Haslam and vd Mark take in turns at Suzuka
Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) was on track today at Suzuka for the first of two days of testing in preparation for this year's 8 Hours race, scheduled for July 28th. The Englishman, still not 100% due to the left leg injury sustained during Free Practice 1 at Assen last April, started working on the HARC-PRO CBR1000RR to get back to grips with the Japanese track. Haslam, was happy about today's performance despite the lack of track-time, as he had to share the bike with 8 Hours and WSS team-mate Michael van der Mark.
"The test today was OK" said Leon Haslam. "I didn't get so many laps but I ended the quickest rider for HARC-PRO Honda. The weather has been super hot, 36° C air temperature and 58° C on the track. The testing is helping me to use the leg more to build the power back, I still have problems with changing direction but it's definitely getting better."
Suzuka 8 Hours debutant Michael van der Mark already had a two-day test last week at Suzuka, though on board the Fireblade of the F.C.C. TSR Honda Team, as a substitute for the injured Kousuke Akiyoshi. The same bike is now under the hands of Jonathan Rea and former WSBK rider Ryuichi Kiyonari, with the Ulsterman part of the winning team - along with Akiyoshi - in last year's edition.
"The track is great but also a bit difficult" said Michael van der Mark "because it is a very long one, but I really love it. I was chosen to ride the F.C.C. TSR bike as their rider (Akiyoshi) got injured. It was a good opportunity for me to get more track-time and it was also an honour for me to ride the factory bike, it's such a good machine. This week I'm testing with HARC-PRO, that is my team for the 8 Hours race, I'm sharing the bike with Leon (Haslam) and we're trying to find a good compromise in terms of set-up."
