Former champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne will get his first test onboard the HM Plant Honda next week as the championship-winning team head to Spain for the first of two tests as the countdown to the start of the season at Brands Hatch on Easter weekend (22-25 April) gets underway.

Shakey is renowned for his title-winning success onboard Ducatis in the past and is now looking ahead to two separate tests at Calafat and Cartagena respectively with Honda ready to get his title bid off to a flying start. Shakey is now relishing the chance to get back on track to see how his rivals are shaping up ahead of the opening round as the preparations for the season hit full force.


Shakey said:

"These tests can't come quick enough for me and I am really pleased that we have got days on two different tracks so we can really get out there and get the laps in which is so important before the start of the season. I don't expect to come out straight away and be breaking lap records as that is not realistic at the first test, however I want to come away from Calafat with a better understanding of the HM Plant Honda.

"We have plenty of time to get to grips with the bike and make the necessary changes throughout the test so that we arrive at Cartagena in a more comfortable position and ready to improve our pace. At Cartagena there will be lots of riders on track and we can see then an indication of where we are at compared to the other teams."