It’s been a positive two days for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) as testing at MotorLand Aragon has come to a close. The #97 Spaniard arrived off the back of a career-first podium in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Mandalika and was straight on the pace at the Spanish venue. Consistently – and perhaps, unsurprisingly – the fastest rider in the speed traps across both days, with a maximum reached on Wednesday morning of 315.8km/h.

Across both days, there were plenty to test for Vierge, starting with a new exhaust on day one, although more testing would be needed to be done to find out how beneficial it will be. Regardless, it wasn’t a revolutionary new item but to try and create more power on the exit of the corners. On day two, an updated chassis bracing was also used, with it being more rigid to try and provide more stability on acceleration.

Speaking at the end of day one, Vierge was pleased: “Basically, we started with a base setup and a bike we knew. We tried the new exhaust and there have been some positives of course, but like always, we tried many things and it’s important to analyse all the data to have a clear understanding for the second day. We’re working on finding a better connection with the throttle. I think we’re strong with our race pace but on the fast laps, we miss a little bit. It looks like we’ve found some positives so I am happy about that.”

Testing the updated bracing Vierge was once again happy with his on-track performance during the test, and explained just how important it is: “We are always on a really narrow line – as soon as the track changes, or the grip changes, or even the tyre from race to race if they bring different compounds, we need to change our base quite a lot. This is difficult for us. What we are aiming for is a bigger window, so that we don’t need to always be so precise. In a World Championship, with many different tracks, many different weather conditions, it’s difficult to always find the perfect set-up, so if we can find a standard base that works more or less in any conditions, it will help us a lot.

Talking about the second day in general, Vierge commended the efforts of the team: “It has been a very productive day for us. We focused in the morning on the new exhaust, and the frame with the new bracing, to see the difference. Honestly, I’m really happy. Honda is working really hard on the small details – at this level, these small details can make a big difference. We made a step forward. Our pace all day has been very strong. This morning, with the hard tyre – same problem, normally with the hard tyre and the SCX, I’m much faster with the SCX, I struggle to go fast with the SC0 tyre. Today I improved around eight tenths with that tyre, so it’s a big improvement.”

Looking ahead to Barcelona and the prospect of a lack of grip – something that Vierge has struggled with in the past – he commented: “The problem in Barcelona, for me, isn’t low grip; it’s that you have a lot of grip, but only for a few laps. So, if you use that extra grip, you destroy the tyre and you can’t make the full race distance. Last year, Race 1 we struggled a lot, but we understood on Sunday how to manage the tyre. It was one of my best weekends. A “no-grip” example for me was Australia, where we had really hard tyres. I weigh quite a bit less than Iker, so my problem was that I found it difficult to make the tyre work. But then for example, in Mandalika, even with a narrow line there is so much grip, I can adapt myself to the bike and take full profit of it. What we are looking for with the new things is also to minimise our weak points, let’s say.”

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The MotorLand Aragon test is all done and dusted for some of the riders of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, with five on track across the course of the two days. In what was a warmer second morning but a cooler second afternoon, the times were fast once again as new items, strategies and settings were tried up and down pitlane.

REAmaining on top: Rea leads Lowes but still work to do

After topping day one, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) continued to work on front tyre feeling and after changes made on Wednesday led them to positivity, it was outside of the ballpark and the continued with their geometry direction in this line on day two. From trying older items with the new setup, such as rear shocks and a swingarm, Rea hit the top spot in the afternoon with a 1’49.482, the fastest lap of the test. Spending plenty of time on top, teammate Alex Lowes was the rider to beat in the first part of the day as he got down to business from the start. A first flying lap of a 1’49.8 saw him better it later on, with a 1’49.585s eventually placing him fourth, a thousandth from the top three. Working on geometry settings on the front of the bike, Lowes continued to trial new ideas and test the parameters of the bike, building his understanding but not able to get the expected results There are different ideas within the garage across both sides but with Kawasaki topping both days, it’s been a relatively strong start after a lull at the start of 2023.

SMILES ALL ROUND: have Honda found another step?

