Frustrating for Camier

Yoshimura powered FIXI Crescent Suzuki racer Jules Cluzel marked his debut in the eni FIM Superbike World Championship by taking an impressive seventh place in this afternoon’s second race at Phillip Island in Australia.

It was all go at Phillip Island

Cluzel got a good start to the second race and was up into eighth by the end of lap one. He maintained a strong rhythm and made his way to sixth as the race progressed. Cluzel then got involved in a battle with last-year’s championship runner-up Tom Sykes before the British rider pushed Cluzel back into seventh, a position he held until the end of the race despite coming under intense pressure from Jonathan Rea in the closing stages. Cluzel had made a strong start to his rookie season in Superbikes by finishing 11th in race one on his Yoshimura-powered Suzuki GSX-R1000 after starting from 17th on the grid. 

The Frenchman’s results today were just reward for him and his crew following the string of misfortune and frustration that had hit him throughout the test and then the race weekend in Australia, and leaves him on a positive footing as he heads to the next test and race.

Leon Camier scored a pair of ninth place finishes at the 4,445m Phillip Island track today, but both under different circumstances. In race one he got a poor start and was battling all race long to make up places. He ended lap-one in 13th but fought his way to ninth at two-thirds distance and following a battle to the line with Rea, the FIXI Crescent Suzuki rider just couldn’t get past him at the line to take eighth. 

In race two Camier was the innocent victim of a first lap crash which forced the Englishman off the track He re-joined in last place and then had the task of chasing down the field. Camier made up time to the pack and began picking off riders, eventually making his way to ninth on lap-19 after passing Leon Haslam. He pushed all the way to the line, but was unable to make up any more places and was left to think of what might have been in the second race.

The weather was again warm and sunny with a light breeze, air temperatures got up to 27°C and the fine weather led to a weekend attendance of 61,500 over the three days. Race one was won by Sylvain Guintoli on an Aprilia, with Ireland’s Eugene Laverty – also on an Aprilia – taking the honours in the second event. Guintoli and Laverty share the championship lead as the pair also took a second place apiece today.

FIXI Crescent Suzuki will now head back to England for a short break before the next race at Aragon in Spain on Sunday 14th April; the next time the team takes to the track will also be at Aragon for a private test at the start of April.

Jules Cluzel:
“I am really happy with both races, even though the first one was very difficult, but I finished and learned a lot. We chose the wrong tyre in the first race, which was not a big problem because I need to learn and understand everything. I needed to do some laps today and I think in the two races today I did more laps than I had done all weekend – and maybe the test as well! It’s really good to finish the weekend like this and I am pleased for my team as well because they have had a tough time and worked really hard to get me on the track. I think today has been a good step for the future.”

Leon Camier:
“The first race was really difficult and the bike just didn’t feel like anything we’d been working on over the weekend. We really struggled and we made the wrong tyre choice - by the end of the race the tyre was destroyed! This was very strange because all weekend we’d done race runs on the tyres and it hadn’t shown wear like that. I’d put in good laps on used tyres in the test and during practice, so we were confident that it would work, but whatever the reason is, it didn’t! I got a better start in race two and tried to make some places up early on, but as I tried to go round the outside coming into a corner there was a big crash in front of me and I got taken out and on to the grass – so that was really the end of the race for me! The rest of the time was just spent catching up and racing with some other guys. I had to try and do what I could and I could see Jules and Johnny Rea coming back to me really quickly so I kept pushing, but just couldn’t get up to them. It’s frustrating because I felt that in the second race we had the package to challenge the front pack.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We will leave Australia after these two weeks in Phillip Island with a positive outlook because, irrespective of two quite disappointing results for Leon caused by the wrong tyre choice in race one and being knocked off the track in race two, we’ve still shown great potential and it’s clear that the bike is at a different level than it was 12-months ago. The whole team and both the riders have been superbly positive, despite a few issues - including five absolutely massive crashes in total! The guys have worked incredibly hard to be in good shape come race-day.
“Jules has shown that he is absolutely not scared of getting involved with the best Superbike riders in the world and we know very well that Leon’s potential – and that of the bike – is a lot better than two ninth places. We have a three-day test at Aragon at the start of April, where we have some new stuff coming to improve the bike further, and we’re really excited about the prospects for the season.”

Performance Parts Ltd are pleases to support, supply and sponsor Fixi Crescent Suzuki with Yoshimura. To see what we have for your bike please visit www.performanceparts-ltd.com

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Camier and FIXI Crescent Suzuki quickest on first day of ‘Official Test’

Yoshimura powered FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Leon Camier continued his good run of form in the pre-season tests by topping the timesheets on the first day of the Official eni FIM Superbike World Championship test at Phillip Island.

Fixi Crescent WSBK with Yoshimura

Camier made consistent progression this afternoon around the 4,445m Australian circuit, before setting a fastest time of 1’31.243, over half-of-a-second quicker than Max Biaggi’s lap record. Camier completed 44-laps in the sweltering Phillip Island heat as air temperatures reached 35°C during the afternoon session. Camier had used this morning as a shakedown test to assess his newly built Suzuki GSX-R after the huge crash in last week’s tests and, following a few adjustments by his crew during the lunch period, he put the Yoshimura-powered machine to good use to storm his way to the top of the charts.

