Camier and FIXI Crescent Suzuki ready to start the new racing year
The winter test ban is over and the World Superbike teams will be back on track soon in preparation for the 2013 Season Opener at Phillip Island - with race day set for February 24th. Leon Camier and the FIXI Crescent Suzuki Team will undergo a two-day test at Almeria next Thursday and Friday, before moving to Jerez for a further two days on track scheduled for the 22nd and 23rd of January alongside several SBK teams.
The 26 year old from Ashford is obviously keen to be back on the GSX-R 1000 and can't wait to check the improvements made by the Verwood-based team during the break: "I'm excited to get back on the bike. The guys have been working hard and hopefully made some good progress, so we will see in Jerez how we compare. The first real test will be in Australia, though, as racing is always different. It was good to have some time off the bike to relax and start again. I think it's been good the technicians to have some time in the workshop with everything they have learnt last year, so I'm hoping to start at a much higher level than we did in 2012."
He also has a clear view on what areas to focus on for further performance improvements to the Suzuki World Superbike machine: "The bikes are a little different to last year so we have a few things to try to find our direction for set up with the new 17'' wheels, as in testing at the end of last year they didn't work so well for us" he admits. "We need to improve the standard wheels we tried last November and hopefully we'll have a slightly better version coming for the tests. Speed was a big problem for us last season and even though it improved a lot we still need to be faster. An improvement in electronics for in-between conditions is also important".
Camier aims for a better start to the season compared to the one he witnessed in 2012, but at the same time he knows the track will be the only real proving ground for the work done at the team's headquarters. "I think we will start a lot stronger this year, the guys have made some good improvements and are happy with how things are at the work shop so hopefully this will translate to performance on the track, but we will see very soon."
