Thanks to the mild and favorable weather conditions, Ducati engineers were able to perform tests on setup and electronics, and to gather important information.

Battaini was also joined by the two riders from Ducati’s satellite teams, Cardion AB MotoRacing’s Karel Abraham and Pramac Racing’s Hector Barbera. Each spent a day alternating with the Italian aboard the GP12 SAT, the former riding on Tuesday, February 21, and the latter participating today.

“We were lucky because we had three days with very good weather conditions,” Filippo Preziosi said, “and that enabled us to do quite a bit of work. With Franco (Battaini), we continued with the test program that was planned for the Test Team over the winter, trying some aspects of the electronics that we’ll keep working on with the factory riders at Sepang. I think we found out some interesting things that we’ll soon confirm with Vale and Nicky in Malaysia, where we’ll also continue working with the bike’s setup. Because we had the track available here at Jerez, we also offered our satellite-team riders the opportunity to lap and to work on their respective setups.”

Ducati Corse have chosen to support Moto Rapido to race the new bike in the Superbike series, a first anywhere in the world, which is a far cry from their humble beginnings as a Superstock squad back in 2009. The factory will prepare the1199 with a Superbike chassis sporting a Superstock motor and new spec-electronics will come from the team using Smart’s knowhow.

“The playing field for 2012 is level and it has never been more level in the history of the series. We have one of the most experienced riders on the grid who is also a British champion. With Ducati’s help and the backing of our main sponsor Solent Scientific, there is no reason we can’t be giving last year’s frontrunners a hard time,” said team owner Steve Moore.

“The move up to the BSB championship is a big one and something I am very proud of. We were very happy to become an Elite team for 2012. The new team rules require us to have two riders, this has sparked several partnerships already. This is great progress, There are many teams who would normally be restricted to just one rider who are now joining resources and expertise to become stronger and more stable. For us, the Saudi Falcons team partnership was an ideal solution and allowed us to progress the team. We welcome their rider.”

Smart added: “I’ve been looking forward to this season since the Evo rules were first mentioned. All the bikes are basically the same, save for some idiosyncrasies here and there so it is all down to the rider, the tyre and the conditions. As always, the fast riders will be fast but we aren’t constrained by not having expensive electronics anymore. Everyone is in the same boat in terms of machinery, only the hospitality suite and motorhome competition can be won by cash now.”

Binladen said: “I’m very proud to take part in BSB for what Saudi Falcons see as the fastest-growing Superbike series in the world. This season, history will be made with the first collaboration between a Saudi and a British racing team and I do understand that this is going to be a challenge for me. I will do my very best to learn as much and as fast as I can, I’m also confident that I have a great team and good support behind me which will make my job easier.”

Tom Sykes: “We were fast this morning and also this afternoon in hot conditions, improving our time compared to yesterday. Overall we did a bit more testing today and certainly stumbled across a couple of good things, and at the end we did 14 laps on race tyres and it was very consistent, with the times coming easier than they were doing with previous settings. Kawasaki has made a massive effort over the winter period and there is no doubt the latest Ninja ZX-10R racebike has improved a lot from last year’s feedback so this year it was only natural to progress.”

Second place overall went to 2011 champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati), who ended up just a whisker behind. The Spaniard set the quickest time of the warmer afternoon session and then packed up for the rest of the day.

Carlos Checa: “We finished our job this morning and we just were testing a little bit more to confirm different things, and once I had confirmed that the ‘war’ was over. I feel comfortable, finally, with the last settings. We used the large tyre and the small tyre, and we worked out which settings to use for each one, and we just wanted to save the bike and the engine for the weekend, when the conditions will probably be a bit different and we will need to know which tyres will come for the race. Our base set-up is comfortable, this track is good for Ducati and I believe we did a good job from the first test until now.”

Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) was third on another Ducati 1098R, not far off the pace of the top 2, while Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike) was the only other rider to get into the 1 minute 32 seconds bracket. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) showed remarkable consistency as he took the fifth slot, while Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad) failed to improve on day 2 and his time set yesterday was good enough for sixth. Superbike rookie Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) crashed harmlessly for the third time in this test but was impressive enough for seventh, while Leon Camier (Crescent Suzuki) completed the top 8.

Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad) will undergo an operation Thursday to have two screws put in his right tibia fracture, then a decision will be taken as to whether or not he can race this weekend.

After five days of testing – private and official – the Superbike teams and riders now have a chance to wind down before opening round action begins on Friday.

