Private testing at Jerez for many WSBK teams
The top riders back on track to get ready for the second round of the season
Several WSBK teams will hit the track early next week for private testing at Circuito de Jerez, Spain, in preparation for the second round of the season, scheduled for April 13th at MotorLand Aragon. This will be the last chance for many teams and riders to get some track time before the season picks up the pace.
The Aprilia Racing Team will show up at the Andalusian venue with current with regular rider duo Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri as well as test rider Alex Hofmann. Melandri will focus on sorting out the lack of confidence at the front end which is very important at Aragon, especially at the end of the long back straight.
First race winner of the season Eugene Laverty and rookie sensation Alex Lowes are looking forward to getting back to work. The Voltcom Crescent Suzuki pairing has many new things to evaluate, including a new swingarm developed by British company FTR, an updated engine specification and new electronic strategies. Barcelona-based Kawasaki Racing Team will get on track with WSBK duo reigning Champion Tom Sykes and Loris Baz, as well as EVO rider David Salom.
After this week's three day test at Cartagena, in which they tried a new swingarm and worked on traction control as well as numerous chassis settings, the Pata Honda Team will also be present at Jerez with test rider Michele Magnoni once again alongside full time pairing Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam. The Ducati Superbike Team will continue its preparation for the second round after the encouraging season debut at Phillip Island by fine tuning the Ducati 1199 Panigale R for what will be a challenging venue for the Italian twin cylinder machine.
Claudio Corti and the MV Agusta RC – Yakhnich Motorsport Team will go through a good number of changes for their F4 RR, hoping to bridge the gap with the front runners in the upcoming event.
