Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes put a stamp on his intentions for the 2012 WSBK season by setting a time in the morning session on the last day of the official test at Phillip Island that even Althea Racing Ducati’s Carlos Checa couldn’t match—although the reigning World Superbike champion came close, coming up 0.004 seconds short. The British rider set his quick time early during the first session when ambient and track temperatures were conducive to fast laps, and although Checa made repeated attempts to top the Kawasaki rider with numerous laps below the 1:32 mark, the Ducati rider ultimately couldn’t topple Sykes from the top of the timesheets.
As has been the ritual during the ongoing private and official preseason tests at the southern Australia circuit, the higher afternoon temperatures have prevented any real successful assaults on the quick times posted in the morning. Only BMW's Marco Melandri was able to improve on his morning time, and it was only by 0.049 seconds. Team Effenbert Liberty Racing Ducati’s Jakub Smrz trailed the Kawasaki/Ducati pair by a tenth-and-a-half, with Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea carding the fourth quickest time despite a crash at Lukey Heights in the morning session. Aprilia’s Max Biaggi ended up fifth, with Melandri coming in sixth. Although Melandri’s BMW teammate Leon Haslam set the 10th quickest time, he was already heading home to Great Britain to try and get his injuries rectified before practice begins for the Australian round of the WSBK series on Friday.
Official 2012 WSBK Phillip Island test Day Two results:
1. Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki 1:31.648
2. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati 1:31.652
3. Jakub Smrz (CZE) Ducati 1:31.800
4. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Honda 1:31.913
5. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1:32.034
6. Marco Melandri (ITA) BMW 1:32.232
7. Davide Giugliano (ITA) Ducati 1:32.319
8. Leon Camier (GBR) Suzuki 1:32.320
9. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati 1:32.347
10. Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW 1:32.397
11. Joan Lascorz (SPA) Kawasaki 1:32.540
12. Michel Fabrizio (ITA) BMW 1:32.605
13. Nicola Canepa (ITA) Ducati 1:32.746
14. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Honda 1:32.910
15. Maxime Berger (FRA) Ducati 1:32.911
16. Ayrton Badovini (ITA) BMW 1:32.948
17. Lorenzo Zanetti (ITA) Ducati 1:33.136
18. Chaz Davies (GBR) Aprilia 1:33.358
19. David Salom (SPA) Kawasaki 1:33.385
20. Bryan Staring (AUS) Kawasaki 1:33.418
21. Josh Brookes (AUS) Suzuki 1:33.623
22. Mark Aitchison (AUS) BMW 1:34.169
23. Rafael De Rosa (ITA) Honda 1:34.341