For Mladin and crew tire test is just that

[totalmotorcycle]

For Mladin and crew tire test is just that
Wednesday, December 6, 2006 - By Chris Martin - AMA Superbike - amasuperbike.com



With no 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes available to dial in this week (they’re still hung up in shipping following their recent testing in Malaysia ), Mat Mladin instead rode his ’06 machine and focused his efforts on exactly what the week is supposed to be about -- tire testing for Dunlop.

After working through and providing feedback on all of the selections, Mladin packed up early and passed on the final day of the three-day test.

While Mat wasn’t available to talk this morning at Daytona International Speedway, his crew chief Peter Doyle stepped in and commented on their progress. “We just had last year’s racebike and we know it a little bit around here so we just did some tire testing for Dunlop, mainly. We got through all their tires and there’s sort of no sense carrying on wasting bike and tires for the sake of just riding around.”

While the new bike wasn’t present this week, Mladin and his crew have had a couple opportunities to shake down the machine, most notably at the aforementioned session at Sepang.

Doyle commented, “We don’t know a lot about it yet, but it’s not a lot different from the '06 bike. We got to run it in Malaysia and so far, so good. Mat went quicker than he ever has there before and that was its first run, so we’re pretty optimistic when it gets here.

“Ben (Spies)’s done a pretty good job on the ‘07 Superstock bike here over the past few days -- it’s looking pretty good.”

Asked about the most significant differences between the old bike and the all-conquering model it’s replacing, the Australian stated, “It’s going to have a little bit more performance. But really the rear suspension set-up is a little bit different, the throttle bodies are a little bit different, but it’s evolutionary, it’s not a revolution. It’s just hopefully a little bit better than last year’s.”

Looking head to next season, Doyle commented on the amount of energy found in the entire Yoshimura Suzuki crew at the moment. “There’s been a few little changes -- Tommy coming into replace Aaron, and hopefully we’ll be able to step up the 600 program a little bit. We’ve got Ben in Superstock on the new bike and I think he’s going to be a tough one to beat in that, and a new bike for the Superbike guys. We’re all working hard to make sure they stay as far ahead as they were this year.”

Narrowing things down to his side of the team, Doyle admitted that their might be a little bit more hunger than usual after losing the #1 plate they held for so long, but added they never really lacked for it in the first place.

“Maybe there’s a bit more motivation, but I think we want to win anytime. When you’re winning you want to win and when you haven’t won a championship, you still want to win.”