GixerGaz
01-02-2007, 13:02
http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7208&stc=1&d=1170331330http://www.gixerjunkies.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7209&stc=1&d=1170331330
Rizla Suzuki's fears about the Phillip Island test turned into reality this week when its previously ultra-competitive new 800 was made to look ordinary around the challenging Australian circuit.
The track had proved troublesome for Suzuki's previous 990cc machine and that trend continued with the new generation GSV-R - despite previous highly-promising tests at Valencia, Jerez and particularly Sepang - as riders Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins failed to rise above ninth fastest over the three days. Vermeulen eventually finished in that position, 1.2secs behind Hayden, with Hopkins a fraction slower for 11th out of the 13 riders present.
Vermeulen later confirmed that wheel spin was the biggest issue: "We had a similar problem to that which we had at last year's race weekend here and the bike was quite hard to ride without spinning the tyre - that obviously affected the durability. We worked a lot on that, both with chassis settings and engine mapping over the week and it got a lot better as time went on. I improved my average lap time by about one and a half seconds over the three days and that is quite a big step! I also did my fastest ever lap around Phillip Island. I also tested a new heart monitor while I was out riding the bike, this will help me to see how I can improve on my fitness over a race and show me how my body is reacting to various situations on track. So all-in-all it was a pretty good test. We have still got quite a long way to go around here but the progress we have made at Phillip Island will hopefully help us at other circuits and make the bike work even better."
But while Vermeulen sounded optimistic, Hopkins found it hard to disguise his disappointment:
"Basically we have done a lot of laps, and although we found a lot of positives we didn't end up getting exactly what we wanted from here," he admitted. "We sorted out some of the engine mapping and power delivery issues, but this test has been a bit of a reality check. We did struggle over the three days and it showed we still have a bit of work to do on the bike before we come back here for the race in October. I still have some things to sort out with my own riding round here as well, and they can't be fixed overnight - I also have to improve at Phillip Island, not just the bike. I am now really looking forward to getting out in the desert in Qatar, we had a good 990 set-up for there and the bike usually feels good. I'm certainly looking forward to riding the new 800 there and getting back to the sharp end of the timesheets!"
"This test was always going to be an interesting one for the team, with a clear objective of further developing and improving the new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800," was team manager Paul Denning's diplomatic verdict. "We have achieved a lot and gathered good information about the bike that we can work on over the coming months, to make us competitive for when we return here later in the year.
"Overall this has been a very important test - much more so than Sepang - because it has shown us where we need to concentrate our efforts and what has to be done to get the best out of the GSV-R800."
Rizla Suzuki will be back in action at Qatar from February 13-15.
Rizla Suzuki's fears about the Phillip Island test turned into reality this week when its previously ultra-competitive new 800 was made to look ordinary around the challenging Australian circuit.
The track had proved troublesome for Suzuki's previous 990cc machine and that trend continued with the new generation GSV-R - despite previous highly-promising tests at Valencia, Jerez and particularly Sepang - as riders Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins failed to rise above ninth fastest over the three days. Vermeulen eventually finished in that position, 1.2secs behind Hayden, with Hopkins a fraction slower for 11th out of the 13 riders present.
Vermeulen later confirmed that wheel spin was the biggest issue: "We had a similar problem to that which we had at last year's race weekend here and the bike was quite hard to ride without spinning the tyre - that obviously affected the durability. We worked a lot on that, both with chassis settings and engine mapping over the week and it got a lot better as time went on. I improved my average lap time by about one and a half seconds over the three days and that is quite a big step! I also did my fastest ever lap around Phillip Island. I also tested a new heart monitor while I was out riding the bike, this will help me to see how I can improve on my fitness over a race and show me how my body is reacting to various situations on track. So all-in-all it was a pretty good test. We have still got quite a long way to go around here but the progress we have made at Phillip Island will hopefully help us at other circuits and make the bike work even better."
But while Vermeulen sounded optimistic, Hopkins found it hard to disguise his disappointment:
"Basically we have done a lot of laps, and although we found a lot of positives we didn't end up getting exactly what we wanted from here," he admitted. "We sorted out some of the engine mapping and power delivery issues, but this test has been a bit of a reality check. We did struggle over the three days and it showed we still have a bit of work to do on the bike before we come back here for the race in October. I still have some things to sort out with my own riding round here as well, and they can't be fixed overnight - I also have to improve at Phillip Island, not just the bike. I am now really looking forward to getting out in the desert in Qatar, we had a good 990 set-up for there and the bike usually feels good. I'm certainly looking forward to riding the new 800 there and getting back to the sharp end of the timesheets!"
"This test was always going to be an interesting one for the team, with a clear objective of further developing and improving the new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800," was team manager Paul Denning's diplomatic verdict. "We have achieved a lot and gathered good information about the bike that we can work on over the coming months, to make us competitive for when we return here later in the year.
"Overall this has been a very important test - much more so than Sepang - because it has shown us where we need to concentrate our efforts and what has to be done to get the best out of the GSV-R800."
Rizla Suzuki will be back in action at Qatar from February 13-15.