The full Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team was in attendance for the first test of 2020 on Tuesday at Kirkistown in Co Down.

Burrows Engineering/RK Racing’s new-look roads line-up of Paul Jordan and Mike Browne made their official debuts with the Ulster team during a long-awaited test at Kirkistown in Co Down on Tuesday.

Magherafelt man Jordan and Cork native Browne capitalised on the warm and sunny conditions as they rattled off plenty of laps around the 1.5-mile circuit on their Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike and Yamaha R6 Supersport machinery.

The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out virtually all Irish road races this year, but the Cookstown 100 in September still remains a possibility.

Whether or not the Co Tyrone event goes ahead, the test was also an opportunity for 2020 signings Jordan and Browne to meet the full team for the first time, as well as familiarising themselves with their new machines.

Jordan, who became an international race winner following victory in the Supertwin class at the Ulster Grand Prix in 2019, was having his first ever outing on a full-blown Superbike.

“It was a good day and I was really rusty, but I was getting back into it by the end of the day,” he told the News Letter.

“I’d only done some laps on my brother’s 600, which is just a road bike basically.

“I felt good on the Superbike and I was spending time trying to use the power of the bike rather than me wrestling it about and riding it like a 600.

“It wasn’t as aggressive as I thought it would be and it was actually really rideable,” he added.

“My first initial thoughts of the Suzuki are that it’s some bike and the chassis was really strong as well.

“I jumped on the 600 and the wee bike was absolutely flying. I felt more and more comfortable on it and it was my first time using K-tech suspension, so there’s a lot more to come.

“I can’t fault the team today and it was good to get everyone together, so I couldn’t have asked for much more from a first test.”

Browne was equally upbeat as the southern Irishman revelled in the luxury of being able to simply focus on riding the bikes without having to get his hands dirty afterwards.

“I’ve always worked on my own bikes so it was weird having someone take the bike off you to work on it,” he said.

“It was a big step up for me to the 1000cc Suzuki and it will take time, but the 600 was so much better than what I’ve been used to.

“It’s been nice to meet the team and they’re all a sound bunch of lads, so it was good to get that out of the way as well.”

Team owner John Burrows, who has pledged to stick with both riders in 2021 after the Covid-19 virus effectively wiped out this season, said the test was important to ensure the team is prepared if the Cookstown 100 does get the green light to run from September 11-12.

“I was impressed with both lads but it was all about getting out for a run and giving Paul and Mike some time on the bikes,” he said.

“We’ll do another test day and if the Cookstown 100 goes ahead then at least we’ll be ready, but if it doesn’t, then we’ll knock this year on the head.

“From my point of view there is no reason to change the line-up for next year,” said Burrows.

“We obviously had four great years with Derek Sheils but that didn’t continue this year, and the aim next year will be to bring on Paul and Mike and try and get them to a point where they can challenge the likes of Sheils and (Derek McGee), who are the men to beat at the nationals.”

Kyle White