More rain conditioned the second and last day of testing for the Superbike teams at Portimao, but according to BMW’s Troy Corser, “even testing in the wet can be quite valuable, because during the season it can rain at any track we go to.
Riding in the rain also helped us to tackle some of the problems we have in the dry.
It is actually easier to get a feeling for the problems and to see them on the telemetry, because everything happens a bit slower, so the actual problem is a lot clearer.
”However it was Ruben Xaus on his debut with Ten Kate Honda (their new title sponsor, Castrol should be announced at the end of the week), topped the timesheets with a best lap of 1′55″8.
Xaus put in 114 laps despite the weather in the 2 day test, while team mate Jonathan Rea, who expects to back to full fitness only next season, could manage only 4 or 5 laps at a time due to his recovering wrist injury.
BMW factory team Leon Haslam and Troy Corser, both tested the 2011 engine and the new Öhlins front forks, which was initially developed for MotoGP, new brakes and geometry changes, with Haslam who is getting married on the 15th of this month, taking the second spot on the unofficial charts and was 3 tenths of a second slower than Xaus.
Debuting BMW satellite rider, James Toseland began coming to grips with his new BMW machine, using the test team’s S 1000RR and working on the geometry and settings was three second slower than Xaus, with Noriyuki Haga on the DFX/Borciani Aprilia, posting the same time as Toseland.
BMW will be heading to Eastern Creek at the end of January for even further tests.
Portimao Superbike unofficial test times – Day 201- Ruben Xaus – Ten Kate Honda – Honda CBR 1000RR – 1’55.
802- Leon Haslam – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – BMW S1000RR – 1’56.
103- Jonathan Rea – Ten Kate Honda – Honda CBR 1000RR – 1’56.
904- Michel Fabrizio – Team Suzuki Alstare – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – 1’56.
905- Troy Corser – BMW Motorrad Motorsport – BMW S1000RR – 1’57.
106- James Toseland – BMW Motorrad Italia – BMW S1000RR – 1’58.
207- Noriyuki Haga – Pata Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – 1’58.
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