Toparis WorldSSP wildcard entry off to a good start – Interview

Phillip Island WorldSSP Test
Free Practice One

Monday is World Supersport testing all day, as delays in shipping have meant that the Pirelli World Superbike rubber is still yet to arrive in Melbourne. Originally, half of today was to be WorldSSP, and the other half was WorldSBK, and the same schedule was then to be repeated on Tuesday. However, the schedule has been changed due to delays in the arrival of the tyres. Monday is now dedicated to World Supersport all day, while World Superbike will test tomorrow, Tuesday, if the tyres do manage to make it onto Phillip Island overnight as envisaged.

23-year-old Tom Toparis is a wildcard entrant into this opening round of the 2024 World Supersport Championship, with the backing of Clare and Robbie Bolger’s Stop & Seal Racing.

Late last night, a technician from Solo Engineering flew in from the Netherlands and has been working overnight to fit the WorldSSP spec’ ECU and electronics package to the bike. Toparis reported an immediate massive improvement to the power delivery of the bike with the new electronics package, and this morning he has been working with the electronics guru on engine braking strategies in the various gears.

A tyre failure this morning reduced their time on the track, with Toparis recording 30 laps for a best of 1m33.248.

Tyres are going to be a hot topic this weekend, and few people expect the WorldSSP or WorldSBK races to be run over full race distance without pit-stops due to the abrasive nature of the new surface.

The Cape Barren Geese caused a few red flags this morning, and that trend will no doubt continue this week, but hopefully, they get the message by race day!

Yari Montella topped the four-hour WorldSSP FP1 session with a best of 1m32.277 from his 62 laps of the freshly resurfaced Phillip Island. Already just under a tenth away from the all-time Supersport lap record set by Andrea Locatelli here during the Superpole session in 2020.  It was a Ducati 1-2 at the top thanks to Adrian Huertas lapping less than a tenth away from Montelli, while Federico Caricasulo rounded out the top three on the Motozoo MV Agusta F3 800.

Oli Bayliss was seventh quickest this morning on the D34G Racing Ducati Panigale V2 with a best of 1m32.911. Bayliss is carrying the lingering effects of a wrist injury that he sustained in pre-season training into this round, so that was an impressive performance from the 20-year-old.

We caught up with Tom Toparis during the short 30-minute lunch break today at Phillip Island. Competitors have another four-hour session this afternoon, with proceedings expected to close on track at 1740.

Trev – Here at Phillip Island Monday lunchtime with Tommy Toparis preparing for his World Supersport wildcard.
It looks to be going pretty well already, Tommy. Is this the first time out on the bike?

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Toparis – “We did a couple of days here, about two weeks ago, just at the Hartwell MCC meeting. But obviously, we’ve made big improvements just now. We’ve flown in Kevin from the Netherlands, and we’ve now got the electronics that they have in the World Championship. In Australia, no one’s got that yet. Or not this version of it, anyway. It’s all new, it’s the way that they control this new World Supersport Next Generation, controlling all the rev limits and torque mapping for the different manufacturers and capacities. Straight away, we bolted it in, and I’ve just gone as fast as I’ve ever gone around the island, so it’s feeling really good and we’ve only used two tyres, so we’ve got plenty of riding left this afternoon after lunch and we’ll see what we can come up.   We haven’t really played with chassis or anything just yet, we have just been spending most of the time trying to get the engine braking right which we will continue working on this afternoon. Already with the new electronics the bike is just so much easier to ride now, like I’ve done a 33.2 this morning, and I think we’ve got a lot more in it this afternoon, but we are down to that like straight away so see how we get on in a bit.”

Tell us the main difference between this and riding an ASBK Supersport bike?

“The power all the way through is definitely a step above. Right from the bottom and all the way through, and we definitely have a lot more top end also. The extra power that comes in at the bottom really gets you off the corner.  It sort of feels the same as BSB, British Supersport spec’ really.  Coming back from BSB to Australia, you go back to pretty much a stocker; now I’ve got to try and adapt the way I’m riding to suit the much stronger engine due to the more extensive engine modifications allowed under World Supersport rules.

“We are far from finished yet in fine-tuning the bike. We still have got a lot to play around with, like we’re going to put some other potentiometers and things on that we haven’t had time to fit yet. We’ll do that in the next couple of days for the meeting, but today already, the new electronics make the engine delivery much stronger, but also much smoother.

“We will see what progress we can make this afternoon and then go away with that data to further prepare for the race weekend ahead.”

Phillip Island WorldSSP Monday Morning FP1 Test Times

WorldSBK 2024

The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit will raise the curtain once again for the new WorldSBK and WorldSSP season with the Australian Round on the weekend of February 25.

Tickets for the 2024 season opener are on sale now; check out your options at www.worldsbk.com.au

Phillip Island ASBK/WSBK Schedule

2024 WorldSBK Dates