Tyco BMW new recruits Christian Iddon and reigning British Superstock 1000cc champion Josh Elliott both enjoyed a successful start to their tenure with the Northern Ireland based team, during a four-day test at Cartagena last week.

The duo have now moved further south to the Andalusian destination of Almeria, where they will take in three further days of testing [Wednesday through to Friday] alongside Michael Laverty and Ian Hutchinson in the Tyco BMW set-up.

Speaking after the four days at Cartagena, Iddon explained: 

“I’ve had a really good test with the boys so far. If I’m honest it always takes me a while to get back into the swing of things and my head into gear after the winter break. But the bike is already in a good place after the work, both the team and Michael have done last year.

“That takes the pressure off me in terms of developing the bike and leaves me to just concentrate on getting a feeling of how the Tyco BMW S1000RR works. I’ve also been trying out a few settings to be prepared for different track characteristics.

“Overall I’m really happy and my one lap pace was comparable to the other boys at the sharp end at Cartagena. We will continue to work on our preparation this week; look at managing tyre life and yeah, as I say I’m very happy. I just want to crack on without too much fuss and get the job done and hopefully slip in under the radar.”

Josh Elliott was equally as positive jumping into the Tyco BMW set-up, and said of his opening test aboard BMW’s S1000RR: 

“I had a great test at Cartagena and made steady progress and learned a lot more about the S1000RR in every session. I’m happy with my pace and the potential of the package really is massive.

“The support I have received from within the garage and also from my new team-mates has been brilliant. Having more experienced riders around me has been very beneficial, so I’m now looking forward to getting out at Almeria.”