Successful opening test for Honda Racing

Honda Racing’s British Superbike team has completed a successful opening test at Monteblanco in Spain and now heads to Almeria for a further test next week.

Dan Linfoot, Jenny Tinmouth and Jason O’Halloran shared the test with Honda’s extended racing family as the outing saw 12 Fireblades on track with British Superstock’s Quay Garage, Jackson Racing, the Honda Endurance Racing team and the Honda Racing roads outfit, all testing in preparation for the start of their individual championships.

Testing the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade the BSB riders and team worked through a number of various engine and chassis settings. In total each rider completed roughly 300-laps of the 2.7-mile Spanish circuit and made daily progress aboard the CBR, beating lap times set last year and generating good settings for each of the machines.

Leaving Monteblanco confident the squad now heads to Almeria for a further three days on track to continue its testing programme, before heading back to the UK for tests at Silverstone and Donington Park at the end of the month.

The first round of the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship takes place at Silverstone on 8-10 April.

Havier Beltran - Honda Racing team manager:

We’ve had a really good opening test this week at Monteblanco, it’s a great circuit that all three riders really enjoy and it suits the CBR’s well. Having the other Honda teams with us from endurance, road racing and British Superstock has also been very helpful, and it’s been great seeing them work and develop their Fireblade machines. For Dan he was happy to be back on track and test the parts that the team has been developing over the winter. He’s really enjoyed riding the bike again and has some great base settings as we approach the season. Jenny I’m really pleased has enjoyed her four days here. She was faster than last year and more consistent over simulated race runs, it’s clear to see that all her hard work and training over the winter is really paying off.

It’s been fantastic to see Jason back aboard the Superbike, his training and rehabilitation is a credit to the hard work he’s put in. There are vast areas where we have improved his Fireblade and I’m sure it’ll be beneficial for the opening rounds of the championship.

To see the team working in harmony and everyone gel together so well while we’re away for such a long period testing is great and I am hugely confident for the season ahead.

Dan Linfoot #4:

I’ve really enjoyed being back on the Fireblade these last few days at Monteblanco; the four days are a good amount of time to work through the changes to the bike and it’s great to see the guys hard work preparing the bikes over the winter is paying off. We’re leaving here in a much better position compared to last year, the changes we have made have improved the CBR in quite a big way over the race simulations. I’m happy with my crew, the surroundings and generally in a good place. I’m excited for the start of the season and just can’t wait to get going at Silverstone now.

Jenny Tinmouth #20:

It’s been a great test for me compared to last year this time at Monteblanco. I’m feeling confident on the Fireblade and I’ve been more consistent with my laps, as well as a lot faster than last year, which I’m really chuffed with. It’s been fantastic to work through different chassis changes on the bike, which I didn’t really get the opportunity to do when we were here last year, so it’s been brilliant to work through those with my crew chief Roger. I’ve really enjoyed myself and pleased with where we are, and am looking forward to testing again at Almeria next week.

Jason O’Halloran #22:

We’ve had really positive days on track this week, with countless amounts of new settings and ideas from my team. I’m really pleased with where we’ve ended up with the Fireblade, we had a few ideas from last year, which we worked towards and focused on, and we’re really happy with the result. I feel comfortable and it’s only my first time on the Superbike since my injury, but I feel in great shape and feel like I could go to Silverstone tomorrow and be competitive. The team is in good spirits, we’ve got a good vibe at the moment and I can’t wait to get testing again next week, then back to the UK to start racing.