Honda’s Leon Haslam is doing a rain dance ahead of this weekend’s Magny-Cours WorldSBK round as he says the new Fireblade is quick in full wet conditions.

It looks very much like the Derby rider will get his wish as the forecast is for a very damp French weekend but that means lost development time on a dry track.

“I’ve had some good races at Magny-Cours in the past. This time of year, the weather can be up and down but honestly, I’d like to ride the bike in the wet, because in full wet we’ve been very fast and I have good feeling,” said Haslam.

“In the dry, I feel we’re on the brink of putting things together. Although my last race in Spain was difficult, I think if we can do well right from FP1, we can be challenging for the podium, so hopefully we can try to do just that this weekend in France.”

It will be the first time the Fireblade has touched down at the Nevers track where Haslam has never ripped up the grass but did take a podium in 2014.