At Honda, there was more reason to be happy as the manufacturer’s lap time improved on the first day straight away, courtesy of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in the morning session on day two. The Spaniard eventually went almost eighth tenths of a second quicker than his first day time and hailed the updated chassis bracing and new exhaust. He also did time attacks on the second afternoon, trying to improve on the weak area that has been one-lap pace. It was confirmed as a success, and the top Honda in the Championship was all smiles after day two. On the other side of the garage, Iker Lecuona was the first rider in the afternoon session to go into the 1’49s, with a 1’49.821. The Valencian was nearly three tenths quicker than his morning time, and also sub-1’50 for the first time during the test. Continuing to test the various upgrades, Lecuona finished in third, just over a tenth from Rea’s top time. Lecuona also focused a lot of the day with new electronics, resulting in him being “quite happy” with the overall two days.

RAY FINALLY ON TRACK: 43 laps in half a day

Elsewhere and after one and a half days out of action due to a mechanical problem, Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was finally out on circuit on the second afternoon. The 25-year-old British rookie was in the 1’54s after his first couple of runs, soon getting down to a 1’53. Missing one and a half days means Ray missed out on vital and much-needed track time, but the Barcelona test next week will be his next opportunity to get on track and against a full grid of riders.

There was more to keep an eye on in World Supersport, as Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) and teammate Luke Power were on track. Booth-Amos had the better day out of the two, improving his best time to a 1’55.869, whilst Power had problems with the new fly-by-wire. He improved his time though to a 1’57.050, cementing a second solid test with the team.

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.482

2. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) 1’49.565

3. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) 1’49.584s

4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.585s

5. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) 1’51.716s

REFERENCES: lap records and top speed at Aragon

WorldSBK outright Aragon lap record: 1’48.267 – Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha, Superpole, 2022

WorldSBK fastest Aragon race lap: 1’49.375 – Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha, Superpole Race, 2022

WorldSBK Aragon Top Speed record: 333.9km/h – Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 2012

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With the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship currently in a break between rounds, testing action was aplenty at MotorLand Aragon across the 22^nd – 23^rd of March. With the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK in attendance, all eyes were on them, to see if they were able to find a step back towards the sharp end of the field. After all was said and done, were they able to find what they were looking for?

Speaking after day one, six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea gave context of the situation coming into the test: “It’s important to get bike time after a difficult start to the season. We’re always trying to reinvent the wheel with our bike, with not many new parts coming. WorldSBK is moving on now at a fast rate of knots and with the window of our bike now, we need to go forward and we can’t keep going back to the base setup. Sometimes with new ideas, you go forward; two steps forward and one step back or one step forward and two steps back.

“There are a lot of ideas, so it helps here in a test situation, with quite a quiet track and without the urgency to go and do Superpole laps from Lap 1. I worked hard to understand the load that we put through the front tyre and did two long runs, one at 14 laps and the other at a full race distance of 18 laps. That was very encouraging; even though I got the feeling on the bike that after 14 laps, I stopped because of the ‘limit’ feeling. In the 18-lap run, the front tyre felt much better. We know the items we changed for that and if we can develop the bike in that way, then we’re really on the outside of the ballpark of where we’d be with the bike in terms of geometry. We also had new strategies with electronics and at the end of the day, we focused on practice starts and they were good. It was something that in Indonesia, Sander, my new electronics guy, has brought something really good with my starts. Last year, I was inconsistent and at Mandalika, I was able to get good starts. Track position is everything and it’s difficult to pass with our bike, so we need to maximise track position early in the race and then that can be the story of the race.”

Talking about day two in review, Rea started with more practice starts and trialling new aero on the front fairing: “We got on track straight away when the action kicked off and maximised the time. We continued working in a new direction with the geometry of the bike. The main focus was to take weight and energy out of the front end, and we managed that with some tweaks. We were able to find quite a good feeling and we understood some electronic ideas, rear shock specs and a swingarm – things we’ve had in the spares truck and that we’ve used in previous seasons; nothing revolutionary, just trying things with this setup. With the front fairing, the idea was to have some extra protection with my shoulders but I didn’t feel any influence at all to be honest. I feel like we made some positives but we need to re-test at a different circuit. Everything’s not clear yet, we just need to understand all these items again. We’ve definitely learn a few things and that’s invaluable.”