Times (Monday-Tuesday): 1.Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’31”648; 2. Checa (Ducati) 1’31”652; 3. Smrz (Ducati) 1’31”800; 4. Rea (Honda) 1’31”913; 5. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’32”034; 6. Melandri (BMW) 1’32”232; 7. Giugliano (Ducati) 1’32”319; 8. Camier (Suzuki) 1’32”320; 9. Guintoli (Ducati) 1’32”347; 10. Haslam (BMW) 1’32”397; 11. Lascorz (Kawasaki) 1’32”540; 12. Fabrizio (BMW) 1’32”605; 13. Canepa (Ducati) 1’32”746; 14. Aoyama (Honda) 1’32”910; 15. Berger (Ducati) 1’32”911; 16. Badovini (BMW) 1’32”948; etc.

Superbike records at Phillip Island
Fastest Lap: Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 1’31″826 (2007)
Superpole: Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1’30″882 (2011)
Best Lap: Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1’30″826 (2011)

World Supersport
Australian Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) ended up at the top of the results sheet after two days of World Supersport testing with a time of 1 minute 34.585 seconds. On aggregate over four sessions on Monday and Tuesday Parkes was able to finish ahead of the Kawasakis of Kenan Sofuoglu (Deltafin Lorenzini) and Fabien Foret (Intermoto Step). Britain’s Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) also put in a good overall run, after going quickest in the morning session.

The final session saw the red flags come out for Russian rider Vladimir Leonov who suffered a few cuts and bruises to his right elbow and left ankle in a crash but the Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha man will make the race on Sunday.

The championship warm-up threw up a number of surprises. The first was 23-year-old Frenchman Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda), who has moved over from the mid-class GP  category this year, and who was fifth quickest. The second was Vittorio Iannuzzo, back up amongst the front-runners once again with sixth quickest time on a three-cylinder Power Team by Suriano Triumph.

Times (Monday-Tuesday): 1. Parkes (Honda) 1’34″585; 2. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’34″604; 3. Foret (Kawasaki) 1’34″866; 4. Lowes (Honda) 1’34″957; 5. Cluzel (Honda) 1’35″131; 6. Iannuzzo (Triumph) 1’35″362; 7. Morais (Kawasaki) 1’35″701; 8. Quarmby (Honda) 1’35″824; etc.

Supersport records at Phillip Island
Fastest Lap: Fabien Foret (Honda) 1’34.941 (168.485 km/h) – 2011
Best Lap: Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) 1’33.847 (170.512 km/h) – 2010

The Indonesian Government will furthermore start up the promotion of the event by means of the creation of a government task force that will sustain the economic, logistical, promotion and administrative requirements of the organiser.

Maurizio Flammini declared: “We are proud of the growth of the Superbike calendar, which thanks to the inclusion of the latest rounds is obtaining a presence in countries of major importance for the development of our championship on a sporting and commercial level. After Russia, where Superbike has now arrived before any other world motorsport championship, thanks to more than two years of intense work in the Asian area, we have now been able to insert Indonesia, which has in the past already played host to a race of considerable success and appeal, in the calendar.

Indonesia today is a country with the largest growth factors: GDP is more than one trillion dollars, with a 2011 growth of more than 6%, and the sale of bikes widely exceeds 7 million units per year. The Superbike race will therefore be a great opportunity for the motorcycle manufacturers present in our championship.

We are also negotiating with the Buddh International Circuit in India, where the Formula 1 race was recently held, in order to complete a presence in Asia that in this case will be absolutely extraordinary”.

It should also be added that Superbike, together with its sponsors, teams and entrepreneurs, will be able to benefit from the agreements that Maurizio Flammini, as President of FEDERLAZIO and PMItalia, organisations that represent more than 30,000 Italian firms, has started with the Indonesian Government to set up close collaboration between the companies of the two continents and the creation of B2B opportunities.

The Sentul Circuit has its own particular fascination, both due to its natural environment in the middle of a tropical forest, and due to its technical and design features.

Indonesia also makes up an extraordinary market for bikes, with a total of  7,400,000 units sold in 2010 and an estimated 10% increase for 2011, a figure that will shortly be available. In addition the Government also provides subsidies for fuel used for circulation on two wheels.

The date for the Superbike round will be decided shortly. The two possibilities being considered are at the start of the championship together with Australia, or the final round of the season.

Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, declared: “The arrival of the Indonesian round in the Superbike World Championship calendar confirms the growing interest in our series and undoubtedly helps to complete a championship that touches all the world’s motorcycle markets and which continues to offer increasingly significant  opportunities for the motorcycle industry, sponsors and media”.

There will be eight rounds throughout the season with three races for 600cc and 1000cc classes at each round. The season will run from March to October with provisional venues being Brands Hatch Indy (10/11 March), Snetterton 300 (21/22 April), Anglesey International (2/3 June), Cadwell Park (14/15 July and 15/16 September), Brands Hatch GP (28/29 July), Donington Park (25/26August) and Snetterton 200 (20/21 October).

Sponsors for the 2012 series are Alpinestars, Arai, B&C Express, Flexnet, Putoline Oil and Race Products so the prizes for each meeting and for the series winners will be, as before, of the highest quality. Overall series prizes for the top three in each class will be an Alpinestars leather race suit for first, an Arai helmet for second and a pair of Alpinestars race boots for third. In addition, the top three riders in each class will get the opportunity to attend a winners’ event – this year’s winners flew to Cartagena in Spain for three days of track action.

Commenting on the 2012 series, Chris Mason, Michelin’s UK Motorcycle Race Manager said: ‘Yet again, we are extremely pleased with how this year’s entry list looks as it is attracting riders from all levels.

‘The fact that almost 60 have already signed-up means that we should continue to see some close and exciting racing and the TV coverage with Motors TV means the riders can watch their performance on TV afterwards and provides valuable coverage for our sponsors,’ he concludes.

The dedicated website www.michelinpowercup.co.uk includes race reports, a photo gallery and an area featuring rider profiles.

1928 - 1962

In 1957 Robert McGregor McIntyre attained the elusive 100 mph lap of the TT Mountain Course on a Gilera 500cc -4. 

Only 4 years later, Bob took a Honda 250cc-4 round at 99.58 mph but the engine of his machine cried enough at Quarry Bends on the final lap. 

Bob coasted to a stop at the Sulby Glen Hotel and dismounted in front of TTFan Ian Huntly who recorded this event on his camera. 

Bob died in 1962, so Ian wishes to commemorate Bobs magnificent lap on his Honda by placing a plaque at the Sulby Glen Hotel and hopes that some other fans may wish to contribute to the cost of a quality, secure blue and white plaque…. 

Any money left over will be given to a worthy TT-orientated cause, to be decided. 

Any amount would be gratefully received and we can assure that those donating will be recognised in print. 

Paypal is the method being proposed for receipt of voluntary payments. 

If you wish to follow he progress of this venture, then please log on to www.ttwebsite.com and access the main forum where up to date information will be made available. 

Thank you” 

Ian Huntly 

The former Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Manager and keep-fit fanatic, will join the athletes on the third of five stages – a five-day ascent up and through the Italian Alps – for Cycle Slam 2012 that starts on April 23rd from the birth place of the Olympic Games at Olympia in Greece; and finishes on May 18th at London’s Olympic Stadium, the venue of the 2012 Olympics.

The Dallaglio-Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 has already raised almost £190,000 in advanced pledges with a total fundraising goal of £2 Million. Denning, along with all other riders taking part, have committed to raise in excess of £3000 each.

He said: “My suffering in Italy is in order to support three fantastic charities; the Dallaglio Foundation, the AF Foundation & Virgin Unite, so any money donated will help develop three amazing projects. Firstly, the Dallaglio Foundation is supporting Cancer Research UK’s cutting-edge project on prostate cancer genetics that will help to build a new era of personalised medicine. Secondly, the AF Foundation – set up by Andrew and Rachael Flintoff – is a children’s charity raising funds to build, develop and improve Child Rehabilitation & Physiotherapy Units throughout the UK.

“Thirdly, Virgin Unite: A contribution of all donations will be made to the not-for-profit foundation Virgin Unite to support their programmes that help young people in the UK to increase their employability and entrepreneurialism, so I hope we can contribute to these great causes,” he added.

You can view Paul Denning’s page, follow his progress; and donate: CLICK HERE

For more information on the Dallaglio-Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012: CLICK HERE

In the warmer afternoon track conditions the world champion was unable to improve on his best time of 1’31”947 set in the morning, finding he had reached a plateau in terms of pure pace. “We have reached a limit in this track in testing and it seems we are in the same limit, 1’31.8 to 1’31.9,” stated Checa. “We are trying different things, moving the bike, suspension and electronics and some things are better in one area then worse in another but the lap times are basically the same. It is not frustrating because we are working well and getting some good conclusions but I felt the track conditions today meant that everyone was struggling to improve lap times. I used both the wide and narrow Pirelli tyres and there is some difference between them, but we are still not clear which one can be the best.”

