Sykes and Biaggi top the testing action at MotorLand Aragon
Three days of good weather allowed top teams from Aprilia, Kawasaki, Ducati and Suzuki to test at the Motorland Aragon circuit, evaluating the 17-inch Pirelli tyres that will be the new regulation size for 2013. Fastest rider of all was Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) matching his day two best of 1'57.6 again on the final day. In the July tests at Aragon, when the first 17-inch tyres made an appearance, Sykes had also been fastest man, with a 1'57.254 lap. The next best rider was Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), two tenths of a second behind.
The teams started out on 16.5 inch rims on the first day, Monday, before moving to the 17s, with Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) scoring the quickest time on day one, then Sykes going faster than all others on day two and then again on the final day. The morning session of the third day was disturbed after Carlos Checa's Althea Racing Ducati Panigale 1199RS locked up on the start-finish straight. The bike lost oil into the track surface for most of the straight, causing a long delay as it was cleaned up. He would not improve on his best time after this problem, and having previously set a 1'58.5.
On the re-start most riders found it difficult to improve on their previous best, simply because of a strong headwind down the long back straight. Michel Fabrizio had his first ride on the Red Devils Roma Aprilia at this test, with Josh Waters joining Camier in the garage before heading back to his native Australia.
Overall times: 1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'57.6; 2. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'57.8; 3. Camier (Suzuki) 1'58.1; 4. Laverty (Aprilia) 1'58.1; 5. Fabrizio (Aprilia) 1'58.4; 6. Baz (Kawasaki) 1'58.5; 7. Checa (Ducati) 1'58.5; 8. Giugliano (Ducati) 1'59.4; 9. Hoffman (Aprilia) 2'00.7; 10. Waters (Suzuki) 2'00.9.