Alex Lowes spoke about his opening day at Aragon: “I did a race run and then another one, back-to-back, so that was hard work. I think by 4pm, I’d done 86 laps. We’ll analyse what we did for today and see if we can make steps for tomorrow. With the level of the bike now, it’s just small details. You’re always dreaming of one magic change to go half a second faster, but the reality is that it’s not going to happen for us because the bike hasn’t changed too much and the guys already do a good job of the bike, so we’re already getting a lot out of the bike.

Speaking about the second day in the hotter conditions, something Lowes had hoped for, he said: “This afternoon, I used one set of tyres on each bike, couple of runs. We’re working on used tyre pace; it wasn’t not too bad but don’t really know without checking the others. There were no massive steps forward. We’ve tried some different triple clamps, been trying to still turn the bike and still be able to brake aggressively, but without forcing the tyre quite as much. We didn’t quite get the result we expected today, but we’ll try again in Montmelo.”

Talking about team structure and the changes that had been made, Lowes explained whether that was helping him or not: “At the end, we need to work better as a team; there are two new guys in the team and they’re both on Jonny’s side at the moment. In that way, it’s not benefitting me at all because Jonny’s got extra help whereas I’ve just got Danillo [Casonato]. We need to work a bit better really; it can’t be Jonny with two guys helping him because they’re getting used to it and me with one. This is something that we need to try and improve a bit.”

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After two challenging rounds in Australia and Indonesia to kickstart his FIM Supersport World Championship career, Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Team) has used the six-week break before Round 3 to make sure he’ll be at full fitness for the start of the European season. The Spanish rider underwent arm pump surgery on his right forearm last week after seeking advice from Dr. Sánchez Alepuz, Head of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology of the IMED Hospital of Valencia.

Navarro is now planning to jump back onto his Yamaha YZF R6 as soon as this Saturday 25^th at Donington Park, in preparation for the Pirelli Dutch Round which will take place at the TT Circuit Assen, from April 21^st to 23^rd.

Arm pump syndrome – also known as Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, a common issue for riders which causes pain, weakness and loss of feeling in one or both forearms – is just the latest setback for Navarro, who in Phillip Island and Mandalika had yet to fully recover from the broken femur he suffered in Moto2™ last season, at the Australian Grand Prix.

“I was already struggling in some races last year and had it in the back of my mind, but with the leg and knee injuries I opted to postpone it”, Navarro explains about his recent surgery. “I didn’t really remember until I started riding again; I had enough to think about with my leg. But in Australia I already started noticing the strain in my forearm. At first, I thought that it was because I was only using my arms for the changes of direction, because I had less strength in my legs. But the pain persisted and in Indonesia I was on the limit at the end of the race.

“I visited the doctor, and his opinion was that I needed the operation. It was all very fast; I saw him on Wednesday and got surgery on Friday. Now, after a couple of days, I feel much better. I’ll ride the bike again on Saturday, because we have a test at Donington Park. I don’t think I’ll be in perfect condition but considering that it’s just a test, I thought it was best to get the surgery done now so that I can have time to recover before the next round”.

After Donington, the team led by Team Manager Kervin Bos will then head to Assen on April 3^rd and 4^th for another test. The plan is to arrive to the Pirelli Dutch Round, less than three weeks after, in good shape. And yet, Navarro is not fully recovered from his leg injuries and may yet need to go under the knife once more.

“I’m still struggling a bit from my femur injury. Last week I also got a check-up with my doctor for this, I may need another small operation to remove a couple of screws. They inserted four to fix the long needle in place, and it’s very stiff. That makes the process slower. The callus is forming but it’s still soft, that’s why it still hurts when I apply pressure. That leg is a lot weaker than the other one, which means that I start the weekend in pain, and it only gets worse from there. It gets a lot worse from FP1 to the races. It’s improved a lot in the last few months, but not as much as I would have hoped; so, we’ll probably get the surgery after this first test to remove the two screws.

