After three days of the Pro-Test at Cartagena still no rider (unofficially) has broken the lap record set by Leon Haslam of a 1’32.6 from last year, but few riders have got close. There were no major dramas, but BeWiser Kawasaki’s Chris Walker did take a small tumble but was unhurt, and so was the bike.
Many riders including returning MCE British Superbike rider Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty, Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey, JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Ellison, and BeWiser’s Danny Buchan were all at the sharp end, but for many racers the day was about fine tuning their machines.
Ellison and crew have been busy altering the electronics and gearing to adapt to the added power resulting from a recent engine re-tuning. His team-mate James Westmoreland has also been working closely on the electronics of his bike and on the throttle connection.
Apart from the small crash, Walker has been getting used to using K-Tech suspension and adapting his ZX-10 from Ohlins, which is what he used last season. It’s a case of back to basics for his younger garage buddy Danny Buchan. The reigning Pirelli National Superstock 1000 champion has been riding around on a stripped down bike, with his team adding to it throughout the weekend. The team, including boss Tommy Hill are happy with what they have seen so far. The BeWiser bunch are staying at the circuit tomorrow, but today was their last day of track activity.
Moto Rapido Ducati’s Jakub Smrz has been concentrating on an issue that he had from last season, which was getting the balance of the bike right when coming out of corners, so his team have been working closely on that. The former World Superbike rider has been doing lots of laps on used tyres, and his pace appears to be consistent so far.
WD-40’s Jack Kennedy was struck down with electrical problems for the first two days of the test, but that issue has been rectified by his team, and he did manage a couple of laps today. Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s newest recruit Luke Mossey has been setting some super quick times which has taken the BSB rookie by surprise. His crew have only changed one thing on the bike, and that is to soften the front end - but only slightly, and Mossey has hailed his bike as ‘perfect’.
The PBM team are packing up and heading home after their three days of testing at Cartagena. Stuart Easton has tested out a lot of things on his Kawasaki, including running a different engine spec today, and introducing a new fuel tank. All in all the Scot is feeling comfortable and confident for the start of the opening BSB round at Donington in a few weeks time.
The final Pro-Test day in Spain is tomorrow with Superbike track activity starting at 10.22am (Spanish time) and coming to an end at around 5pm in the afternoon.
