Byrne fastest in Oulton Park BSB test.
Press Release Issued By Team Suzuki Press Office – April 22, 2006
Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne topped the timesheets at the official Bennetts
British Superbike test at Oulton Park in Cheshire on Friday.
The circuit was damp for the first of the three sessions and after a
wet pre-season test programme, Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000-mounted Byrne
decided to stay in the garage. He went out in the next two dry sessions
and was easily the fastest rider on the circuit.
James Haydon tested a new prototype Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 and
finished third on the official time sheets. He was impressed by the new
bike that will now go back to the workshop for further modifications
before it is tested and raced later in the season.
Despite finishing first and third on the official timesheets, both
Rizla Suzuki racers admitted to missing the chicane on their fast laps.
Telemetry from the team shows that Shakey’s fastest lap was actually
1:36.500, still the quickest of the day. James’s quickest time on team
telemetry was 1:38.400, relegating him from third to fifth overall.
Rizla Suzuki returns to Oulton Park in just over one week on Bank Holiday May 1st for the fourth round of the Championship.
Niall Mackenzie - Race Operations Manager: “It’s great to be at the
top of the timesheets again even if it is just a test. Shakey is riding
really well and is his usual cocky, confident happy self. He finished
the day with the fastest time but came straight into the garage and got
down to work with his mechanics on how to improve his lap times
further.
“James used a prototype bike with a new fuel cell and a much
different centre of gravity than he is used to. He has given the team a
lot of constructive feedback and we will develop this bike further
before we debut it at a race meeting later in the season. He will
revert to the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 he used at Thruxton for the next
races.
“It’s a shame Ducati
was not at the test but our target for the moment is to beat or at
least compete with the Honda teams and we are achieving that. We want
to return here next week and take the next step, which is to fight for
the podium in the races.”
Official Test Times:
1: Shane Byrne (Rizla Suzuki) 1:35.977
2: Jonathan Rea (Honda) +1.278
3: James Haydon (Rizla Suzuki) +2.000
4: Michael Rutter (Honda) +2.206
5: Karl Harris (Honda) +2.460
6: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +2.720
|
