Pata Yamaha World Superbike riders Alex Lowes and Sylvain Guintoli have completed their second two day pre-season test, this time at Motorland Aragón in north-eastern Spain, despite repeated interruptions from the mid-November weather.

The 5,077m modern circuit - located just outside the small town of Alcaniz and 100kms from the region's capitol Zaragoza - was due to host testing from 10:00hrs on Monday 16th November. However, dense fog surrounded the area for much of the day, delaying track action until the early afternoon and preventing both Lowes and Guintoli from completing more than a handful of laps each. Tuesday initially looked to be off to a similarly murky start but the Spanish sun soon broke through the gloom, allowing the Yamaha YZF-R1 to stretch its legs on the undulating 17-corner layout and almost 2km back straight.

Continuing the test programme initiated in Jerez a fortnight ago, a positive Lowes achieved 88 laps across the two days, improving his familiarity and confidence with his YZF-R1 and setting increasingly positive and consistent lap times. Hampered first by the poor track conditions and then by minor technical issues, Guintoli completed 56 laps. With a raft of data and information to carry them through to next week's return visit to the Andalucían circuit, commencing on Wednesday 25th November, both riders are eager to resume their progress in Jerez.

Lowes and Guintoli will now travel to Milan as Yamaha Motor Italy prepares to host the riders for their first public appearance in 'Racing Blue' at EICMA on Thursday 19th November.



Alex Lowes

"This afternoon we finally really got going after waiting for the weather - we didn't have much time on track yesterday and today was a long morning waiting for the fog to clear. We did a race simulation and then some work on the bike, setting-wise, getting a better feeling on corner-entry. We are getting better every time we go out, we still have a lot to learn but I feel really good, it was my best-ever lap around here and I'm starting to really understand the YZF-R1. I still feel like there is a lot more to come but it was fun and I am feeling like I was getting more out of the bike this afternoon. I'm looking forward to Jerez!"



Sylvain Guintoli

"Unfortunately we've had a few issues, both with the weather and with the settings this week so we couldn't really build on the work we had started in Jerez. Just a few teething problems, but it has meant I didn't get as many laps in as I would have liked. Hopefully we can sort them out quickly and move forward again in Jerez next week because the YZF-R1 feels really good as a base!"