Setting the fastest time on the opening day of the season put smiles on the faces of everyone in the Pata Yamaha garage, but the rest of the weekend wasn’t quite as smooth.
While Sylvain Guintoli converted his opening day speed into strong race finishes, the challenge facing the team is clear: getting the most from the YZF-R1.
As with any racing Yamaha, the key to generating speed and performance from the R1 is corner speed. Watch the bike on track and it’s very similar to what you can expect when you look at Jorge Lorenzo in MotoGP.
Yamaha riders need to carry corner speed and momentum at all times and be as smooth as possible.
This means that if a Sylvain Guintoli or his teammate Alex Lowes are at the front of the pack, they can set tremendous lap times; but if they are stuck mid-pack, their progress can easily be thwarted.
Guintoli found this in both races, with the mid-corner speed of the Yamaha negated by having to back off due because of rivals who were carrying less corner speed.
Having ridden the bike in the Suzuka 8-Hours, Bradley Smith explained last year how similar the R1 is to the M1, saying “it feels like my MotoGP bike and you need to ride in a very similar fashion. All Yamahas-whether it’s the M1, R1, or R6 – need to carry corner speed and it takes time to adjust to riding a bike like that. It took me a long time, but once you crack it you can unlock so much speed.”
At the moment Guintoli is better able to unlock that potential than is Alex Lowes. The Frenchman has a background in 250GP, and was able to translate that riding style to the Superbike in Australia.
The flowing nature of Phillip Island also played to the strengths of that style, and it allowed Guintoli to outshine his teammate and challenge in the leading group in both races. Lowes on the other hand is having to adapt and adjust his all action style to the Yamaha.
In Phillip Island bad luck and that transition of styles cost him dearly, but from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, there were clear signs of progress for the Englishman.
Technical issues and two crashes held Lowes back, but he left Australia feeling that his potential hadn’t been reflected in the races. Thailand, where he claimed his first World Superbike podium last year, should give him that opportunity.
As for Crescent and Yamaha, the new relationship is still in its infancy, but the manner in which they are already working together speaks volumes of what can be expected from them.
These are still exceptionally early days in the project but the speed on show in Australia shows that the team’s confidence in the package could be well placed.
Photos: © 2016 Anant Deboor – All Rights Reserved
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