troy in the foggy petronas garage at laguna image by stephen scharf

Troy Corser's riding has always exemplified the quintessential roadracer. World Superbike Champion riding for Ducati in 1996, Corser has, in years past, been reknown for his smooth riding, and using a classical approach to roadracing. Braking and downshifting before the corner, and smoothly rolling on the throttle on his way to the apex, in a seamless display of technique, Corser was so smooth that he almost looked slow on his way to another pole position.

in action at laguna image by stephen scharf

This year, Corser is riding for the Foggy Petronas World Superbike team, brought in for his development expertise that put Aprilia on the World Superbike map.

'Soup caught up with Troy Corser in the Team Foggy Petronas pits on Friday immediately after the first World Superbike qualifying session to see how things were going with the development of the bike. It appears that, dramatic exhaust flames aside, just lopping off three cylinders from a Formula 1 engine for use in World Superbike racing may be a taller order than even Corser originally thought.

image by stephen scharf

Corser laughed when asked if he liked riding at Laguna Seca again, but went on to elaborate that while it was great to be riding at Laguna again, riding the Petronas bike is proving to be bothersome. "The bike lacks torque off the corners. I'm carrying about 9,000 revs the way I ride the bike through the corner. But on exit, the motor is flat.it just doesn't pick up and start making torque until the engine is well over 10,000 rpm, and then it takes off too fast. It makes riding the bike through and out of the corner very difficult. If I try to whack the throttle on at 9,000 rpm, it just bogs.", Corser said.

making the bike fit image by tim huntington

Asked if it was an fuel management or engine issue, Corser replied, "It's the engine. We were getting some new parts for it in the beginning of the seaon, but for the last three or four races, we've had no new parts."

Because he is lacking torque exiting the corner, Corser said he has to anticipate the throttle lag by rolling on the throttle before he enters the corner, and he is really having to adapt his classically smooth cornering style to use this technique. "It's like riding a turbo", he said.