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Stefan Bradl took his Honda World Superbike Team CBR1000RR Fireblade SP for its maiden ride on Wednesday the 16^th of November at MotorLand Aragon for the first winter test, ahead of the 2017 season.  The former MotoGP™ rider didn’t waste time getting to know the bike and his new team, completing 60 laps of the Spanish circuit on day one.

“Everything was very well organised, we just made a shakedown with the bike it was pretty cool in the beginning, but overall everything was like normal,” explained Bradl. “My expectations were that the tyres were going to be different and the bike is obviously different, so I had to adapt and basically the differences are clear and I can feel them. There’s just a little bit more movement in the bike and there is a lot of different parts like steel brakes to adapt to and basically overall, I feel like I’m already at home. Still, there are a lot of things I need to learn but my first impressions were positive.”

Continuing on his evaluation of his first WorldSBK experience, the German added, “There are a lot of things that we still need to work on, it was only the first day and we can be happy because everything went to plan. But like I said there is still a lot I need to learn, I still need to adapt my riding style this bike that requires a different riding style so overall I need to adapt to the steel disc and to all the things that are new for me. This will come step by step. We made 60 laps today I think that’s not too bad and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Apart from getting acquainted with his new bike, Bradl had to adjust to the Pirelli tyres used in the WorldSBK Championship, which was totally new to him. Overall the German was impressed by their quality saying, “Well the tyres were quite easy to understand. There is a lot of information they give to you. This is something I could really understand directly, because in the morning it was cold and I had some worries because what I experienced in MotoGP™ is that it’s a critical point when you go out and the temperature is quite cool. With these ones it’s a bit easier to get the feeling straight away, so I was really impressed by the amount of information the tyre was able to give.”

They day wasn’t without its challenges though for the WorldSBK rookie, as half way through the day the Honda rider was forced into the pits with technical difficulties. Later he explained it was a minor problem that the team fixed in no time. “It was something with the axels, it wasn’t a big problem there was some smoke coming out of the exhaust,” said Bradl. “I didn’t feel that to be honest but it wasn’t a big problem we stopped we checked it and fixed it and it wasn’t a big problem. “

Bradl and his new teammate and former Grand Prix racing counterpart, Nicky Hayden, will only be testing the 2016 Fireblade in Aragon and at the next test in Jerez. The 2017 machine is set to arrive in January and the German is anxious to try it out but remains level-headed about the challenge. 

“A new bike is always new but it depends on how it reacts,” said Bradl. “I can definitely say that I think it will be good that I will be able to say something about the difference of the new bikes when they arrive. I’m really excited about a new one, seeing how it will be but first I’m concentrating on tomorrow. Then we have another test in Jerez, which I’m looking forward to because on a new race track things can be different and that’s important for me to learn with the bike on different circuits. Then we will wait for the new bike.”