Leon Camier set the pace on day two of private WSBK testing at the Island.

Briton Leon Camier has completed the two-day private World Superbike test at Phillip Island as the fastest man on track, but the outing ended on a dramatic note when he totalled his factory-backed Suzuki late this afternoon.

Camier crashed at over 200km/h leading onto Gardner Straight, with his bike then spearing into the outfield, over a barrier and taking out a couple of small trees. Camier was bruised and battered, but otherwise okay.

“It became very windy this afternoon, and I lost the front on the last turn when a gust of wind hit the bike,” said Camier. “It obliterated the bike, which is not that hard to believe as the crash happened at over 200km/h.

“I’m pretty beaten up, and I’m going to be pretty sore tomorrow, but luckily I didn’t break anything. I felt pretty comfortable on the bike today and even managed to do a race distance okay.”

Earlier in the day, Camier had set a best lap of 1:31.2s to complete the two-day session on top of the timesheets, followed by Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia, 1:31.4), Marco Melandri (BMW, 1:31.6), day one pacesetter Eugene Laverty (1:31.7), Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia, 1:31.7) and a trio on 1:31.9 – Davide Giugliano (Aprilia), Jonathan Rea (Honda) and Leon Haslam (Honda).

Meanwhile, the bruising day had started well before Camier’s big off, thanks to Ducati’s Ayrton Badovini. The Italian came unstuck at turn eight, with his Panigale 1199R bursting into flames and causing the session to be red flagged. The marshals were on the scene quickly and put out the blaze, and Badovini was taken to a Melbourne hospital after suffering a bruised liver.

The crash was an acute blow for the factory Ducati team, with the outfit’s number one rider Carlos Checa already absent while he tries to shake off a stomach ailment. That left Badovini to shoulder the responsibility of giving as much feedback as possible to the team’s engineers – and everything was going to plan until his incident. His bike, like Camier’s, has now been written off.

Rea also crashed and hurt his shoulder on day two, while those to bite the dust on day one included Kawasaki pair Tom Sykes and Loris Baz, as well as Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel.

Sykes, the championship favourite, fractured the radius of his left hand, while Cluzel has had surgery in Melbourne to repair a gash in his arm. Baz also sat out today while his mechanics rebuilt his bike, but the trio is all expected to return to action at the final official pre-season WSBK test back at Phillip Island on February 18-19.

The private test at Phillip Island saw all the riders circulate on standard-spec Pirelli tyres, but on February 18-19 the company will be unveiling a new batch of tyres, including harder compounds as riders continue to come to grips with the resurfaced 4.445km grand prix circuit.

Private 2013 Phillip Island WSBK Test (unofficial times):
1. Leon Camier GBR Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:31.2s
2. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Aprilia Racing RSV4 1:31.4s
3. Marco Melandri ITA BMW GoldBet S1000RR 1:31.6s
4. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV4 1:31.7s
5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Red Devils Roma Aprilia RSV4 1:31.7s
6. Jonathan Rea GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR 1:31.9s
7. Leon Haslam GBR Pata Honda CBR1000RR 1:31.9s
8. 8. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Aprilia RSV4 1:31.9s
9. Chaz Davies GBR BMW GoldBet S1000RR 1:32.1s
10. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1:33.2s
11. Ayrton Badovini ITA Alstare Ducati 1199 R 1:32.4s
12. Jules Cluzel FRA Fixi Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:32.5s
13. Max Neukirchner GER MR Ducati 1199 R 1:32.6s
14. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1:34.5s