am happy and feel ready for the first race.”

Unofficial Test Times:

1 Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki - Dunlop) 1:32.2.
2 Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) 1:32.79.
3 Steve Martin (Petronas) 1:33.40.
4 Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) 1:33.5.
5 Norick Abe (Yamaha) 1:34.5.
6 Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha) 1:34.6.

www.suzuki-racing.com

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