WSBK – Test WSBK 2015: Honda and Kawasaki caught cold –

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2015 WSBK test: Honda and Kawasaki caught cold

WSBK - Test WSBK 2015: Honda and Kawasaki caught cold -

The two Honda Pata champions, Guintoli and Van den Mark, were the first WSBK riders to return to the track in 2015, in Portimao last Thursday. They were joined in Aragon by the official Kawasaki riders, Sykes and Rea. The atmosphere was freezing…

The World Superbike winter break that started on December 1, 2014 ended last week. As of Thursday, moreover, the Honda Pata team of World Superbike resumed its training program: destination Portimao, in search of sun and mild temperatures….

Unfortunately, the circuit of the southern tip of Portugal gave a cold welcome to Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van den Mark. And as if the cool temperatures were not enough, a few showers further complicated the task of these two new teammates !

"Despite the rain in Portimao last week, the tests and our first outing on the 2015 CBR went well there", however wishes to reassure our dear" Guinters "."The lap times were pretty good, including on tires that already had 25 laps".

Like Sylvain, "Magic" Michael took advantage of these very first tests of 2015 to continue to make his mark on his new frame. A generous clearing even allowed him to run in the dry and appear on which we can see him – especially hear him! – put big gas.

This Monday, we found the two Honda riders for two new days of testing in the north of Spain in Aragon, this time accompanied by their two best enemies: Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea, respectively second and third in the 2014 WSBK ranking..

Already relayed by Site in its previous article on the World Superbike (read), the image posted on Twitter by the "World Number One" was cold in the back: 1.8 ° C on the ground according to the Honda team thermometer … Brrr.

The World Top 3 on track … or almost

"The majority of the riders were still able to ride on a dry track during the second day after a rainy Monday.", reports the official Worldsbk.com website."The track temperatures were however around 10 ° C and the teams therefore had to be content with the "hottest" hours of the day to send their pilots on the track. The day before, only the Grillini team riders, Christophe Ponsson and Santiago Barragan, and David Salom (Team Pedercini) had dared to venture beyond the pit-lane".

More cautious and / or cautious than the others, the former "Number One" of the discipline Tom Sykes quite simply preferred not to leave his garage, at all! "We are still in the middle of January and it has been very cold", notes n ° 66,"let’s move on"…

"Would have been nice to do a few turns of the wheel to try different things", recognizes the English Ninja,"but that’s not going to stop me sleeping since we’ll be back on the bikes in a few days, in Jerez. Hope we can try everything there".

While Tom was chomping at the bit, his new teammate Jonathan Rea – Loris Baz’s replacement left in MotoGP! – continued to break in his ZX-10R. Come to Portimao to panic the clock, as he had done during the, "JR" had to put water in his beer…

"Honestly, we weren’t able to perform any effective tests from a performance standpoint.", admits the No.65 from the Isle of Man,"but we were able to work on some ideas regarding gear changes and clutch settings for departures".

Guim Roda, manager of KRT based near Barcelona, ​​was also disappointed not to benefit from better weather, especially as "the cold arrived on Sunday", he points out!"The temperatures were unbelievably good on Friday and the past three weeks have been very pleasant in this part of Spain. It’s life"…

A lot of bad weather, no stopwatch

While their new recruit was having fun and their old one bubbled, the Greens found something to do: "we still used these two days of testing to work inside the box, on the new electronic system", testifies their leader.

At Honda and on the Fireblade n ° 1 more particularly, the mechanics worked on both the "software" and the "hard": "we worked on power management, engine braking, motorcycle balance and we found some interesting things", reveals Mister Guintoli.

The technical coordinator of the Reds, Pieter Breddels, specifies for the attention of – real – Frenchie fans: "we tried softer springs and a higher bike for Sylvain to give him a little more feel and transfer".

As for Michael’s supporters, they will be delighted to learn that their favorite No.60 has "tried the new geometry before Sylvain had already tested last week". After many laps yesterday afternoon, VDM is also happy with the work accomplished..

"I can’t wait to try again in hopefully drier and more normal conditions", concludes the reigning Supersport world champion. Our Superbike world champion is already"looking forward to running in australia" !

Before taking off for the other side of the world, the Honda Pata riders flew today to Verona where the official presentation of their team will take place this weekend. They will then travel to the Jerez circuit – with the Ninjas and many more! – for the last two days of testing on European soil, before the official tests and the opening round at Phillip Island…

The pilots of the other World Superbike teams are also actively preparing: today even began two days of tests in Portimao, in which the following are taking part: Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres (Aprilia Red Devils) accompanied by Max Biaggi Himself (!), Sylvain Barrier (BMW Italia), Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano (Ducati Aruba), Terol and Baiocco (Ducati Althea), Niccolo Canepa and Larry Pegram (EBR Hero), Leon Camier (MV Agusta) as well as Alex Lowes and Randy de Puniet (Suzuki Crescent) … Stay connected !

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