From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders view new season with optimism

Both Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Troy Corser and Chris Walker are expecting to capitalise on further progress made on the final day of the official World Superbike championship winter test when the season proper begins in two weeks, also at the Valencia circuit.

Troy finished the three days with the sixth fastest time, but without the luxury of setting his best lap of 1:36.310 on the qualifying tyres used by other riders. For much of the final day, when the rest of the World Superbike field were also using Pirelli race tyres, he occupied third position and was just 0.3 seconds off the pace set by factory Ducati rider, Regis Laconi.

Team-mate Chris also improved his best time to 1:37.287 to finish with the 12th best lap overall, despite a battle to cure a recurring chatter problem on the tyre constructions currently available. And both riders are optimistic that further improvements can be found before the first races on February 29.

Troy said: “In the morning we changed the rear shock a little bit more and that seemed to help, although our track time was reduced through oil spills from other riders. In the afternoon some chatter returned, which might have been due to the falling track temperature. But I know there is a fast lap time in the bike, as I didn’t get a chance to use the qualifiers that the other riders were using to set their best times.

Overall, I am reasonably happy that we have found which Pirelli tyres work better than others. We still have a bit more work to do on the front forks to get a better feel. We have also got a good direction on the rear shock and can still make further improvements for the races.”

Chris said: “I lapped consistently faster all day today but wanted to dip into the 1:36s. But, all in all, we have ended up just outside the top ten despite a few technical problems. Throughout the test we have been working on removing the chatter, rather than concentrating on the ultimate set-up. And I am confident there is still more to come before the race through further development with Pirelli and through more set-up work. If we can start the race where we have left off here, then we shouldn’t be in too bad a shape. The qualifier I tried at the end of the afternoon was on the kind of construction we have been having chatter problems with, and the best race tyre construction we tried lacked a little grip as the track temperature had dropped. But it’s clear some of the other teams are having problems, even without chatter.”

Official WSBK championship test, Valencia, Spain – Final standings

1. Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1:35.393
2. Steve Martin (DFX Ducati) 1:35.574
3. James Toseland (Ducati Fila) 1:36.162
4. Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati) 1:36.201
5. Marco Borciani (DFX Ducati) 1:36.303
6. Troy Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:36.310
7. Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati) 1:36.676
8. Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda) 1:36.907
9. Sergio Fuertes (MIR) 1:37.023
10. Ivan Clementi (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 1:37.186
11. Mauro Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 1:37.281
12. Chris Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:37.287


More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

2004 World Superbike Championship
13th February 2004
Winter Test- Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia

TROY SATISFIED

At the end of the official 3-day tests here at Valencia, Troy felt satisfied that he had done all the work that was possible. Although the conditions throughout the three days remained dry and mostly sunny, the changes in temperature affected the team’s tyres more then expected. Troy’s Petronas FP1 bikes also suffered some technical problems and in the end he was only able to put in a total of 91 laps during the three days. With new (Pirelli) tyres this year, Troy felt he needed more time on the bike in order to give Pirelli feedback so that they can develop tyres for the Petronas FP1.

Factory Ducati rider Regis Laconi ended up quickest over the three days, with a lap of 1:35.393. Second is Steve Martin (Ducati) with a lap of 1:35.574, with James Toseland (Ducati) third on 1:36.162.

TROY

I’m reasonably happy with what we have done these three days, but I would’ve liked even more time on the bike. We’ve been working very hard with the Pirelli technicians and have given them lots of information about what we’d like for out tyres. Now we have to wait and see what kind of improvement we can make. I don’t feel that the tyres the twins use are going to be suitable for us, at the moment, so we’re hoping to be able to go quicker next time. Today we also had a couple of engine problems and that kept us off the track more then 5 would’ve liked. But, we’ve made some progress in the suspension department and that makes me very happy. After the first day, former racer (and now Ohlins technician) Anders Andersson came and talked me about our rear suspension. He took away my rear shock and rebuilt it and the next day I felt it was an improvement. Then he made a few more changes and it improved some more. We lost our chatter problems and grip was improved ­ especially in the morning sessions. In the afternoon, we had a bit more problems, but that could’ve been down to the change of temperature. But, at least I thought we were going the right way ­ and that’s good. I hope that we can sort out a couple more things before raceday, but I feel positive.

OVERALL RESULTS
1 Laconi (F-Ducati) 156 laps, best 1:35.393
2 Martin (AUS-Ducati) 117 laps, best 1:35.574
3 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 190 laps, best 1:36.162
4 Haslam (GB-Ducati) 151 laps, best 1:36.201
5 Borciani (I-Ducati) 150 laps, best 1:36.303
6 Corser (AUS-Petronas FP1) 91 laps, best 1:36.310
7 Haga (J-Ducati) 101 laps, best 1:36.676
8 Vermeulen (AUS-Honda) 125 laps, best 1:36.907
9 Fuertes (E-Suzuki) 87 laps, best 1:37.023
10 Clementi (I-Kawasaki) 124 laps, best 1:37.186

TROY CORSER WEBSITE – http://www.troycorser.com