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New Yamaha Motor France rider Norick Abe may have hoped for better weather for his two-day test on his Yamaha YZF-R1 but the Circuit Ricardo Tormo track surface remained wet for both days of his acclimatisation test, hampering his preparations for his rookie season in the Superbike World Championship.
A veteran of the MotoGP field, and a three-time MotoGP race winner for Yamaha, rode the 2005 R1 at Valencia, in what proved to be treacherous conditions. Despite the inclement weather on day one Abe completed 41 laps, setting a best time of 1’46.15 as he got to ride on a track, if not a machine, he knows well. The torrential rain which heralded the second morning of testing looked as if it might wipe out the entire day but Abe carried on to set 29 laps, although conditions did not enable him to improve on his first day time.The Yamaha Motor France team could not complete all the tests they had planned; such was the condition of the circuit throughout. One more two-day test at the Losail circuit in Qatar, the venue for the first of 12 world superbike rounds in 2005, separates the entire paddock from the first race. With Abe having raced there in MotoGP last season, he is well acquainted with the circuit’s nuances; an advantage he will draw on as testing begins on February 19. Abe’s track knowledge will also be of great assistance to his team-mate Sebastien Gimbert, who had already planned to sit out the Valencia test. The two-leg race itself breaks world superbike’s tradition of Sunday racing by being held on a Saturday, February 26.
The Yamaha Motor Italia squad elected to miss the test due to the inclement weather.
Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
“Today was the same as yesterday. Both days were not like a real test because we could not make the performance better, just because of the weather. Maybe in Qatar, in the two-day test, we can try many different settings on the bike, which even in this bad weather feels strong. I was not sure how the R1 racebike would be. I thought that it would maybe have a softer chassis than I’m used to, and much less power, but I was surprised. Even though we were limited by a wet track, the bike felt stiff and the power was not so bad. Still less than a MotoGP bike, but not by as much as I expected. The whole bike feels good; it feels like a racebike. I think it will be the first time in Qatar for most of the other riders, but it will be the first time racing the R1 for me. So it will be a bit of a balancing act.”Martial Garcia (Team Co-ordinator Yamaha Motor France) “We did not get to test everything because of the weather but at least Norick got some kilometres in on the bike; that was the most important thing. We only used wet tyres on day two because testing intermediates was not important. We prefer to test only fully wet or slick tyres. Of course communication is different between the Japanese and the Europeans but Norick is obviously very professional and we had a good first contact. Sebastien Gimbert did not come to the test because he has already made tests in November, December and January on the bike, and all our equipment has to be in the crate in two days from now, and on their way to Qatar. We are nearly happy but we are very close the first race. I hope we can have a small advantage over the others due to Norick’s track knowledge, because as a beginner in this category you need every advantage you can get.”
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