Testing in Misano wrapped up, the Althea BMW team are back on the long haul to take on the Corkscrew and the rest of the 3.6km legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. With a season best of P4 so far in 2016, the team are focused on both maintaining their impressive roll of form from the first eight Rounds, as well as ensuring that the track time in the US provides data for the team to work on over the summer break.

After a crash in Race 2 in Misano, Althea BMW rookie Markus Reiterberger will be sidelined in California as he focuses on recovering for his home Round at the Lausitzring in September, and Italian Raffaele De Rosa from the STK1000 squad will ride alongside Torres in Reiterberger’s place. De Rosa currently leads the standings in the STK1000 Cup, and got his first taste of the full WorldSBK package at the post-Round 8 one day official test at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

“I can’t wait to get back on track at Laguna,” said Torres, who in 2015 as a rookie started from the front row to close out the Races in P5 and P4. “We’d like to make the most of the weekend and collect as much data as possible so that we can continue our work over the two month summer break. Last year, my first visit, I really had fun. The track is spectacular and after everything we’ve continued to learn over recent rounds, I really hope to be able to put together two great races this time around. I think we have the potential, we just need to work well right from Friday morning. I’m optimistic.”

“Laguna Seca will be a new experience for me and so I’m really excited,” added stand-in De Rosa. “The races I’ve seen at the track have always stood out and are pretty spectacular. It’s an historic track and when you ride tracks like that, like Assen or Mugello for instance, there’s always a magical air to them and I expect there to be a similar feel at Laguna… I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to race with the Superbike. I’m really sorry for Markus and hope he can back soon to continue with his season. For now though, I can’t wait to get there and hope to be able to complete two good races.”

Friday 8^th July is when the track action begins, before Race 1 on Saturday 9^th and Race 2 on Sunday 19^th, with lights out at 14:30 local time (GMT-7).