Camier fastest after late burst

Suzuki’s big 2013 World Superbike hope Leon Camier has pipped a red-hot field to set the fastest time at Phillip Island on day one of the final pre-season test ahead of the season-opening round from February 22-24.

The 25-year-old from Ashford in England resumed where he left off in a private test at Phillip Island last week, and his strong form saw him set a best time of 1m31.243s, well under the existing lap record of 1:31.785 and within reach of the fastest ever WSBK lap around the 4.445km circuit – a 1:30.882.

Camier is chasing Suzuki’s first WSBK title since Australia’s Troy Corser went all the way in 2005.

Camier may have been the pacesetter, but it was extremely tight at the top of the timesheets, with eight other riders also recording times in the 1:31 bracket. The gap between the top 12 fastest bikes was less than a second – with Australian wildcard Jamie Stauffer sneaking his Honda into that bracket in what was promising hitout for the 33-year-old veteran.

With the majority of  the field managing to remain upright today after an inexplicable catalogue of high-speed crashes last week – German hard charger Max Neukirchner one of the exceptions on his Ducati – there was plenty of track time available for riders to really get into the groove on the resurfaced track. As a result, only Rea failed to go faster in this afternoon’s second session, while Neukirchner didn’t ride after being sent to hospital for observation after his big crash at turn 11 earlier in the day.

Behind Camier came Briton and 2010 Phillip Island winner Leon Haslam (Honda, 1:31.396), followed by Aprilia duo Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia, 1:31.401) and Eugene Laverty (1:31.452), BMW’s Marco Melandri (1:31.481) and Ducati’s Carlos Checa (1:31.523).

Today was Checa’s first hitout at Phillip Island on the all-new Panigale 1199 RS after recent illness, but he seemingly made up for lost time as he punched out 54 laps in today’s two sessions – one of the busiest riders on the circuit.

Kawasaki also snuck into the top 10 courtesy of British hard charger Tom Sykes, who is riding with a hairline fracture of his left wrist after a crash last Thursday. Sykes, pipped to the 2012 title by half-a-point, has dominated pre-season testing in Europe.

Stauffer (Honda) was 12th fastest, and fellow Aussie Glenn Allerton (BMW) 18th.

In World Supersport, young gun Josh Hook put the internationals on notice that he’ll be a force in this Sunday’s race with the seventh fastest time on his Honda Racing Corporation (HRC)-backed CBR600RR.

HRC, the same organisation which guided Mick Doohan and Casey Stoner to their MotoGP titles, has sent out an engine builder and electronics guru from Japan to assist Hook’s local Honda team, and the 20-year-old from Taree (NSW) is amazed with the end result.

“I got on that bike this morning and I have probably 15 horsepower more than the domestic-spec bike I tested last week,” said Hook. “ It’s all new to us, but I am happy with the results and we are moving forward.

“I know now that I have the best bike out there, I have the speed, so it now comes down to my ability. I dreamt of a top five finish, but I didn’t really think it was realistic.

“But I am starting to have second thoughts now.  I actually think it is possible.”

Of the Australian contingent, Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) was 14th, followed by Mitchell Carr (Triumph, 20th) and Matt Davies (Honda, 32nd).

Briton Sam Lowes set the pace on his Russian-backed Yamaha, followed by 2012 world champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) and Lowes’ team-mate Vladimir Leonov.

A bumper crop of 35 riders will line up on the grid for Sunday’s 21-lap World Supersport race.

World Superbike and Supersport testing concludes tomorrow (February 19).

WORLD SUPERBIKE DAY ONE BEST TIMES
1    Leon Camier        GBR    Suzuki        1:31.243
2    Leon Haslam        GBR    Honda        1:31.396
3     Michel Fabrizio        ITA    Aprilia        1:31.401
4     Eugene Laverty        IRL    Aprilia        1:31.452
5    Marco Melandri     ITA    BMW        1:31.485
6    Carlos Checa        SPA    Ducati        1:31.523
7    Davide Giugliano    ITA    Aprilia        1:31.701
8    Sylvain Guintoli        FRA    Aprilia        1:31.980
9    Jonathan Rea        GBR    Honda        1:31.980
10    Tom Sykes        GBR    Kawasaki    1:32.061
12     Jamie Stauffer        AUS    Honda        1:32.231
18    Glenn Allerton        AUS    BMW        1:34.009