GGH/Stel Suzuki’s Aaron Zanotti has targeted some top ten finishes in this year’s MCE British Superbike series after finding some serious setup answers in pre-season testing.

The former Aprilia Superteen Champion managed to lap Cartagena in 1’35.1 - compared to a reported fastest by Shane Byrne of 1’33.6 at the end of last year - which is a huge leap forward and easily his fastest at the Spanish circuit.

“The Cartagena test went far better than I could have imagined. It’s a long way for the team to go but the weather is consistently warm and dry and the circuit has all the technical elements you need to let you get on with sorting the bike out,” said Zanotti.

“After the major revamp we gave the GSX-R 1000 over the winter we pretty well had to start from scratch and went through all the chassis and electronic options methodically.

“By day three the bike was beginning to feel sharper and offer more grip than ever so on the last day we tried for some consistent fast times, getting into the mid 1:35s with a best of 1’35.1 seconds – 1.6 seconds faster than I’ve ever done before and right on the pace.

“At Donington we spent most of the day on scrubs to try some different things ending up 16th on the time sheets. I’m sure there was more to be had on some new rubber too.

“We’ll be at Snetterton for the two day BSB test but already at this stage I think we’re showing enough potential to be looking at some top ten finishes. Brands Hatch can’t come soon enough.”