BSB: Fastest man Iddon happy with hard tyre progress

While topping yesterday’s free practice was a welcome boost in confidence for Tyco BMW’s Christian Iddon, it was progress on the harder option Pirelli rear tyre that buoyed the former Supermoto star most.

Having struggled on the SC1 harder rubber for most of the year, Iddon was able to post competitive times on the harder rubber to rank well within the top six for most of Friday’s practice before shooting to the top after sticking in a soft tyre towards the end of the session. 

“I felt better on the harder tyre to be honest, but I had one bum lap so I thought I’d come in and try the softer tyre,” he said. “I’m quite content as I’ve struggled on the one in the past but because if flows here it seems to be work ok. We’ve worked hard on chassis set-up, there are a few areas where I’m not too happy. There are some areas I feel fast but others I feel slow so there’s a few things I need to concentrate on.”

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However, all was not perfect for the non-Showdown contender as he felt he struggled as he tried to go quicker. 

“We need to make it so I can be relaxed all around the lap as that will make for a better race. The areas we’re struggling most is under heavy braking and that’s not ideal for a race! I feel very good when I’m riding on my own, I go faster when I go slower and the minute I try to bite the handlebars and go a bit quicker I’m actually slower. While that’s fine for practice and qualifying, it’s not great for a race situation so we’ll need to work on that.” 

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