[chewie]

Well - I think someones having a lend, yep - someones trying not to let the truth get in the way of a good story....I cant find anything about racing today. Maybe he went out on his ownesome today and that's why he was fastest...

pffft - I dunno

here's the news - as we most all know anyway, courtesy of phillipisland circuit.com.au

Monday 23 Feb '09 - WAYWARD ISLAND BIRD STOPS CORSER IN HIS TRACKS WHILE


WAYWARD ISLAND BIRD STOPS CORSER IN HIS TRACKS WHILE

NEW HONDA SUPERBIKE SIGNING JONATHAN REA FASTEST BEFORE NEXT WEEKEND’S OPENING WORLD SUPERBIKE ROUND

AT PHILLIP ISLAND



A wayward pluvver bird brought Australia’s Troy Corser’s final day of testing at Phillip Island to a sudden halt this afternoon, when the large bird collided with the Wollongong Wizz on his new BMW S 1000 RR as he travelled at 230 kph up to Lukey Heights.



And while he retired to the pits with a bruised arm, Corser was still happy with his new bike after he put in 70 laps over the weekend, and clocked a best lap of 1m32.9s.



Fastest for the weekend though was new rider to the world superbike throng, Honda’s young signing England’s Jonny Rea who has stepped up from world supersport to world superbike this year with his team Ten Kate Honda. He set a lightning quick lap of 1m31.8s on his Honda CBR 1000RR in testing today, 3/10ths of a second ahead of his competitors.



He was the only rider to crack into the 31second bracket and his pre season performance today could augur a changing of the guard in the world ranks. A consummate professional despite his youth, Rea spent last year learning the championship circuits with world supersport where he finished 2nd in the championship, and will commence his 2009 campaign with good circuit knowledge and a great team.



Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio was second fastest with a 1m32.1s lap, and his new team mate Japan’s Nori Haga and Yamaha’s new signing hot shot Texan Ben Spies a breadth behind with a best of 1m32.3 seconda..



Corser rounded out the top five in the two day private test session which featured five of the factory superbike teams being Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and new marque to the championship, BMW.



The other six factory team riders all figured in the 33’s, with Yamaha’s Tom Sykes, Honda’s Ryuichi Kiyonari, Suzuki Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukircher all locked on a fastest lap of 1m33.1s and Corser team mate BMW’s Ruben Xaus with a 1m33.5s lap.



Carlos Checa did a best time on Saturday of 1m33.5s before crashing and suffering concussion. He was one of ten riders who crashed Saturday, and the Spaniard did not test today, but was at the track.



Today’s casualties were Tom Sykes who crashed heavily in the Sunday morning session; while Kiyonari came off once, Haga fell twice, and world supersport champion Andrew Pitt crashed heavily.



For Corser, it was a lucky escape from the pluvver and it was quite amazing that he did not crash. . The force of the bird hitting his upper shoulder, arm and left bicep, was enough to force his left hand off the handle bars. He managed to get his hand back to the bar, retained control and guided his BMW back to the pits before visiting the medical centre.



His left hand was wrapped to prevent him putting any force on his arm and to expedite his recovery to in time for next weekend’s opening race at the island.



Despite his battle with the bird, a bruised Corser is happy with his new machine.



“The tests went very well, though it’s a real shame that I had to finish early because we still had lots more to try out, “ said Corser.



“But, I guess I’m lucky that I didn’t crash and hurt myself badly when I hit the bird. I’m really not sure how I managed to stay on the bike, because it’s not easy when you’ve only got one hand on the bars, but somehow I was able to recover.



“I had seen the bird on the track and tried to avoid it by going up the inside. But instead of staying put, or flying away from my bike, it flew up right in front of me. Hitting a one kilo or so bird at over 230 kph is like hitting a brick wall, so I’m lucky that my injury isn’t any worse.



“We have learnt a lot in these two days and I’ve been able to get a better idea of how the bike works in different conditions and set-ups. What I can say though, is that my S 1000 RR feels as good as any other bike I’ve ever ridden round here,” said Corser.



Round one action starts next Friday February 27 with first qualifying and testing at the island for the category’s 28 riders, Saturday’s agenda features final qualifying and the new elimination Superpole format, and on Sunday the world superbike teams will contest two 22 lap races in the first hit out for 2009.



WORLD SUPERBIKE TESTING – February 21 / 22 2009 – Phillip Island

Fastest times Sunday February 22 2009



Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1m31.8s



Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 1m32.1s

Ben Spies (Yamaha) 1m32.3s

Nori Haga (Ducati) 1m32.3s

Troy Corser (BMW) 1m32.9s

Tom Sykes (Yamaha) 1m33.1s

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1m33.1s

Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m33.1s

Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1m33.1s

Ruben Xaus (BMW) 1m33.5s

Carlos Checa (Honda) 1m33.5s - time set on Saturday