Submitted by David Emmett on
The World Superbike riders have been hard at work for the 2011 season, with a large group gathering at the Motorland Aragon circuit to test their new bikes for next season. Carlos Checa was the fastest of the bunch by over a second, the Althea Ducati rider due to set out for Estoril on Thursday.
Michel Fabrizio's switch to the Alstare Suzuki team has gone swimmingly so far, the former Xerox Ducati rider the 2nd fastest rider on track, ahead of a bevy of Aprilia's, led by 2010 World Superbike Champion Max Biaggi, though new convert Noriyuki Haga interposed himself between the two factory bikes of Biaggi and Leon Camier.
Work continues for the Kawasaki team on their brand new bike, with Tom Sykes and Katsuaki Fujiwara testing the 2011 version of the ZX-10R, with Sykes also running back-to-back comparisons with the 2010 bike. But the BMW pit has been busiest, with a host of experienced mechanics being brought in to work on the bike for next season. So far, it has not produced the results hoped for, as Troy Corser and new signing Leon Haslam were well down the timesheets.
Unofficial times, courtesy of GPOne.com:
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time |
| 1 | C. Checa | Ducati | 1'58.3 |
| 2 | M. Fabrizio | Suzuki | 1'59.3 |
| 3 | M. Biaggi | Aprilia | 1'59.4 |
| 4 | N. Haga | Aprilia | 2'00.3 |
| 5 | L. Camier | Aprilia | 2'00.4 |
| 5 | T. Sykes | Kawasaki | 2'00.4 |
| 7 | T. Corser | BMW | 2'00.6 |
| 7 | K. Fuijwara | Kawasaki | 2'00.6 |
| 7 | L. Baroni | Ducati | 2'00.6 |
| 10 | L. Haslam | BMW | 2'01.0 |
Comments
I thought Checa was
I thought Checa was Motogping this weekend?
He is
But Checa is at Aragon first, flying to Estoril directly afterwards, ready for Friday morning.
Haga getting nicely
Haga getting nicely acquainted with the Aprilia.
He needs to redeem this year's - more or less - underachieving season.
Checa
Good to see him on fire ahead of tomorrow morning. He must be in pretty handy physical condition to keep up this schedule.I reckon the fantastic season he's just had, has really given him an adrenalin boost for the two GP events.
Although Xerox are out next year,topping the Aragon time sheets will hopefully persuade some die hard SBK Ducati officials to find a way to give him a little extra next year.Two good GP results and I wonder ?? Maybe they let him test the GP11 Ducati post Valencia race. Wouldn't rule out the possibility unless the rules rule it out.
Fast Duck
I read a quote from Camier that Checca was expected to be fast as he and his had tested there more recently. I think that explains that full second. It also puts the top BMW time by Corser in a different frame as well.
That stated. I've read that Checa is a tenacious trainer and this kind of effort for him is probably just replacing a similar regimen. Not that most all aren't extremely fit multi-discipline athletes nowadays. Even smokers like Rossi have to train hard.
Nine seconds plus off
Nine seconds plus off Stoner's qualifying time; does it mean anything?
Yes it does
It means that the track layout is different, the configuration used for WSBK being slightly longer than for MotoGP.
10
did only 10 riders turn up?