The MSS Colchester Kawasaki team fly to Spain later today as Stuart Easton and Gary Mason prepare for their first test onboard the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R at Cartagena later this week.

The team has an extensive development programme planned ahead of the season for the new Kawasaki and both riders will join several of their BSB rivals on track in Spain later this week for their debut at Cartagena. The team then head to Portimao in Portugal for a further two days on circuit before returning to the UK for further tests at Brands Hatch and Snetterton.

Easton said:

"I am under no illusions that our first days on track will be steady as it is a completely new bike and we have a long road of development ahead of us. I am lucky as I have ridden in Macau and had a test with the factory team at Sepang as it means I have been out on a bike fairly recently, but I am looking forward to getting stuck in and working with the new team. We won't be on lap record pace straight away obviously but we have a good couple of days to get settled in as we will be starting from scratch unlike most of the other teams. It is an exciting time and I think these Spanish tests will be a good starting point before heading back for some dates in the UK."

Mason said:

"This is it and it is finally time to get back out and have a go on the new bike. I did some laps recently on the new road bike to blow away the winter cobwebs and have a quick blast - it felt unbelievable. That made me feel even more positive about the new race bike and I know that we have lots of development work to do but you can see just from the standard bike how much it has moved on since the last model. Myself, Stuart and the team have lots to get started on and then once we have finished in Spain and Portugal we still have some more track time scheduled in the UK. I simply can't wait to get started."