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Nico Terol began the season on an MV Agusta with Schmidt Racing Team, getting on the podium at one of his home Rounds at MotorLand Aragón, but since the team have struggled to create the winning package they had aimed for at the start of the season. With new teammate Kyle Ryde then joining the team, Schmidt ended the first part of the season with MV Agusta, before announcing their departure from the partnership with the Italian marque after the Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

The Hungarian team have now announced that the replacement machinery for the MV package will see Schmidt run Kawasakis, and WorldSBK.com caught up with rider Terol to talk about the season so far, the change and how the future is shaping up.

“Right now, what I know is that we’ve changed from working with MV Agusta and we’ll now be on Kawasakis,” said Terol. “But I’ve not spoken much to the team and I don’t know if we’re going to do any testing. In theory we would have to before Germany, to try out the bike on a circuit somewhere that the team can decide on, then after ride on the new track in Germany. And before Jerez, where I did well last year. That would be ideal, to be able to have a bike with a good base setting. The change is to be able to show our potential, which until now was only possible in Aragón – in other Rounds I was unable to do much because of one thing or another.”

With his third place at MotorLand Aragón, Terol moved up to sixth overall in the title standings but it proved a one-off result. In the two following Rounds, the Spaniard scored 10 more points – before a run of three races that saw the former 125 World Champion score no points with two retirements and P19. The situation was not easy for new teammate Kyle Ryde either, who joined the team at Donington Park and was unable to score either at his home Round – where in 2015 he was on the podium as a wildcard – or the following race weekend at Misano. After considering the situation, Schmidt Racing’s Team Manager Robert Balogh decided to make the switch from MV Agusta.

“It’s not an easy situation,” adds Terol. “It’s a big change with four Races to go but it’s clear that the situation wasn’t improving. I always said that the bike had great potential, but everything has to be millimeter perfect and you need someone who knows the bike. If this year we had had someone on the technical side who knew the bike, that would have been a big help. Despite having worked well, for one reason or the other the results haven’t appeared – only in Aragón. That makes me angry, but I’ll try and change that into motivation for the coming Races.”

So can Terol get some good results in the final push towards the season finale in Qatar? The Spaniard is convinced of it, although as always has some conditions…

“I’m very excited and if the change happens as it should, with the right equipment, I’m sure I can finish the season well,” assures the Valencian rider. “If we do the testing we need, the objective will be to fight for the podium in every Race. I know what I can do, but we need the right tools and I hope the team comes together like it has done with this change. There is potential, and that will be the goal. Unfortunately I’ve run out of engine allocation so although we’ve changed bike I will have to start from the pit lane in Germany, but after we have three good opportunities in Magny-Cours, Jerez and Qatar.”

Whilst the plan for the team is coming together, Terol remains hard at work training for the rest of the season. The GP winner recently took part in the first event of the Spanish Flat Track and Dirt Track Cup against illustrious company such as Brad “the Bullet” Baker, and will do the same at the next event in Madrid. After that, the Pirelli German Round is on the horizon and the Spaniard will be gearing up for the last four WorldSSP Races of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.