Camier on good form at Phillip Island
The eni FIM Superbike World Championship riders have taken the Phillip Island GP Circuit by storm as the first of two official testing days went on today. Leon Camier proved again to be the man on the move by setting Day 1 best lap time of 1'31.243. The FIXI Crescent Suzuki rider was followed closely by new Pata Honda World Superbike rider Leon Haslam and Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma Aprilia).
The ultra-smooth new track surface allowed the top-7 riders to get under the circuit lap record. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) ended up 4th ahead of Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK), Carlos Checa (Team Alstare Ducati) and team mate Sylvain Guintoli.
The 2011 World Superbike Champion is back after being treated for a blocked intestine that ruled him out of last week's two-day private test. Checa finished 6th in front of former team mate Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Aprilia). It's been an unfortunate day for new Aprilia Racing Team signing Sylvain Guintoli, who high-sided out of turn 12 in the morning and completed only 10 laps in the afternoon, following a technical problem on his RSV4 1000 Factory.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) and Tom Sykes complete the top-ten, and the Kawasaki Racing Team was not 100% yet after injuring his left hand last Thursday, during the second day of private tests at Phillip Island. Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing Ducati) was transferred to Dandenong Hospital following a heavy crash at the last turn during the morning session. Ayrton Badovini (Team Alstare Ducati) did not enter the track today as a precaution after last week's crash.