Biaggi, however, improved by a fraction with a sequence of fast laps towards the end, all in the low 1’32s. Melandri also made good progress, ending up with a time of 1’32”232, a full second better than the time he set in last week’s private test.

Leon Haslam, who crashed in the morning, did not take part in the afternoon run. Checks carried out in hospital diagnosed a fractured tibia in his right leg and the BMW man is considering having a screw put in to race in a few day’s time.

In the overall timesheets, Haslam was sandwiched by two more Brits, Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) in fourth and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) in sixth.

Three Ducati riders filled the next three places, with Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma) splitting the Effenbert Liberty Racing duo of seventh-placed Sylvain Guintoli and ninth placed Jakub Smrz. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) jumped to tenth in the afternoon session.

Honda World Superbike Team rider Hiroshi Aoyama set a 1’33”479 lap time after his first real day of competition against his new peer group, good enough for 15th among the 23 riders who were on track today.

Local riders Bryan Staring (Pedercini Kawasaki) and Josh Brookes (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) were 17th and 22nd respectively. WSB regular Mark Atchison was 23rd on his Grillini BMW. Supersport World Champion Chaz Davies was 20th today on his ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia in his first SBK test against all his new rivals.

One more day of official testing remains before the start of the first race weekend of the season.

Times: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1’31.947; 2. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’32.132; 3. Melandri M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’32.232; 4. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’32.379; 5. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1’32.397; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’32.465; 7. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’32.768; 8. Canepa N. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’32.836; 9. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’32.848; 10. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’33.005; 11. Camier L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’33.104; 12. Fabrizio M. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’33.141; 13. Berger M. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’33.246; 14. Giugliano D. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’33.366; 15. Aoyama H. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’33.479; 16. Zanetti L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’33.566; etc.

World Supersport

Australian Broc Parkes (Honda Ten Kate) went quickest in the afternoon session with a time of 1 minute 35.412 seconds as the track warmed up but the fastest rider of the day remained Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto Step). The Frenchman’s morning time of 1 minute 35.140 kept him on the top slot. Fellow Kawasaki rider Kenan Sofuoglu (DeltaFin Lorenzini) confirmed that the ZX-6R machine will be tough to beat this year as he took the overall second place, followed by Parkes (photo).

Various PTR incarnations took the next two places, with Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) ahead of Frenchman Jules Cluzel, who is rapidly getting into the Supersport groove on the PTR Honda. Hungarian Balazs Nemeth (Racing Team Toth) took his Honda to an impressive sixth place overall, with Russian Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) also doing a good job to finish in seventh.

Times: 1. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’35.140; 2. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’35.377; 3. Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’35.412; 4. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1’35.652; 5. Cluzel J. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’36.115; 6. Nemeth B. (HUN) Honda CBR600RR 1’36.165; 7. Leonov V. (RUS) Yamaha YZF R6 1’36.740; 8. Pesek L. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1’36.784; 9. Morais S. (RSA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’36.924; 10. Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’37.102; etc.

Riders Jonathan Rea and Hiroshi Aoyama will use the two-day test to follow up on the work carried out during a private test held at the same circuit last month in preparation for next weekend’s (24-26 February) opening round of the 2012 World Superbike championship.

The InFront test will be the first opportunity for the team to run in its new livery, which is based heavily on one of the colour schemes of the new 2012 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

The new model marks the 20^th anniversary of the iconic Fireblade, which, through the vision of designer Tadao Baba, redefined the entire sportsbike category in 1992.

A full report on the test will be posted at its conclusion tomorrow, Tuesday 21 February.

Jonathan Rea
It’s been a long winter, especially with the new testing ban in December and January, and, in spite of the test last month, I can’t wait to get back on the bike again. Of course, we’ve still got a lot of development work to do with the new bike, but this test will be a chance for us to gauge how much progress we’ve made against our rivals over the winter. It’s next weekend that really counts though, and I’m really looking forward to the new season. I think the new design is really cool and it maintains that strong link between the race bike and the showroom model.

Hiroshi Aoyama
For me, this test will be very important because it is two more days on the bike and tyres, which are new for me this season. There is a good atmosphere in the team and we had a good test at Phillip Island in January. There is still a lot for me to learn, however, and the first race is only one week away. For the first time, I will also see the other bikes and riders in the championship. I know many of them will be very strong but I’m looking forward to competing with them this season. The bike and my new leathers look very nice, I think, so we go to work now!

