Pata Honda moving forward with WSBK and WSS teams
The Pata Honda team has completed a successful two-day test at Motorland Aragon near Alcaniz in Spain in sunny, but cool and blustery conditions. Venue for round two of the 2013 eni FIM Superbike World Championship back in April, the 5.344km Aragon circuit produced a best result of fourth for Jonathan Rea in the Pata Honda World Superbike team, while Michael van der Mark finished on the World Supersport podium.
The Aragon test, the first intense riding sessions since he broke his femur in a crash at Germany's Nurburgring in September, gave Rea and SBK team-mate Leon Haslam an opportunity to develop the stability of the Honda CBR1000RR's electronics, as well as various chassis settings.
The entire Pata Honda squad will test again at Jerez in Spain on 25-26 November before the winter testing ban kicks in on 1 December.
Jonathan Rea: "We worked a lot on electronics to give me confidence to ride how I want. We also tried some chassis set-ups around the 2014-spec Ohlins front forks, which were interesting. I'm satisfied with our work and I enjoyed riding a lot. Now I'm looking forward to another test at Jerez where I hope my physical condition can be a little stronger than it has been here."
Leon Haslam: "The first day was not so good as we had a few problems and I was only able to complete about 30 laps, which was not really how I wanted things to be. But day two was much better and we got through a lot of things on our checklist. My times were quite good on the SC1 but I didn't really get a chance to go any faster on the SC0 because we ran out of time, but I'm a lot more confident heading towards the Jerez test in just over a week."
Michael van der Mark: "It's been a really good test, despite the wind and some quite cold weather. We tested a lot of different stuff and made some big progress with the electronics. Now I'm really looking forward to riding the bike again at Jerez and doing some more work on the CBR."
Lorenzo Zanetti: "I am quite happy after two days of testing the bike in Aragon. I tried a few different solutions for engine braking and clutch. In the end, I think we found a good way forward and I was able to make a good race simulation."
