PARKALGAR HONDA’S Sam Lowes topped the three day official World Supersport test at the awesome Parkalgar circuit in Portugal with a lap time set on the opening day as wet weather dominated the last two days.

Portuguese hero Miguel Praia ended the test 10th thanks to his first day lap time. Both Sam and Miguel proved to have excellent wet weather pace in the last two days, with Sam competitive at the top of the timesheets and Miguel getting as high as seventh. Parkalgar Honda and its sister Bogdanka PTR Honda team now go to Aragon in Spain for a further test on Monday and Tuesday.

Sam:

“Conditions were greasy today and on an out-lap I was two foot wide and lost the rear. I came down hard on my right foot and I’ve broken a bone. I can ride no problem and went out again. I had a previous crash but it was small and I was unhurt. For me the test has been awesome, very positive. On the first day it was proper dry and we showed speed and consistency. We achieved that and the fastest lap of the entire test on very little time and with few changes to the bike - so the potential is enormous and that’s the best thing I take away from here. In the full wet I was quickest and finding it comfortable. The third day was a bit of a write off as it was damp and we couldn’t test anything but overall I am very happy.”


Miguel:

“After such a long break from riding I was OK with 10th on the opening day and expected to go a lot faster. Then in the rain of the second day I was seventh fastest in the full wet and found the lap times quite easy. Something I ate yesterday disagreed with me and I hardly slept last night. The doctor told me to rest today and I only went out at the end, missing the five-minute window of opportunity to put in a fast lap as it started to rain again. We need more kilometres testing the new Pirelli tyre to build my confidence.”

Simon Buckmaster: Parkalgar Honda Team Manager:

“Sam has had a good test; he was fastest in the wet and dry. He had two crashes but we have talked about this and I am sure he will learn from it. His bike feels good, he is happy and he has gelled with his team, those are big positives.

“Miguel was ill for the final day so lost a lot of time. He is struggling to work with the new rear tyre in the dry – it needs more rider input than the old tyre. We will work on this with him. In the wet he was competitive in seventh and that is encouraging.”


Combined test times

1 11 Lowes S. (GBR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1'45.845

2 44 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'45.931

3 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'46.316

4 99 Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'46.415

5 7 Davies C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1'46.594

6 4 Rea G. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'47.259

7 77 Ellison J. (GBR) BOGDANKA PTR HONDA CBR600RR 1'47.281

8 9 Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'47.365

9 21 Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'47.852

10 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1'47.941

13 28 Szkopek P. (POL) BOGDANKA PTR HONDA CBR600RR 1'49.357