A Spanish test saw Christian Iddon get his first impression of the Yamaha R1 he will ride in BSB next year.
Iddon was announced for the Sencat by Swan Racing team shortly after the end of the 2025 BSB season, which the 40-year-old ended with one race win to his name aboard the FS-3 Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
At the same time, Swan Racing announced they would be switching from Aprilia to Yamaha for the 2026 BSB season.
A test at Almeria earlier this week was an opportunity for Iddon to get acquainted with his new team, and for both him and the Sencat by Swan Racing team to get to grips with the Yamaha R1 – a stranger to both parties.
“It was great to get out on track,” said Iddon.
“It was the first time in a long time that I have got out with a new team before the new year and it’s invaluable, really.
“The bike is obviously new to me, but it is also new to the team, so it wasn’t just a learning process for me, but for the team too so to get out in a less pressured situation was a nice way of getting that first run out of the way.
“I felt comfortable ergonomically on the bike very quickly and I enjoy riding the Yamaha. It is a very different prospect of a bike and does a lot of things very differently to what I am used to from this season.
“I had a nice sensation and feedback from the bike, which is nice to feel that early on and the bike moving underneath you and understand how it talks to you, as they are all different, so that was really good.”
Iddon added that there were no major setup experiments during the Almeria test, but he was able to try some minor changes, particularly about ergonomics.
“We tried nothing major in terms of set-up as we are not really at that point yet, but we tried a few different seats, footpeg and handlebar positions, and different brake options that I can run,” he said.
“So we just got the basics out of the way, which are things that are all really simple things, but are really important and take time. The fact that we have got those done, I feel puts us ahead of the game already, so we are all good.
“I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to getting back out again as soon as we can.”
