Spies and Sykes put the 2009 WSB Yamaha R1 through
its paces in South Africa
12th December 2008
2009 Yamaha Motor Italia Superbike riders Ben
Spies and Tom Sykes have endured some serious
heat on their three day test in Kyalami. The young
riders have endured track temperatures approaching
50 degrees as they put the all-new-for-2009 Yamaha
YZF-R1 through its paces on only its second outing
on track.
Spies was second quickest on day one with an
impressive best lap time of 1'41"599(46 laps)
in the African sunshine. Team mate Tom Sykes was
struck down with a mysterious bug, and he only
managed to put in some laps prior to returning
to the hotel.
Day two saw Spies fall in testing, so missing the
final time on track, he still managed to improve on
his day one times, finishing the day with a best lap
of 1’41”049 (38 laps). Sykes managed to
improve dramatically on day two with a best time of
1’42”933 (18 laps).
The final day saw Spies pull in his fastest time
of the test, taking second fastest honours overall
and only a mere 0.2s behind Michele Fabrizio and beating
Noriyuki Haga to the second spot,making him one of
only three riders to break the 1.40 barrier with a
time of 1.39”978. Tom Sykes was getting back
on form until an unfortunate crash curtailed his testing
for the day, he again improved on his times in the
limited laps run with a 1.41”562. The re-entered
Aprilia squad took 8th and 9th and the new for 2009
BMW factory team finished 11th and 13th.
The new 998cc bike, featuring a high tech powerplant
closely linked to the M1 MOTOGP bike, is currently
at the very beginning of its development for the 2009
WSB season and is still relatively close to production
specifications. The M1-derived crossplane crankshaft
design and uneven firing interval, give very good
traction to the bike and improved tyre life. The new
chassis gives an unparallel feedback to the riders,
improving stability and feeling out of corners. The
WSB spec engine is being developed step by step, improving
power output at each stage in the run up to the first
race in 2009.
So far the team’s minor modifications to the
standard bike include a modified cam-shaft, an enlarged
radiator for extra cooling and the addition of an
oil cooler. The new bike has no rear sub-frame but
incorporates a strengthened frame. The exhaust is
unique, and was developed in partnership with Akrapovic.
The standard fuel tank has also been replaced with
an aluminium tank with increased capacity. The bike
features the latest Magneti Marelli electronic systems.
The new swing arm is also developed purely for the
WSB race bike based on knowledge taken from the 2008
racing season.
Since Portimao the team have changed the seating
position slightly for both riders and taken the engine
one step further in tuning.
Ben Spies
“I’m really happy with the bike, the
team and the progress we’re making,” Spies
continued. “This was the first time we had the
opportunity to go out and size ourselves up against
everyone in a major test. We’re ahead of where
we thought we’d be at this point. There are
two more test sessions this winter and I expect the
bike will continue to improve as we move towards the
season opener at Phillip Island in March. The fan
support here is pretty amazing. It was a good week
to get to know some of the other riders too. I had
a lot of them come up and shake my hand and welcome
me to the series. Max Biaggi came up and talked with
me for awhile. That was pretty awesome for me. I’ve
been a fan of Max since I was a kid. In AMA there
might be two or three guys in testing who get down
to business from start to finish,” Spies admitted.
“There’s no lollygagging here. No one’s
going around doing wheelies the length of the straightaway.
Everyone pushes hard here all the time. The competition
is going to be good for sure.”
Tom Sykes
“It’s been a tough test! I missed one
and half days through this bug I’ve had so was
a long way behind with laps. When I got out I still
managed to get some good laps in and the team were
brilliant, they improved the bike massively every
time I came in. I’ve got a very sore shoulder
from falling today but it’s nothing serious.”
Massimo Meregalli Yamaha Motor Italia Team
Manager
“In the end we tested almost everything while
we were out here, tyres, different suspension set
ups, different mappings and so on. We’ve found
some good set ups to take forward to the next test.
We’ve been waiting out for the evenings here
for the temperature to drop so we could get back out
on the track and try some new things. Both Tom and
Ben have performed really well, it’s been really
unfortunate that Tom has been held back by things
out of his control. We’re still very much running
in the new bike, this is only the second session since
Portimao. All in all we are very satisfied, we know
what our potential is and we are very happy.”
The Yamaha Motor Italia Team move on to their next
test in Portimao on 23 to 25th January 2009.
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