With the majority of the top teams running at Portimao in the official tests last week, BMW Motorrad Motorsport arranged their own tests at the non-championship venue of Eastern Creek in Australia. 2011 riding duo of Leon Haslam and Troy Corser also faced challenging riding conditions, but of a very different kind, experiencing track temperatures that hit 60 degrees on the first two days, and air temperatures that ‘cooled' from a peak of around 40 degrees to the high 20s only on the final day. The tests completed on 28 January.
The team were evaluating the S1000RR's performance mainly in terms of chassis geometry, engine mapping and electronics, and the riders posted no less than 1,453kms of testing laps between them. Corser set an impressive 1:29.5 lap time in the Eastern Creek tests, with Haslam doing a 1:30.5.
BMW's official entries will now go to Phillip Island for their own private tests on 2-3 February, before joining the entire WSBK paddock for the final official IMS tests of the year, on 21 and 22 February.
Corser last rode at this former GP venue some 18 years ago, but enjoyed his return. Corser stated, "I am pretty happy with the progress that we made on my bike. We worked on electronics, traction and rear wheel activation. In all areas we made some good steps. I also tried some chassis, geometry and fork setting. We concentrated on these areas to give us some information and to understand what we need to do if we get the same situation. The lap times got better and better as we improved the bike and the better the circuit became. The lap time we got to quite comfortably is very good for this track."
Haslam stated, "We mainly worked on the electronics, just trying to dial it in. We also focused on setting up the chassis to get a base set-up, because in the hot conditions the bike behaves very differently. We had a few issues but we are making progress with the bike. Certainly you always want to go faster and make things happen quicker. But we got in a lot of testing, which is good, and are definitely improving. I am very confident the team will give 100 per cent and that it should be good. I am just looking forward to the next test in Phillip Island. This is a track where we also race, so we know what lap times we should be doing. It will definitely be a good guideline for us." (worldsbk.com)
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