FIXI Crescent Suzuki racer Leon Camier finished the unofficial World Superbike test at Phillip Island in Australia in fine style on Friday as he topped the time-sheets and recorded a lap under the current record. Camier’s ‘unofficial’ best lap-time of 1:31.2 was half-a-second under the current record and sent a powerful signal to the rest of the Superbike field that was assembled at Phillip Island for this private test.
Camier produced his scintillating time during this morning using a race tire, and then followed that up with an equally impressive and highly competitive race simulation and was the only rider to complete such a run.
“The day started off really well and we got down to some good times,” Camier said. “The bike felt really comfortable, we improved it a little bit chassis wise and the electronics are slowly getting better. We also did a race run, I was not really pushing it, but just trying to be comfortable and the keep the lap-times consistent. We can still improve the race pace and I think I can do a bit of that through my riding.”
The FIXI Crescent Suzuki star also ended the day in spectacular style as he was pushing hard – and already 0.4 secs. under his best time – before he was involved in a very high-speed crash on the last corner of his last lap of the day. He lost the front of his machine and saw the bike disappear over the gravel trap and tire wall, before coming to rest in the trees that surround the picturesque circuit. Camier again escaped unscathed, which was more than could be said for his FIXI Crescent Suzuki!
“I just got caught out by the wind,” Camier explained. “The bike was absolutely totalled, so the boys have got a lot of work to do tonight! Hopefully we’ll be back up to speed as soon as we get back on track on Monday.”
Camier and his crew will now assess the data gathered from the Yoshimura-powered GSX-R over these two productive days before the team takes to the track again on Monday for a further two-day test. The Englishman will certainly be looking to build on his impressive start to the season as he heads toward the first race of 2013 next weekend.
Jules Cluzel was absent from Friday’s events following a big crash in Thursday’s testing, which led to him being admitted to hospital in Melbourne for a small operation to repair damage to his left elbow. The procedure has been a successful one and Cluzel plans to be back on-track for the two-day test that starts on Monday.
“The high speed of the Phillip Island track, combined with the new high-grip but more unpredictable surface has caught out a lot of riders over these two days,” explained team manager Paul Denning, “and with two crashes each for our guys, we were very much involved in the carnage!”
Phillip Island Unofficial Test Classification/Day Two
- Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) 1 :31.2
- Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) 1:31.3
- Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1:31.4
- Marco Melandri (BMW) 1:31.6
- Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia) 1:31.7
–From Team Suzuki News Service
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