Haydon debuts for Rizla

James Haydon got his first outing as an official Rizla Suzuki rider on Thursday as both Rizla and Airwaves Ducati spent the day testing at Donington Park.

Both teams came away from the track positive about what they’d achieved but it was Haydon that made the most progress.

“Despite racing for two rounds for Rizla Suzuki, I never really had an opportunity to stamp my mark on the bike or get it to suit me because we were so focused on the upcoming qualifying or race. Today we spent time getting the bike to fit me physically and to give me the sort of feedback and control that I need to push hard. Once I was comfortable on the bike I tested a few different tyres and rear shock settings and we took steps in the right direction.”

John Reynolds used the session to work on his race fitness after missing the start of the season due to injury. He put in around 70 laps and made on ly minor changes to the bike.

The dodgy weather meant the Ducati riders decided to only go out in the afternoon, but they both still managed to test a new set of Ohlins forks and some other settings.

Gregorio Lavilla: “The weather conditions were a trouble but we achieved a lot of what we had planned. I got into a good rhythm on the bike, which is great news for the rest of the season and makes a change from the constant pressures of a race weekend. Now we need to build on the progress we made today at Knockhill in 8 days time. I’m looking forward to the race”.

Both teams are no heading up to Scotland for the next round of the British Superbike championship at Knockhill on June 26.