GixerGaz
31-01-2007, 17:28
http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7189&d=1170260928
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies picked up where he left off last year, setting the fastest time on the first day of the rain-shortened final all-teams pre-season test at California Speedway in Fontana. Spies was so happy with his first true test of the 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000 that he was happy to talk about lap times on a day when some of his colleagues weren’t.
“I’m really happy, I’m ready to get going, I’m ready to start the season,” Spies said after unofficially clocking the fastest time in the three hours of dry track time. Rain that began as a drizzle around noon soon intensified, ending the day several hours early and denying teams much needed track time.
The Texan’s best hand-timed lap was a 1:24.5 minutes, which was very close to his fastest lap of 1:24.441 mins. from last April’s national. Spies ran the time twice, one on a new rear Dunlop and once on a tire he’d run for 31 laps. And it was done on a track that had less than optimal grip.
“The bike’s just working really good,” Spies said. “I feel good. I don’t feel like we’re riding too hard at all. The difference is last year, obviously we were trying to win the championship and it was all serious and all like that. And it’s still serious right now, if ever. Just having a lot of fun riding the bike, getting out there. Just getting everything done.”
The single most important new element that ran through the Superbike field was traction control. Some teams are farther along than others, but all still have a lot to learn, and will continue to as they visit each new track.
“The traction control system we’re working with [a Mitusbishi system similar to the one used by the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team] is really good. It seems like it’s going to make the bike a lot easier. And already I’ve got a real good baseline on that. From here this is as bad as the bike can be for us and it feels really good. If all the stuff we’ve got, if we can find just a little bit in any of it, it’s just going to be a bonus. Like I said, right now if I had to run this bike for the whole season and not change anything, I think we’d be hard to beat.”
Spies said that “motorwise it’s better than it was last year, but it’s not where it’s going to be this year. We’ve got just a couple more horsepower for when we go racing. It’s a little bit different in some ways, but in the ways I need it better, it’s better for me.”
Tire life should be helped by traction control, if it’s properly programmed. Among the reasons for Spies’ success last year was the team’s insistence that he string together laps in practice, “same thing we’re doing this year.” The tires drop off, he said, but then stabilize. “The rider has to get used to it. But as in what affects the bike, it doesn’t do anything. Actually, I’m more comfortable when I have laps on the tires and it’s easy because the bike is set-up for where I want. I’m always confident at the end of the race - if we’ve got a race on our hands, at least I’m comfortable with the bike and know what it’s doing. It’s not getting all these big crazy slides and pushes. Like I said, we’re trying to make it better, but right now it’s looking pretty damn good.”
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies picked up where he left off last year, setting the fastest time on the first day of the rain-shortened final all-teams pre-season test at California Speedway in Fontana. Spies was so happy with his first true test of the 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000 that he was happy to talk about lap times on a day when some of his colleagues weren’t.
“I’m really happy, I’m ready to get going, I’m ready to start the season,” Spies said after unofficially clocking the fastest time in the three hours of dry track time. Rain that began as a drizzle around noon soon intensified, ending the day several hours early and denying teams much needed track time.
The Texan’s best hand-timed lap was a 1:24.5 minutes, which was very close to his fastest lap of 1:24.441 mins. from last April’s national. Spies ran the time twice, one on a new rear Dunlop and once on a tire he’d run for 31 laps. And it was done on a track that had less than optimal grip.
“The bike’s just working really good,” Spies said. “I feel good. I don’t feel like we’re riding too hard at all. The difference is last year, obviously we were trying to win the championship and it was all serious and all like that. And it’s still serious right now, if ever. Just having a lot of fun riding the bike, getting out there. Just getting everything done.”
The single most important new element that ran through the Superbike field was traction control. Some teams are farther along than others, but all still have a lot to learn, and will continue to as they visit each new track.
“The traction control system we’re working with [a Mitusbishi system similar to the one used by the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team] is really good. It seems like it’s going to make the bike a lot easier. And already I’ve got a real good baseline on that. From here this is as bad as the bike can be for us and it feels really good. If all the stuff we’ve got, if we can find just a little bit in any of it, it’s just going to be a bonus. Like I said, right now if I had to run this bike for the whole season and not change anything, I think we’d be hard to beat.”
Spies said that “motorwise it’s better than it was last year, but it’s not where it’s going to be this year. We’ve got just a couple more horsepower for when we go racing. It’s a little bit different in some ways, but in the ways I need it better, it’s better for me.”
Tire life should be helped by traction control, if it’s properly programmed. Among the reasons for Spies’ success last year was the team’s insistence that he string together laps in practice, “same thing we’re doing this year.” The tires drop off, he said, but then stabilize. “The rider has to get used to it. But as in what affects the bike, it doesn’t do anything. Actually, I’m more comfortable when I have laps on the tires and it’s easy because the bike is set-up for where I want. I’m always confident at the end of the race - if we’ve got a race on our hands, at least I’m comfortable with the bike and know what it’s doing. It’s not getting all these big crazy slides and pushes. Like I said, we’re trying to make it better, but right now it’s looking pretty damn good.”