The Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team
is already in a high state of readiness after participating
in two successful winter tests in Qatar and Australia to
meet the challenge of the forthcoming World Superbike
Championship season.
Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (both
representing the Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team)
will continue their riding partnership for a second year,
after taking a total of 24 podiums between them last season.
Japanese superstar Haga came within a meager
two points of winning the riders' championship outright on
'07, ending the campaign with six victories to his credit.
In the Qatar test last November, both Haga
and Corser made immediate improvements even compared to the
strong results obtained by their 2007-spec Yamaha YZF-R1
machines and carried on their good work in the subsequent
test last month at Phillip Island.
These venues are the first two on the 2008
World Superbike calendar, the 5.380km circuit of Losail
again enjoying its now traditional status as the season
opener on Saturday, February 23, 2008, which is one week
ahead of the Australian round on Sunday, March 2, 2008.
In the Qatar test, Corser was particularly
fast from the outset with Haga matching him on the final
day, while the changing conditions of the Phillip Island
tests provided more of a challenge to both riders and
technical staff.
Everyone in the highly respected Yamaha
Motor Italia World Superbike Team worked hard to make final
adjustments to the 2008-spec Yamaha YZF-R1 and help the
championship's single make tire supplier with feedback on
their latest development tires.
Yamaha Motor Italia's YZF-R1 Superbike, a
new model in 2007, was the tool that helped both Haga and
Corser earn Yamaha the Manufacturers' Championship, and the
2008 version has undergone a comprehensive program of
development over the winter months.
The race machine now runs Yamaha's
revolutionary YCC-I variable intake system, as fitted to the
original road bike. Even in early trials this unique
Yamaha innovation showed its potential, and in testing has
provided smoother and more torquey engine response in the
midrange, reduces the massively powerful R1's desire to
wheelie in the lower gears and yet still maintains its
class-leading top end performance.
Due to recent changes in the World Superbike
technical rules, four-cylinder machines can now run at a
minimum weight of 162kg, and the R1 has lost mass due to a
new swing arm design, lighter Akrapovic exhausts, a carbon
airbox and even a new lightweight wiring loom to exactly
meet that new lower limit.
The latest rear swing arm is a step closer
to the state of perfection that demands more feel with less
unsprung weight; more ultimate performance with longer tire
life. The latest generation of Öhlins suspension units
also make a significant contribution to the weight loss
program and have already shown measurable improvements
during the track tests.
The look and graphics of the 2008 machines
are based on the 2007 versions, while a new logo joins
existing sponsors Santander, Sika, Akrapovic and Fabbri on
the flanks of the R1.
FIMER, a welding machine company that has
long links to Yamaha Motor Italia (even taking over the
premises once used by the Yamaha importer in its early
years) has now signed a three-year deal to support the
efforts of the official Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike
Team team in World Superbike.
The
15-round 2008 World Superbike season is set to be a
stiff challenge for all comers, with four long haul races
instead of two, Qatar; Australia; USA and Indonesia, and
four individual venues which are either new to World
Superbike entirely or have been missing from the calendar
for a decade or so.
2008
Haga YZF-R1
Noriyuki Haga said "We will have 30 individual races this
year and many good riders have now entered the World
Superbike series, including six Japanese!
I'm looking forward to a good battle with
all of them. I think World Superbike will be more exciting
than MotoGP this year, so people should come along to their
local race to see the close battles.
I feel that the performance of all the
riders and teams will improve a great deal so the biggest
threat is difficult to see right now. We must see more
of the competition first.
Suzuki and Ducati were strong at the Philip
Island tests, but we have not seen the new Honda.
We'll have to wait for that.
Our YCC-I variable intake system will
improve acceleration and make the engine performance more
useable everywhere. It worked very well at the Phillip
Island tests. Our whole machine is very competitive,
but like always in racing, we are still seeking points to
improve. We are determined to continue the
improvements on the 2008 R1 all year, starting from this
moment."
2008
Corser YZF-R1
Troy Corser also talked about the new season.
"Our test in Qatar was particularly good and
we also worked through a lot of new things in Phillip
Island.
The engine on the machine is definitely
stronger and lots of other aspects are improved now,
especially the electronics.
We weren't that concerned about absolute lap
times at the Phillip Island test, we just wanted to get lots
of time on the bike to try out all the equipment that we had
to test there.
For me, that test was to make sure we
started the season with the best equipment and information
we could get, and to get us all working well together once
again. The new suspension is definitely an
improvement; it's just a case of spending more time with it
now, and we will have that chance in the two-day test at
Qatar soon.
Same with the YCC-I system, which we felt a
difference with straight away. I know Yamaha has been
working hard over the winter and after the last couple of
days of testing, we will really be ready to go. I
think it's going to be a tough championship but I haven't
been looking at the other riders too much at this stage."
Massimo Meregalli, the Team Coordinator for
the Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team has been
impressed by both his men and his machines already, and
knows that the team should start the season in great shape.
"We had a very good test at Qatar and
although we found some more work to do in Australia we were
still satisfied with our progress on the bike. It was
a big improvement in Qatar, and in Australia we went faster
than we did last year - faster than we had ever gone.
Overall, we expect to have some small
advantage over the manufacturers who will arrive in 2008
with new machines, and we will see what the real potential
of the new 1200cc twins are in races, not testing.
The main thing is that we know our bike is
already better than the way it finished the season with a
double win in Magny Cours last year, thanks to many areas of
development. One is reduced weight and we will start
on the weight limit of 162kg. Another example is the
new rear swing arm that has proven to give both the guys a
more positive feeling on the track.
Right now we are ready to race, very focused
on our main goal, and everyone knows what this is. We have
two absolute top riders and in my opinion we have the very
best rider combination.
Nori and Troy have a lot of experience, and
have a strong motivation to reach the goal. We have
never seen Noriyuki so willing to do extra work in testing.
He was doing more than one long run per day and that is a
great sign."
Final pre-season preparations will be
carried out in a two day test at Qatar on 12 and 13
February. The first round begins for real with first
practice on Thursday 21 February, continues with Superpole
qualifying on Friday 22 and culminates in race day, Saturday
23 of February.
