Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty had a mixed few days at the Pro-Test at Cartagena. He has made some positive steps on his brand new bike, but there is still a lot of work to do if the team are to be ready for the opening MCE British Superbike round at Donington next month.

The Wales-based rider made his debut on the BMW on Thursday and as they are new machines there is a lot that needs to be worked on. They started with a stock clutch and have been testing out an electronics package. Laverty has been working alongside new team-mate Tommy Bridewell and the pair had both experienced similar issues.

They are both happy with the front and power delivery of the bike, but are not content with the rear setting – something which his team are working hard to rectify. The Northern Irishman is now off to do some more testing at Almeria, where the crew should receive some new linkages for the bike. Laverty believes the track will suit the BMW more than the circuit here at Cartagena.

“It has been a good test. Day one was about starting from scratch - looking at riding position and getting the throttle connection to work. On day two it was getting closer to race pace and slowly working the bike to a comfortable base setting,” said Laverty, speaking to bikesportnews.com.

“Tommy and I are pretty happy with the front, quite happy with the power delivery but really not happy with the rear setting. Neither of us can really work the rear tyre or get the acceleration off the corners. So that is what we are lacking for overall pace. But we are not too far away. We are getting some new linkages coming today which we will test in Almeria – and that should be a good step forward.

“We started with a stock standard BMW clutch from the road bike and worked to the maximum of that, and then only added extra market parts once we bettered the standard parts, and we were able to learn about the bike and make progress that way.

“It meant that over the four days we weren’t setting the world alight with lap times but we are trying to make the bike better each time we went out. We did achieve 1’34’s and I am not too stressed with the pace we are at now - but by the time we leave Almeria I should have been able to grab the bike by the scruff of the neck and drag it around to a good lap time - but at the moment we are not quite there.

“There are a lot of little parts we still need to work on as we are starting from scratch as it’s a brand new bike for 2015. We are still a long way off with the electronics, but we are getting closer everyday and slowly chipping away. It will be nice to go to Almeria to let the BMW stretch its legs, as the engine is quite strong, and it’s quite a tight track here, and you can’t use the power fully, and you are always fighting a wheelie here.”

To really get a good indication of how the Tyco boys are fairing against the rest in the BSB paddock, Laverty wished title contenders Shane Byrne, Josh Brookes, and Ryuichi Kiyonari were at the test, so he could get a feel and a benchmark of where he needs to be.

“The main protagonists are not here in Cartagena like Byrne, Brookes and Kiyo as it would have been nice to see what they are doing – if only for a comparison as they are the bench-mark. But we are not too far away and I’m not stressing, and fingers crossed we will roll out in Donington and be fighting for a win.”