Positive Motorland Aragon test for KRT riders
The Kawasaki Racing Team made another step forward in the development of the Ninja ZX-10R SBK race package by conducting a two-day test at Motorland Aragon on 13 and 14 June. Regular KRT riders Tom Sykes and Loris Baz lapped strongly in generally hot weather conditions as they each completed their planned test schedules without a hitch.
Track temperatures ended up over 50°C for long periods of the test, making it a tough one for the riders in a physical sense. Nonetheless, Sykes posted over 150 laps, setting many in the 1'57 bracket, and Baz put in over 90 laps, with many in the 1'58s. The French rider opted to stop riding in the afternoon of day two after successfully completing his entire test plan earlier than he and his team had expected.
Even the arrival of some rain on the afternoon of the first day did not hold back the positive work done on both engine development and chassis settings at this test, in which both riders consistently improved on the already strong pace they set at the Motorland Aragon race in mid-April. The next race is at Imola, Italy, on Sunday 30 June, where the team will have the first chance to make the most of their latest batch of KHI's technical improvements.
Tom Sykes: "Testing went really well. It was typical of Kawasaki's positive approach that they have been responsive to my comments and we had a very well structured test plan. On the final day I did over 90 laps and I can tell you, after that many laps of Aragon you feel like you have worked a little bit! It was a good test in preparation for a hot summer of racing as we had more than 30 degrees air temperature and over 50°C on the track, but we still set good lap times. It was good for me to get on the bike and refresh my mind after falling on the sighting lap at the last race in Portimao. I have been very hard on myself since then, thinking too much about it, to be honest. It was a freak accident in Portugal and the trick is to learn from the mistake. So it was good to go out in Aragon and get some fast laps in. It was a bit of a remedy as well as a good test, so it could not have come at a better time. Now I am only thinking about how positive the test was and how good the Ninja ZX-10R will be at the next round."
Loris Baz: "We made some more big improvements at this test and we did all the jobs we needed to do in less than the full two days, so I did not ride on the second afternoon. We tried everything we wanted to and all the things that my crew chief Pere Riba had in his mind. We worked mostly on the general feeling with the bike on race settings and I was definitely faster than I had been in the race at Aragon a couple of months ago. It was cool to lap faster than before and I am even more confident with the bike. We spent two important days at Aragon and we did everything we had to do. We tried a lot of things so we did not need to do more than the 90 laps I finally set."
