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Wintertest ''2016'' for WSBK Honda Ten Kate
Honda’s new World Superbike pairing of Nicky Hayden and Michael van der Mark have concluded a two-day private test at MotorLand Aragón today, in readiness for the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship. After an opening day of action that was heavily affected by a thick fog embracing the circuit - which fully lifted only with two hours to go - both riders made the most of today’s track time by putting in a significant number of laps aboard their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines. Nicky Hayden’s first taste of the new challenge translated into a significant number of new areas to explore – new bike, new tyres, steel brakes and different electronics. The 34-year-old from Owensboro, Kentucky has worked tirelessly with the team to get comfortable on his CBR machine with a special focus on the front of the bike and on its electronics. With one year of experience in the series under his belt, Michael van der Mark could concentrate on evaluating new material for his #60 Honda including a new software code, new brake pads and a small upgrade in terms of engine character. The Dutch flyer and the team also continued working on the bike’s behaviour with a full tank of fuel as well as on qualifying tyres. Hayden and van der Mark completed 83 and 80 laps respectively over the course of the two days. The Honda World Superbike Team will return to action next week (25-27 November) for a three-day test at Circuito de Jerez, the last outing before the winter testing ban. Nicky Hayden “Today we were able to improve immediately from yesterday and kept making small steps forward throughout the day. We got a little bit stuck at some stage on pure performance but then we were able to push through and improve under braking and on corner entry. We now have an idea on where we need to improve; we used two bikes with different configurations and I liked some things from both, so now it’s a matter of putting things together and see if the general feeling improves with it. It’s early days still and surely the weather didn’t help but I enjoyed riding the bike and working with the team. Now we have a week off to look through the data before Jerez and I’m looking forward to it. It’s a different kind of track compared to here and we’ll see what happens.”
