Broc Parkes left his home circuit of Phillip Island with the best lap time of the three day test in the Supersport category, while his new team-mate, Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) also made great progress with the new Yamaha YZF-R6. Parkes set a blistering 1’34.6, some 0.4 seconds faster than his closest rivals, and easily inside the previous lap records. Foret found the set-up changes he needed to set his best of 1’35.2 on the very last day. It had been a tough test because of the every increasing temperature, and the fact that since the last test there, the track has become bumpy in places.
A lot of effort was focused on finding suspension setting that worked effectively, as the previous test of the brand new machine was conducted on the smooth and flat circuit at Qatar, in late November.
Broc Parkes (Position: 1st – Best time: 1’34.6)
"It’s been a good test and we’ve been working really well. The engine, chassis and suspension is all working together, we’ve tried a lot of things and it seems that every direction we went in was a good one and we kept improving. The new bike is a big improvement especially the engine, it’s got more torque which makes it more user friendly and it’s also giving us better tyre life. All in all I’m really happy, at the Qatar test I was quickest and I’ve been fastest all three days here in Phillip Island so hopefully we can keep the momentum going until the first race.”
Fabien Foret (Position: 4th – Best time: 1’35.2)"My test was much better on the final day and I did a few fast laps at the end, so I am a bit happier than I was on day one or two. I am still working on the feel and feedback from the front and because of the very hot conditions everyone seemed to be looking for grip. Turn one was very bumpy, but the grip was the biggest thing for me in the heat.”
Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Coordinator - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"The test went OK even if the conditions changed each day and the track was quite bumpy in places compared to the experience we had at the Qatar tests. It was very smooth and flat there. It was 20°C on the first day, 30°C on the second and then 38°C today, so we have tested the new bike in every condition except rain. We had to work hard for three days to find the best suspension settings and we still have work to do to be exactly where we want to, but we still have the time and space to do that. We have been fast, so that is not an issue. We also did some successful long runs to choose tyres.”
Circuit Length: 4.445km
Temp: First day 20°C, rising to last day 38°C
Weather: Dry, sunny
Superbike times combined1. Yukio Kagayama (JPN-Suzuki) 1’32.1
2. Troy Bayliss (AUS-Ducati) 1’32.2
3. Michel Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati) 1’32.3
4. Ruben Xaus (ESP-Ducati) 1’32.3
5. Fonsi Nieto (ESP-Suzuki) 1’32.3
6. Noriyuki Haga (JPN-Yamaha) 1’32.4
7. Troy Corser (AUS-Yamaha) 1’32.7
8. Max Biaggi (ITA-Ducati) 1’32.8
9. Regis Laconi (FRA-Kawasaki) 1’33.0
10. Makoto Tamada (JPN-Kawasaki) 1’33.4
11. Max Neukirchner (GER-Suzuki) 1’35.5
Supersport times combined1. Broc Parkes (AUS-Yamaha) 1’34.6
2. Jonathan Rea (GBR-Honda) 1’35.0
3. Andrew Pitt (AUS-Honda) 1’35.0
4. Fabien Foret (FRA-Yamaha) 1’35.2
5. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN-Kawasaki) 1’35.6
6. Chris Walker (GBR-Kawasaki) 1’35.7
7. Josh Brookes (AUS-Honda) 1’35.7
8. Garry McCoy (AUS-Triumph) 1’35.9
9. Robbin Harms (DEN-Honda) 1’36.4