“I need a second opinion first, because I do feel like my leg is improving, but nowhere near as quickly as I expected”, Navarro admits. “I hoped to be fine for Australia, but that wasn’t the case. In Phillip Island I felt terrible; Indonesia was a bit better, there are more right turns and that helped me a bit. But my goal is to get to Assen without any issues. If I need surgery to achieve that, I’ll do it”.

Even with those setbacks, the 27-year-old’s introduction to the WorldSSP scene was an encouraging one, with three top-10 finishes over a nine-day spell. Navarro looks back at those results in a positive light.

“I told myself that those first two rounds were all about damage limitation; I saw them like a test, since I couldn’t train all winter and had no experience in the class. If you’re not ready, you can’t just arrive and win. I took it with that mindset, to grow and learn as much as possible every race, and I think I achieved that. I scored points in every race, which I’m sure will be key at the end of the year. For me it’s positive, because I felt very limited during the test at Phillip Island and yet we came away with good results. Everything is still wide open, so right now I’m just focused on getting back to 100% and to being myself on the bike again. When I can be myself, the rest will follow”.

The former Moto2™ rider can be confident about the backing he will receive when that does happen with the Ten Kate Racing Team, World Champions in 2021 and 2022 with Dominique Aegerter. Teammate Stefano Manzi is currently the leading Yamaha rider in the Championship, second in the standings after picking up two second-place finishes over four races.

“Yes, it’s clear that I’m with a winning team and that my teammate is strong; but right now, I am my only rival. My fight right now is to get back to fitness, to enjoy riding again, because it’s still more suffering than enjoyment. I’m convinced that when we get to that point, we can show our true potential, both the team’s and mine. I hope that time can be from Assen onwards. I’m working hard to get there and eager for it to happen”.

Navarro currently sits eighth in the Championship standings on 29 points, 48 behind leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba Racing WorldSSP Team). Navarro is confident that they can fight with the Ducatis, the winning bike in three of this year’s four races so far: “The Next Generation bikes seem to have made a step forward this year, you can see it when we’re together on-track. It’s a different bike. Ducati may have a bit extra; they can slow down more through corners and risk less because the engine then helps them on the straights. I hope the balance can be slightly more in our favour throughout the year. The level is very high, but both Ten Kate and Yamaha are working hard, and I’ll also be giving it everything”.

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Testing at the MotorLand Aragon circuit in Spain is underway for some of the contenders of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, with five on track as well as two World Supersport riders. With perfect weather for testing – albeit a bit cold in the morning and thus not much track action in the first 45 minutes – times tumbled throughout the day with plenty of items and areas to tick off. 

BACK ON TOP: Rea leads the way on Day 1

Starting with Kawasaki, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) topped the day’s running with a 1’49.903 set in his final run, the only rider in the 1’49s. There were some software items and hard items to get through, but Rea was coy on what they were, but the main focus of the test was to prevent overloading the front of the bike, although Rea stated that this happening in Europe’s cooler temperatures isn’t the same as it happening in the high heat of Indonesia. With the new personnel in the team working well together and with electronics engineer Sander Donkers settling in and integrating within the team, progress has been made. Rea was clear however, stating that regarding acceleration, there needs to be a step. He had brake ducts on both of his bikes, whilst teammate Alex Lowes didn’t have any, with different rider preferences for both. Lowes was on the pace too but over four tenths away from Rea in third and was hoping for hot temperatures – an area where the ZX-10RR struggles in. Track temperatures hit the low 40s, and Lowes hoped for a solution to help the front tyre life and give it an easier time. 

HONDA CLOSE BEHIND: Lecuona in P2, half a tenth away

At Honda, there were a plethora of items, from a stiffer chassis bracing to a new exhaust and back-to-back testing of swingarms – current specification vs previous specification. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC was second overall and set about getting his fast laps in the afternoon, with a good push for a strong lap time. Lecuona tested the items but couldn’t conclude whether or not they were a step froward, as one bike didn’t seem to be performing as well as the other. He’ll need to wait until the end of day two for a conclusive result. Teammate Xavi Vierge was fourth in the standings and unsurprisingly the fastest rider in a straight line, less than four tenths of a second from Rea on top. The fifth rider on track was Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), but a mechanical problem on his outlap ended his day of testing before it started.