As is traditional the production-based racing championship kicks off at Phillip Island (Australia), one of the fastest and most spectacular circuits on the entire calendar. The first of 14 rounds will be preceded by two days of official tests, organized by Infront Motor Sports, on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 February. This will be the last chance for teams, riders and bikes to go through their final fine-tuning before action gets underway later on in the week.

It was one year ago at Phillip Island that Carlos Checa began an extraordinary march towards the first world title in his career. With 15 wins in 26 races the Spanish ace took Italian manufacturer Ducati back to the top slot after a gap of two years. The Althea Racing man was also quickest in last week’s private testing here, confirming his current outstanding form on the Island. “Our Ducati 1198R is six kilos heavier this year with the regulation weight penalty, so we’ve had to modify the bike set-up,” explained Checa. “We also successfully tested some new Ohlins front forks. I’m happy with my lap time of 1 minute 31.8 seconds but now we have to do the most important test, over race distance. Both me and the team are focused on what we have to do, which is to hold on to the world title.”

Last week’s big surprise in testing was Kawasaki, who placed Tom Sykes right behind the reigning champion on all three days. “Through all our tests we have explored a lot of areas and gathered a lot of information, but finally it looks like our base setting from winter testing is pretty good” said Sykes. “It is difficult to see exactly where our competitors are at in terms of set-up but ultimately we have had a successful test and have set ourselves up nicely for the official tests. We’ve also been quick on a race tyre and that’s the most important thing.”

Max Biaggi, back in black again this year for the new liveried Aprilia Racing Team, will line up at the age of 40 for his 23rd season of racing with the aim of taking back the number one plate he conquered in 2010. On a difficult track for the Italian bike, Aprilia have made up a lot of ground here in testing, even though “it will be almost impossible to beat Ducati on this track” as Biaggi himself admitted. “I have a new team with me this year and the feeling between us is getting better day after day. We’ve prepared well for the year ahead and we’re ready for battle.”

It will also be a crucial season for BMW Motorrad, who enter their fourth year with new signing Marco Melandri and the confirmed Leon Haslam trying to score the German manufacturer’s first win in World Superbike. In last week’s testing the British rider lapped just four-tenths off the pace of Checa on soft tyres while Melandri was over one second behind. “We still have some issues with the front of the bike, and I need to get more confidence,” declared the Italian. “We still have two more days of testing before we go into the first race weekend, and I hope we are going to have good weather then.”

The test proved to be a bit of a setback for Aprilia’s new signing Eugene Laverty, who crashed at turn 1, fracturing a bone in his left hand. “It’s a bit painful but with the help of my specialist hopefully I won’t miss the race” said Laverty. “The same thing happened to me a few years ago and five days later I was back on the bike”. The hopes of seeing Crescent Fixi Suzuki star John Hopkins race however are minimal, as the American broke a bone in his right hand and immediately flew to the USA to visit a specialist. Hopkins will probably be replaced by reserve rider Joshua Brookes from Australia, who tested the team’s GSX-R last week.

All eyes will also be on the talented rider from Northern Ireland Jonathan Rea, who lines up for another year on a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, flanked by Superbike rookie Hiroshi Aoyama from Japan, while the British contingent is completed by Leon Camier (Crescent Fixi Suzuki) and 2011 Supersport champion Chaz Davies, who steps up to World Superbike on an Aprilia together with his ParkinGO team.

World Supersport

Australia will also see the start of the 14th season of World Supersport racing reserved for racing bikes from the mid-sized production-based sector. Despite the current economic climate the entry-list is stronger than ever with over 30 riders from 14 different countries, on machines from Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph and Yamaha. In winter testing strong times were recorded by Turkey’s double Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu, who has returned to the category to try and win a third title, this time on a Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini.

But Supersport, with its elbow-to-elbow racing and late braking moves, is so unpredictable and any number of riders can win. These are sure to include another former champion Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Intermoto), Broc Parkes from Australia (Ten Kate Honda), and Britain’s Sam Lowes, one of six riders spread over three different PTR Honda managed teams, an unprecedented operation in modern-day bike racing. Completing the international line-up in Supersport are two South Africans, two Hungarians, three Russians, two Czechs and a total of eight Italians, all aiming to become the heir to last year’s winner Chaz Davies.