From a press release issued by Scuderia Caracchi Ducati:

ENDED IN VALENCIA THE TWO DAY TEST FOR SUPERBIKE AND SUPERSPORT

Dark cloudy sky and cold in Valencia for the final day of the test scheduled for the 2005 World Superbike and Supersport teams.

Lorenzo Lanzi on the 999RS Superbike has done a long work on the setting, forced to start by zero because the set up found yesterday in wet conditions wasn’t obviously good for today. The work upgraded so step by step, following the track conditions that was drying, also if it remained large wet areas. They have been tested several new tyres solutions developed by Pirelli.

“The track hasn’t never been full dry.” – said Lorenzo Lanzi at the end of practices – “Actually three quarters of the track were good for slick tyres, but it remained a couple of very wet points that, with this temperature, never more as 10 °C and missing the wind, never dried. So it was more safe to use an intermediate tyre, at least at the front, and only at the end I’ve been able to use the slick. In such bad weather conditions we’ve not been able to complete our test program, we found however a good set up for wet conditions yesterday and I’m happy about today’s work because, also if some of the factory top riders were missing, I believe that nobody has been faster as my 1:40.0 lap time.. Now at home we have to go on with the developing job, then next January we’ll control our actual position at the first test with all the teams.”

A lot of job also for Gianluca Nannelli on the 749R Supersport. The Florentine rider worked strong on the rear suspension, looking for the best handling. Unfortunately a new rain shower at the beginning of the afternoon, just when the track was going to be dry, prevent to finish the scheduled work on the new tyres.

“This stupid weather ruined all our test program.” – commented a disappointed Gianluca Nannelli – “In this occasion we gave the priority to the tyres and suspension setting, let the engine as it was in Magny Cours, but we have not been able to exploit at the best that occasion because at the beginning of the afternoon, when the track started to be dry in the racing line, started to rain once more. Just a few minutes, but enough to ruin everything. I found the bike better, also with a slippery track like today, better handling and I got a very good feeling about the bike and now I open the gas with better confidence. My best lap time today has been 1:41.3 and I’m quite satisfied. The team is working very hard to get the bike I want. I’m really happy with them, they work without pressure and this is very important for a rider, also if maybe sometime I’m rather impatient, like I believe is for all the riders.”


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

World Superbike and Supersport squads in rain dance at Valencia

Despite wet weather and cold ambient air temperatures, Yamaha Motor Italia’s world superbike team and the Yamaha Motor Germany’s world supersport squad tested in Valencia on 13th and 14th December. The test proved a good opportunity to try out both development and race kit parts on the 2005 YZF-R1 and YZF-R6. Even allowing for the far from perfect conditions the teams proved to be satisfied with the performance of their latest spec machinery, which will be tested in a more complete fashion at Phillip Island in late January.

In superbike Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia, YZF-R1) made progress on what was an updated version of the machine he tested for the first time at Valencia in mid-November. New suspension components and revised engine mapping, combined with work on a slipper clutch, were the primary points of interest, even if testing time was cut short by with the slow-to-dry track surface on day one. A patchy surface to start and one final return of the rains on day two foreshortened further meaningful trials of new components.

In the supersport class, for 600cc machines of an even closer relation to a showroom machine than a production based superbike, the all-Australian pairing of Kevin Curtain and new Yamaha signing Broc Parkes had their very first taste of the latest YZF-R6. Even allowing for a shortened combined first day lap count (20 for Parkes and only six for Curtain) the riders expressed great confidence in the front end feel and feedback levels of the new middleweight marvel. Parkes, a new signing for the 2005 season, tried both 2004 and 2005 machines, voting the latest race-kitted model a clear improvement, even at this early stage of his Yamaha career.

Rider Comments
Andrew Pitt: “We continued with the new bike, building on what we had at the last test here in November. I did about 40 laps today, around 50 yesterday and I set a best lap in the 1:39 the first time I went out with slicks on front and rear. The surface was patchy with water in some areas but pretty much dry the first time I went out on slicks. Just as soon as I came into the pitlane again the rains came back. We worked on the mapping and injection systems a lot, to get the best response from the engine. We also tried some rear shocks with new settings, and so on. With it being so wet it was hard to get some of the info but we could definitely feel some improvements. I also tried out some different clutches and I think there are still a lot of progress to be done on that aspect of the set-up. Our next tests is at Phillip Island in late January, so we should have much better weather there.”

Due to contractual reasons Yamaha’s second 2005 season Superbike rider will not be announced until January, with his first test on the YZF-R1 taking place at Phillip Island on January 23-25.

Yamaha Motor Germany Team Manager – Terrell Thien: “The new R6 has certainly impressed the riders already. Even Broc, who is a new signing, could feel the improvements made between last year’s bike and the 2005 one. Kevin has a lot of experience on the previous bike so he rode the new one, and he was immediately happy with the front-end feel. Even if it was wet or damp all the time, the riders put in some good laps.”

Kevin Curtain: “Even with the rain these tests have been really good for us because the new bike feels incredibly different compared to the previous one. The new front end feels a lot more stiff and planted during turn-in and mid corner. The engine is still in the relatively early development stage but already the horsepower is smoother and appears over a wider spread. I only did about a dozen laps in total on day two. The track was wet again when we got here this morning and takes an incredible amount of time to dry so there were a lot of damp patches around the tarmac. I think I did a 1:41.5 lap but the track surface was dangerous in these conditions. If we had carried on we were going to get false information and in the early afternoon it started to sprinkle with rain again. We learned enough to realise, even now, that this bike is an even better package than the previous R6.”

Broc Parkes: “The test’s been pretty good and it’s nice to be working with Yamaha. They are clearly putting in a really big effort and the bike is excellent. I started on the old one and ended up on the new one, but it was a big step upwards in every aspect. It’s a shame the weather meant that we didn’t have a fair test, just because of the limited time we had on the bike. Conditions have been terrible. I was starting to dry out but two laps after lunch it started spitting again. Kevin and I flew in on Sunday from Australia and we’re flying out again tonight, Tuesday. My body and mind are still on Australian time! Kev is a good guy and along with the all-German team we’ve been working very well to test as much as we could.”