YAMAHA AUSTRIA OUT TO STEAL ALL THE SILVER

The Yamaha Austria team were last year plagued with bad luck from Round One but always had a strong rider line-up. Team Manager Manfred Kainz has been very busy since the end of last season getting machines, sponsors and riders ready for 2006.

Sebastian Scarnato

Frenchman Sebastian Scarnato now joins fellow countryman Gwen Giabbani, Slovenia's Igor Jerman and Austria's Thomas Hinterreiter in the 2006 line-up - while Mandy jets off to the Far East for more secret talks.

WE ALL KNOW WHAT GOD RIDES...NOW WE KNOW WHAT THE DEVIL PREFERS - KAWASAKI ZX12...DIABLO'D.

YAMAHA AUSTRIA ENDURANCE YETI RACE RESULTS

Tiny 125cc racer heads massive field.

1. Dr. Christian Giglio - 12 crashes, 28 beers and 2 massages
2. Didi Schlacher - 9 crashes , 33 beers , 26 Whiskies
3. Markus Drnovsek - 8 crashes , 22 weizenbeers, 12 volteren pills and one broken ski
4. Roli Reiter - 6 crashes, 23 beers, 16 Whiskies,
5. Andreas Birkmeyer - 5 crashes , 27 beers, 21 Whiskies

No.7 Christian Giglio taken out by another competitor.
Tiny 125cc racer already finished and doing his homework (not shown).
 

FORMER BRITISH CHAMPION TAKES ON EXTREME IRONING CHALLENGE

...hic...DIABLO 666 CHRISTMAS PARTY...hic...

The devilish Diablo 666 Team party was held at the Onanon Club in London's Piccadilly Circus on the 10th of December, with the usual suspects and a couple of new faces...Team Principal Miles Hutchins, Team Premier Bob Copare and Team Manager Terry Rymer (a.k.a. the "Triumvirate") along with riders Kevin Falke, James Hutchins and Steve Mizera...but the three (a.k.a. the "Old Guard") were casting wary eyes over a new kid on the block - Piers Hutchins is now on the scene and looking to embarrass the "Old Guard".
News was announced (sort of - it was a bit hard to hear above the party noise!) that Ohlins would have more work, being selected to provide the suspension - and there were various other bits of improvement, including the new radial Berenger brakes- but that the team would NOT be going for all new Kawasakis, preferring to develop the already proven 2005 ZX10R's, leaving the trials of developing the brand-new big Kawasaki to their sister team, Bolliger.

Kevin Falke, Steve Mizera and James Hutchins with the latest team member, "Moose"...

Miles displays the new Kawasaki - Kevin realizes that his diet isn't tough enough...

Terry Rymer with another addition to his trophy wall.

Speaking of the Old Guard, how about the Even Older Guard - rumour is circulating that there may be at least one team that will be replicating the F1 Masters at one race in the 2006 season. The gossip was about a team consisting of Rymer, Morrison and one other (...Niall MacKenzie?...Jamie Witham?) to compete at the final 24 hour race of the season, the Bol d'Or. It's an event that has seen some real classic performers and moments over the past few years.

Diablo 666 have also launched their new Supporters Club - though it seems it's much more than just that, looking like a Partner's Club! - check their website for more details.

I still think they should make a bit more of the Raven on their 666 logo...:)

WORLD SUPERBIKES 2006 - THE LINE-UP...

WORLD SUPERBIKES - TESTING, TESTING...

The test at the Losail track in Qatar, organised by championship tyre suppliers Pirelli, was attended by all but one of the series' designated development teams; PSG1 Kawasaki were unable to make the test, as their race bikes need another month to be ready.

In contrast to the rain which affected last February's race at the long Losail circuit, the riders were welcomed by surface temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius.  Ducati rider Troy Bayliss topped the timesheets after three days of running, with a 1:58.66 lap on qualifying tyres.

(no, the image is NOT skewed...it's an optical illusion!)

1 Bayliss (Ducati) 1:58.66
2 Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 1:59.17
3 Lanzi (Ducati) 1:59.40
4 Muggeridge (Honda) 2:00.09
5 Toseland (Honda) 2:00.10
6 Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:00.38
7 Haga (Yamaha) 2:00.46
8 Pitt (Yamaha) 2:00.56
9 Martin (Petronas) 2:01.80
10 Jones (Petronas) 2:02.56.

TROY BAYLISS:
"I'm very happy with the way things went here, we made progress every day. I did a lot of laps and my wrist stood up well. I did a great time on qualifying tyres today but the best thing is the improvement made by the Pirelli race tyres since the start of the year. I did a full race simulation, with lots of laps in the 59s so things are looking good. I love working with the guys in the team, everything went really smoothly and now I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike again after the Christmas break".