Jules Cluzel made steady steps forward as he utilised today's sessions to work his way back to confidence following his operation for the injury he sustained in last week’s test. Cluzel worked thoroughly and methodically as he completed 62-laps throughout the day. He gradually improved his time and made consistent runs as he continued his steep learning curve on the FIXI Crescent Suzuki Superbike. Cluzel finished the day in 14th position with a best time of 1’32.817, just a second-and-a-half away from his team-mate.

FIXI Crescent Suzuki has one more day of pre-season testing tomorrow as it makes its final preparations in readiness for the first races of the season this Sunday.

Leon Camier:

“We needed to change some stuff after the bike had been re-built, so this morning was there no big hurry to push from the start. We changed the bike a bit in the lunch-break, because unfortunately it didn’t quite feel the same as it did before I smashed it up last week! The feeling came back and we also had to change quite a bit because of the heat, I did the same lap-time in the cooler conditions last week as I did in the heat today, so I think we did a pretty good job. It’s very close at the top, so it doesn’t really count for anything, because the race will be difficult and the other guys have got some time to perfect what they’ve got. We are in quite good shape at the moment, but we know there is still a lot to do for the rest of this week.”

Jules Cluzel:

“I am happy with the test today, because I did a lot of laps and improved a little bit every time I went out. They weren’t big steps, because big steps with a Superbike are very dangerous – as I managed to find out at the test last Thursday! We tried many things today and didn’t really push for a fast lap time, but tried to work in the best way and find the setting that is good for me. Tomorrow we have another test and I will try to continue to improve and then see what will happen from there.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“It’s been a very successful day’s work, especially if we consider that at the end of the unofficial test, Jules was in hospital and Leon’s bike was in the trees outside turn 12! We had a few technical issues with Leon’s newly built bike this morning, but the crew worked methodically through those and Leon was able to use that to his advantage this afternoon. He matched his time from the unofficial tests, but in much hotter conditions and coming back from the huge crash, so it great to see his confidence build step-by-step and at the end of the day show his true potential.

“Jules did a great job today, because things were looking very difficult after the first day of last week’s test! Making a lot of laps, regaining some feeling and confidence and understanding the effects of the changes that crew were making, means he has ended up with a good base to take forward. His repaired arm isn’t causing him any problems on the track and we now have something solid to work with tomorrow as we approach the first round of the championship.”

Phillip Island – Official Test Classification:

1. LEON CAMIER (FIXI CRESCENT SUZUKI) 1'31.243: 2. Leon Haslam(Honda) 1'31.396: 3. Michel Fabrizio(Aprilia) 1'31.401: 4. Eugene Laverty(Aprilia) 1'31.452: 5. Marco Melandri (BMW) 1'31.485: 14. JULES CLUZEL (FIXI CRESCENT SUZUKI)1'32.817:


For more about Performance Parts Ltd and the products we have to add some 'Bionics to Your Bike' please visit www.performanceparts-ltd.com

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Bionics for your Bike. 

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Suzuki GSXR1000Z - Limited Edition!

Ok, so we've teased you over the last few days about what's going on around the one-millionth GSXR that's about to be produced. Now it's time to reveal all!

Back in 1985 the GSXR was born - and it's been a massively popular machine. Number 1,000,000 is about to roll off the production line and Suzuki are marking this milestone with a limited edition GSXR1000Z.

The Suzuki GSXR1000Z Limited Edition - just 118 coming to the UK

 
There will only be 1985 of these produced (significant to when it was first launched) and only 118 of these will be coming to the UK. A real collectors item, RRP £11,799.

The bike will be supplied with a paddock stand, tyre valve cap set and GSXR cover. It will also come with:

• Special white paint

• Distinctive red nose cone

• Celebratory tank graphic

• Gold forks

• Red anodised fork caps

• Black Brembo monobloc calipers with red lettering

• Wheel stripes

• Numbered serial plate

• Special key fob

Yoshimura (via us at Performance Parts Ltd, official UK Yoshimura Distributor) will supply the following high quality, Yoshimura branded items:

• Exhaust end can

• Inspection cap

• Oil filler plug

• Case saver kit
  

  

  High Quality Yoshimura parts- from Performance Parts Ltd

  
  
• Steering nut

• Bar end weights

• Rear stand bobbins
  

  

  Yoshimura end-can provided by Performance Parts Ltd

  
  
  It's a real head-turner, a fitting 'special' marking this amazing milestone in the bike's history.
  
  For more information on Suzuki bikes in the UK please click here

For more about Performance Parts Ltd and the products we have to add some 'Bionics to Your Bike' please visit www.performanceparts-ltd.com

Performance Parts Ltd - Bionics for your Bike. Better. Stronger. Faster...