In WorldSSP, Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) set a 1’56.902 to go fastest, whilst his teammate Luke Power had a solid day of running for his first time at the MotorLand Aragon venue, finishing the day just 0.8s behind Booth-Amos. However, Power did suffer a crash at Turn 14 which brought out a brief red flag, although he rode back to the pits and after lunch, returned to action.

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’49.903s
2. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) 1’50.250s
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’50.332s
4. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) 1’50.588s
Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team): NO TIME SET

REFERENCES: lap records and top speed at Aragon

WorldSBK outright Aragon lap record: 1’48.267 – Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha, Superpole, 2022
WorldSBK fastest Aragon race lap: 1’49.375 – Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha, Superpole Race, 2022
WorldSBK Aragon Top Speed record: 333.9km/h – Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 2012

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MotorLand Aragon is hosting a two-day private test for some of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders and teams and once again, it’s set to be a busy couple of days for Honda. Team HRC team principal Leon Camier outlined the plan for Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, which included testing a stiffer chassis bracing and exhaust.

Speaking in the morning before track action commenced, Camier explained the agenda for Team HRC: “We are comparing some old things that we’ve already had, just for rigidity. We have some different chassis bracing that we are testing, the first time we’re testing this one. We’re looking to increase stability and some other things such as more power and torque via the exhaust, which is slightly different.

“It’s not a big step but it’s in the right direction. There’re are a few other bits that we need to do some comparisons on in terms of turning. It’s nothing revolutionary but just some little bits to try and find some direction. In terms of stability, we’re trying to improve it on acceleration. Let’s see if this is the right direction or not and we’ll see.”

The test sees both Team HRC riders, along with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and his teammate Alex Lowes, on track with Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and WorldSSP duo Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) and rookie teammate Luke Power. After the opening hours of track action, Rea was fastest with a 1’50.242, ahead of Lecuona by two tenths and Vierge by three. Lowes followed and completed the WorldSBK running, with Brad Ray only doing an outlook before mechanical problems hit. In WorldSSP, Luke Power led Tom Booth-Amos by around one second.

Talking about grip and which levels suit each rider, Camier explain in detail: “Xavi likes it when the track offers good grip, whereas Iker seems to be able to manage around having low grip, it doesn’t really affect him. With our super concession bike this year, it changes a lot the balance of the bike and it’s something we need to confirm on normal circuits. It’s something we understood last year but now with this chassis, we need to get into the normal circuits.”

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An all-important test at the MotorLand Aragon circuit near Alcaniz in Spain is calling the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and whilst the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK and Team HRC are heading there after two rounds of action, the pre-season isn’t over for one rookie in 2023. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) will be competing in the European rounds of the season, which is all of the remaining rounds with the exception of the final round in Argentina and takes to the Aragon circuit in search of continuing his adaptation to the WorldSBK-spec YZF-R1.

Ray only has a year of experience on the R1 model, but it was all that was required as he stormed to the 2022 British Superbike title for OMG Racing – also in their first year with the bike. With nine wins (including a streak of four in a row across the races at Snetterton and Race 1 at Oulton Park) and 23 podiums (including a streak of 11 from Thruxton to Oulton Park), Ray earnt a place on the WorldSBK grid for 2023. Having completed a test already at Portimao, Ray has a base-setting, even if Aragon is quite the contrast to the extreme undulations in the Algarve.

Speaking ahead of the test at Aragon, Ray was keen to get back on track with the team: “I am really looking forward to getting back with the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team for some more testing. We have two days in Aragon and two days in Catalunya and I can’t wait. We have got a lot of work to do in terms of getting myself more comfortable and up to speed, as all the other riders have already completed two rounds, so we need to work hard over these four days so that we can head into round three at Assen ready to fight. I’m feeling really good in myself and have been training hard, so I’m excited to get riding and back to work.”