TROY CORSER:
"Despite missing the final day, I feel the tests have gone very well for us. We had lots to try out - nothing major - and we gathered a lot of useful data throughout. For me, the biggest improvements were the tyres. I could feel what was happening much better than before and I could lay the bike into the turn far more easily. Also, the grip was better and I was working myself and the tyre much harder! I know Bayliss went quicker on the final day, but that was on qualifying rubber, whereas my best times were all done on race rubber. I don't know how I got sick, but I guess it must be some strange water or maybe salad that wasn't washed properly. It's been a long but wonderful season and I want to wish everybody a peaceful and happy holiday. I'm going to spend some time with my family and friends over the break and then be raring to go at the next tests in the New Year."

LORENZO LANZI:
"Today we went back to the first day's settings after trying something different yesterday, and my lap times improved once again. I am quite pleased with my performance over the past three days, I went quicker day after day, but I have to admit that the crash on day 1 really left its mark. I was still feeling the effects today so we finished testing after lunchtime. However I feel that I have demonstrated that I am in good form and that for sure I can improve even more".

KARL MUGGERIDGE:
“Three days is a long test and I’m pretty tired. I spent seven days back in Australia before coming here and had five days of treatment on my back so I’m shaping up pretty good physically again now. We came across this chatter problem today for some reason and one or two other niggles made things a little frustrating, but we definitely made some progress over the first two days. We were going well today, too, but the sun just drops out of the sky at around 5.00pm so we just ran out of time really. We’ve learned a heap about the bike which we’ll be able to transfer to the 2006 machine so I think it would be a really good idea to come back here early next year to do some back-to-back comparisons.”

JAMES TOSELAND:
“The chatter problem led us up against a brick wall for a while there but we found some new tyres from Pirelli that definitely helped. Everything was promising over the first two days as we got through the different parts we needed to test. We were able to do consistently fast laps but not one blistering one. To be honest, with the chatter problem, I feel I should have been about three seconds off the quick times rather than around one second, which is where I ended up. The different things we had to test made it a bit difficult to get into a rhythm and the chatter problem was a little frustrating. We tested a hell of a lot of stuff though, so we’re all confident that we know which way to go. It was good just to ride the bike for three solid days in good weather – I did a lot of laps so I’m feeling pretty tired after it all. But I’m looking forward to getting the new bike, which is being launched by Honda here this week, and finding a good base setting for it.”

YUKIO KAGAYAMA:
"I am not disappointed at all because we have done a lot of good work here during the three days. We tried many things including front forks, rear suspension, new discs and other small things. This is the same bike as we've raced all year with just some new pieces to evaluate. Troy-san was happier than me with the new tyre, but this was probably because our riding styles are so different! The weather has been perfect these three days and so I think we have achieved a lot and we should be very happy. I am looking forward to some rest now back in Japan and seeing my family again. Next year will be great fun and I am looking forward to it already."

NORIYUKI HAGA:
"The new suspension is very good. The front worked straight away without any changes! The rear is also good and with some changes we should find some further improvement. Now I am happy to go on holiday. We have hardly stopped since the end of the season and even as early as January we are back testing."

ANDREW PITT:
"It's been a satisfying test and I was pleased to find that on the few times I was lapping with Bayliss my R1 was a little faster than his Ducati. Certainly the engine upgrades are working good, as is the new suspension. We also fitted a new shock at the end of the test and this will be one of the key development areas at our next test."

STEVE MARTIN:
“I'm really happy with the test, including the lap time I got down to. I'm exceptionally happy that we got through all the things we had to test, as this has given the team a really good direction to improve from yet again, in time for our test at Philip Island in January when I will be 100% recovered and fit.”

CRAIG JONES:
“I am really pleased with what we’ve achieved at this test overall, in terms of evaluating development parts and also with how I’ve progressed and the experience I’ve gained in riding the FP1, especially with this being my first visit to the Losail circuit as well. I’m a little bit disappointed with today though, as I started off right on the pace where I left off yesterday, but then could not really improve and my concentration was not fully there. I don't feel tired or ‘pumped up’ or even ‘sweaty’, but just run down. It’s probably a combination of being ill yesterday and also experiencing for the first time how much effort is involved in riding a superbike for three days – and my blistered hands will remind me of that!

ASSEN - WE CAN REBUILD IT

According to Ohlins guy Zweitze Rooske, the Assen organizers started rebuilding the track on Wednesday 30th November, ready for the first round of the 2006 World Endurance Championship on April 17th and they hope to be finished by Christmas 2005. They are also rebuilding the pitlane with (as far as I can gather) fences on the pit wall.

...at least it's not covered in snow.

...yet.