From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders identify Pirelli preference

New rider Chris Walker felt the benefit of three more days in the seat of the FP1 at the conclusion of Foggy PETRONAS Racing’s three-day test at Phillip Island, Australia.

While testing a variety of new tyres provided by World Superbike championship manufacturers Pirelli, both he and team-mate Troy Corser made steps towards identifying the best construction and compound for the forthcoming race season. And, with one more test remaining before the first round at Valencia at the end of February, Chris took encouragement from the fact that he was only 0.3 seconds away from the best time of 1:35.4 set by team-mate Troy Corser on his home circuit.

Chris said: “I went quicker today on a tyre which wasn’t quite as good as the one we found yesterday. And I am also pleased that I was doing the same lap times as Troy when we were on the same tyre and the same rim. That is really encouraging, particularly at Phillip Island. I am really enjoying working with this team and have already developed a good relationship with our Pirelli representative. When he tells me the differences between tyres, I can definitely feel what he is describing. But they had so many different tyres to test out here that, once we had found the best medium-soft compound, there were not too many left to test and I had wanted to break into the 34s.

“The team has worked to get the bike a bit more Chris Walker-like – a bit softer and looser – so that I can back it into corners and slide it out of them. I have altered my ride height to make the bike more stable on the brakes and that has helped. I jumped on the bike on Tuesday and it felt alien – nothing like the motocross bike I have been on all winter! – but it was good to quickly get it working how I like it and it gives us a clear direction for the next test.”

Chief engineer Steve Thompson said: “Although we still have a lot of work to do with Pirelli in making sure we maintain our corner speed advantage, we now have a clearer idea of the type of tyre that will best suit our bike. Hopefully we will be able to put what we have learnt here into practice at next month’s pre-season final test. Chris has worked very hard on the set-up of the bike with the tyres available and his attitude has been excellent. We have also had the opportunity to test a new cooling package from MB Motorsport, which has produced significant improvements.”

Troy said: “We have been trying to do a few more laps today on the tyres we have found to work best for us, but I still think there is room for improvement. We need a bit more stability as I am still experiencing a small chatter, although I think we are going in the right direction. At this stage in the tyre development I don’t think the lap times have been too bad.”