Submitted by David Emmett on
Testing concluded at Valencia for the World Superbike riders today, and it was Max Biaggi who finished the test on top of the timesheets. Biaggi broke Noriyuki Haga's existing lap record by some eight tenths of a second on his final lap of the test, before climbing off the bike and heading off to the airport to fly back home. Biaggi finished ahead of yesterday's fastest man Leon Haslam, the young Briton confirming his excellent pace on the Alstare Suzuki. Third fastest was Sterilgarda Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow, just a tenth off Haslam's time. The reigning World Supersport champion has taken no time at all to adapt to the World Superbike machines, and continues to be very quick.
Crutchlow finished ahead of both Johnny Rea and James Toseland, the Ten Kate Honda man working on new suspension, while Toseland concentrated on electronics and chassis setup for his Yamaha R1. Reigning British Superbike champion Leon Camier finished some way off the pace, after crashing a couple of times during the day. He was joined in the gravel by Ten Kate Supersport rider Michele Pirro and James Toseland, though all three riders walked away uninjured.
Unofficial times from day 2 at Valencia:
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time |
| 1 | Max Biaggi | Aprilia | 1'33.8 |
| 2 | Leon Haslam | Suzuki | 1'34.0 |
| 3 | Cal Crutchlow | Yamaha | 1'34.1 |
| 4 | Johnny Rea | Honda | 1'34.2 |
| 5 | James Toseland | Yamaha | 1'34.3 |
| 6 | Max Neukirchner | Honda | 1'34.7 |
| 7 | Sylvain Guintoli | Suzuki | 1'35.0 |
| 8 | Leon Camier | Aprilia | 1'35.2 |
| 9 | Alex Hofmann | Aprilia test team | 1'35.3 |
Comments
Biaggi's Fast Lap
Was done on a race tire, according to Aprilia test rider Alex "The Hoff" Hofmann.
Biaggi Lap Record
How could this be when Spies' superpole time was 1.33.270?
Race tires
I should have been clearer. Biaggi was under the existing race lap record, and set his time on race tires, as Mike correctly points out.
Lap records set during testing never count anyway, but it's a good way of finding out where the bikes and riders stand in comparison with last year.
Test Times
Yep. . .no question. Thanks for the clarification. Thought I was missing something.