The Motoxracing outfit have plenty of experience at MotorLand Aragon too, with the pre-season test of 2022 taking place there, as well as one round of experience there. This means that they’ll be able to help guide Ray as he learns the circuit, using the expertise and knowledge from years gone by as reference points.

Team boss Sandro Carusi stated that the team hadn’t rested since Portimao, and that the Aragon test – and the Barcelona test in just over a week’s time – will be vital to see if they’re efforts have paid dividends: “The tests at Aragon and Barcelona will be important for our team and for Bradley. After the Portimao test sessions in February, we have worked on the bike back at base and it is now time to see whether our work has paid off. We’re all highly motivated and want to be ready and competitive for the April round at Assen.”

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The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is underway and it’s been a stunning start for some, and intriguing start for others and a disastrous start for a few. Whatever category riders and teams fall into, one thing is guaranteed: the continued desire to improve their packages. This will rumble on through the season, so we’ve put together a list of dates that are confirmed already.

The first in-season test came from MotorLand Aragon with the factory Kawasaki and Honda teams, as well as Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) coming out on top ahead of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC). Aragon is a regular on the testing calendar, although the round this year has a new slot in September. A week after the test, on the 30^th and 31^st of March, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will host WorldSBK test action, with all five factories confirmed as attending, along with six Independent teams. Barcelona welcomes WorldSBK at the start of May, making this test vital for relative and reliable track data. One other test will be at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, organised by Ducati with the factory team in attendance, along with the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK. A full entry list will be announced soon. 

IN-SEASON TESTING DATES:

22^nd – 23^rd March: Aragon, Spain

30^th – 31^st March: Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain

11^th – 12^th May: Misano, Italy

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The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is currently in a six week break between round two at Mandalika and the upcoming third round at Assen, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of track action. MotorLand Aragon will host a private two-day test in which the factory Kawasaki and Honda outfits will headlines the order, whilst Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) will also join the circuit. In World Supersport, the Motozoo by Puccetti Kawasaki team will also be present with riders Tom Booth-Amos and Luke Power.

BIG QUESTION: how important is this test for Kawasaki?

After the toughest start to a season in green for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), there will be a lot of focus on whether or not the #65 can turn things around in Europe, starting with the Aragon test. Not striking the right setup has been evident in Australia and Indonesia, with his Saturday quote in the latter being that “fundamental things aren’t working.” In the last two years, Aragon has been a happy hunting ground for Rea, with three wins from six going his way, even if the title has eventually slipped from his grasp. On the other side of the box, Alex Lowes will hope to make further gains, with his podium in Indonesia being Kawasaki’s only dry rostrum of the season so far. For the team in green, they’ll hope that they can make a breakthrough and get their season back on track.

Speaking about how crucial the test is, Rea has a clear focus on what his side needs to work on: “This Aragon test comes at a really good time for us after a difficult first couple of rounds. We now have four days of track testing planned between now and the next round at Assen, to work through some ideas that the team has in understanding our weak areas and trying to improve the bike further. It is clear we need to pull together and do a good job in these tests. Aragon is a track that we have a lot of info about, so hopefully we can put that to good use. Also, it will be just nice to ride the bike again because without these two tests, it would be a big gap between the Mandalika and Assen race weekends. Aragon will be a test to try out some different things to stop overloading the front and create an easier bike to ride. That is the target for me in the test.”

On the other side of the box, Alex Lowes has grip longevity on his agenda: “I am fully motivated for this test after a tough start to the year. I have had a couple of weeks off, just to refresh a bit, spend some time with the family and do some good training. I am ready to go. We have a few ideas to turn around the feeling on the bike. When we have grip, we seem pretty competitive. But when we lose grip, we seem to drop more than some other teams. We are going to focus on being stronger on used tyres and keeping our pace for a bit longer. All we can do is really maximise the strong parts of the bike. We have a couple of days this week and then another test at Montmelo soon after to try and improve. We had track temperatures at Mandalika of over 60°C and even though it was a tough weekend we still got a podium in the sprint race. So, the speed is still there. We are going to try to maximise things to be a bit stronger when the grip drops and if we can improve that area a bit, then going into the European season we can expect to be strong.”

