BSB: Tyco BMW duo confident of step forward after Kirkistown test

Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon and Michael Laverty are confident the team has resolved the issues which held them back last time out at Brands Hatch after a positive test at Kirkistown earlier this week.

Both Iddon and Laverty were plagued with a lack of initial speed at Brands leading to a nightmare weekend for the duo, with Laverty only able to walk away with two-points to his name while Iddon managed a best result of ninth place.

Following extensive analysis at the team’s Moneymore workshop, they headed to Kirkistown for a one-day test to try out two different engine specifications.

With time limited, Laverty’s bike had one specification and Iddon’s the other, with the duo back-to-back testing each other’s bikes to compare.

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“Riding Michael’s bike with the different engine spec was a bit of an eye opener!” Iddon told MCN after the test. “The difference to what was in my bike, which is what we both used at Brands, was night and day.

“It wasn’t just the power of the engine, but the way you could ride the bike. A lot of lines we’ve been running over the last few rounds seem to have stemmed from the characteristics of the engine. We also tried a few chassis components during the test and this combined with the change in engine spec should mean I have the same feeling with the bike I had at the start of the season.” 

After four challenging rounds, Iddon will be hoping the breakthrough will help him push back towards the front at Cadwell this weekend as he now sits seven points outside the all-important top six. 

“I need to beat the people ahead of me to get in the showdown. It’s been a struggle recently but now we’ve found what we’ve found I think we’ll be back towards where we were at the start of the year. It’s going to be close though, there are six people fighting for the final three spots in the showdown!” 

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