SOLID START AT HONDA: can they make more ground for more consistent podiums?

Two top six finishes in the full races in Australia for Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) preceded one of the Spaniard’s toughest weekends of his career at Mandalika, whilst Down Under woes were turned into magical Mandalika moments for teammate Xavi Vierge, who took a first WorldSBK podium and Honda’s first of 2023 too. Honda haven’t been shy in trying new items in testing either and with their super concession seemingly working well, they’ll hope to add Aragon to their list of tracks where they can be competitive at this year. Both riders achieved top seven finishes at the circuit last year and with plenty of mileage under the belt, will be hoping to continue a positive start to their season as WorldSBK hits Europe. Another crucial aspect will be finding the sweet spot for both riders, so that both Hondas can be at the sharp end together.

EYES ELSEWHERE: Bradley Ray back on track

After a test at Portimao before the official start to the season, Bradley Ray’s full-time debut in WorldSBK is edging ever closer, as the kid from Lydd is set to take to MotorLand Aragon for his second test with the team. The squad have plenty of experience at Aragon, having had a full race weekend and plenty of testing there in 2022, meaning that data from last year will be able to help guide Ray in his first outings as he gets a feel for the WorldSBK-spec Yamaha YZF-R1.

We’ll also get a chance to look at Britain’s Tom Booth-Amos and Australia’s Luke Power for 2023, with both riders at Aragon ready for their new challenge at the Motozoo Racing by Puccetti squad. Booth-Amos has knowledge of the track in the WorldSSP class from 2022 as well as a race win in WorldSSP300 from 2021, whilst it will be an all-new experience for Luke Power. Both riders have undergone one test for the team in their preparation for 2023 at the Circuito Tazio Nuvolari, one hour south of Milan, Italy and just over an hour away from the team’s base.

Enjoy the action across the two days of testing across WorldSBK’s social media channels and follow the story of 2023 wherever you are with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The start to the 2023 FIM Supersport World Championship campaign was promising for Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) following his switch from Kawasaki to Ducati for this season after he took a front-row grid slot during the Australian Round. However, a crash in Race 1 with Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) ended his action in Australia while he was also forced to miss the following Indonesian Round after he was diagnosed with a left collarbone fracture.

The crash occurred on Lap 4 at Turn 7 at Phillip Island, with Huertas crashing and Montella right behind having nowhere to go. Montella was diagnosed with a fractured collarbone while Huertas was diagnosed with a fracture of his fifth lumbar vertebra and rib fractures. In a post on Instagram after the round, Huertas sent his thanks to Montella for helping him despite the Italian’s injury.

Montella was present at the official presentation of the 2023 Emilia-Romagna Round, held at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, where he will race in front of his home fans on Ducati machinery in WorldSSP. After he claimed victory for Kawasaki Puccetti Racing in Australia in 2022, Montella will be aiming to repeat that on the Ducati Panigale V2 which he competes on for Barni Ducati.

At the event, Montella spoke about his recovery plan and provided an update on his injury. Montella said on Thursday: “I rested a few days at home. Now I feel better. My collarbone is quite good, and I think, in five or six days, I will be back on a motorbike. We have two days of testing in Barcelona and we will start again from zero.”

The Italian also spoke about his goals for when he does return to the track. He took third in the Tissot Superpole session at Phillip Island and showed strong pace throughout testing at the iconic Australian circuit and Montella will be hoping he can pick this pace up where he left off as he goes in search of his second WorldSSP victory and his first with Ducati.

He said: “My goals are to finish where we started. We had a good Superpole at Phillip Island with the first row. I want to start from that. I think we have good potential with the team and bike, I feel good on the bike, and I’m happy about this. I can’t wait to start at Assen again. For me, last year was my first time at Assen. It’s a good track, I like it. It’s quite slow in some corners and quite fast in others. I think we can have a good round.”

Watch WorldSSP’s thrilling battles throughout 2023 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com