BSB: Final pre-season test to get underway at Donington Park

MCE British Superbike Championship riders will have one final opportunity to take to the track at Donington Park tomorrow before the 2017 season gets underway at the Leicestershire circuit next weekend. 

For most, the Donington test marks the end of a busy winter testing schedule but for reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne it’ll be his first chance to get out on his Be Wiser Ducati since two tests in Spain on his 2016 machine in January. Byrne is expecting a revised swingarm and exhaust to have arrived from Italy before testing gets underway tomorrow.

The man who pushed Byrne to the wire in 2016, Leon Haslam couldn’t have had a better pre-season after spending eight days on track with the new-look JG Speedfit Kawasaki team in Spain.

Haslam recorded strong race runs at Cartagena, where team-mate Luke Mossey shattered the lap record, before the former WSB star would go on to top the table at Guadix taking the circuit record there.

The test will see Honda Racing’s Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran join the rest of the BSB field for the first time on the all-new CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 for Honda Racing, while Josh Brookes will also be making his return alongside BSB rivals for the first time with Anvil Hire Yamaha.

Having missed the Cartagena test due to personal reasons, Sylvain Guintoli is also yet to ride alongside fellow BSB stars but has put in a significant number of laps in on the Bennetts Suzuki he’ll ride alongside team-mate Taylor Mackenzie. 

After a strong start in Spain, the new McAMS Yamaha duo James Ellison and Michael Laverty will be looking forward to testing their YZF-R1s with full factory goodies, including the latest swingarm from Yamaha’s race HQ in Italy.

Isle of Man TT lap record holder Michael Dunlop will also join the test with Bennetts Suzuki, while the Padgetts team of Bruce Anstey and Conor Cummins will also be on track on superstock specification machines. Riders from the National Superstock 1000 championship, British Supersport championship, National Superstock 600 championship and Motostar series will also be present.

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However, the weather forecast for Donington is currently poor meaning it could be a difficult day for many. Here’s hoping it improves a little overnight, as it’s free entry for anyone wanting to head over and watch.   

Superbike Entry List

#2 – Glen Irwin – Be Wiesr Ducati
#67 – Shane Byrne – Be Wiser Ducati
#3 – Billy McConnell – Quattro Plant FS3 Kawasaki
#4 – Dan Linfoot – Honda Racing
#22 – Jason O’Halloran – Honda Racing
#5 – James Westmoreland – Gearlink Kawasaki
#6 – Taylor Mackenzie – Bennetts Suzuki
#50 – Sylvain Guintoli – Bennetts Suzuki
#7 – Michael Laverty – McAMS Yamaha
#77 – James Ellison – McAMS Yamaha
#12 – Luke Mossey – JG Speedfit Kawasaki
#91 – Leon Haslam – JG Speedfit Kawasaki
#14 – Lee Jackson – Smiths BMW
#60 – Peter Hickman – Smiths BMW
#21 – John Hopkins – MotoRapido Ducati
#24 – Christian Iddon – Tyco BMW
#34 – Davide Giugliano – Tyco BMW
#25 – Josh Brookes – Anvil Hire Yamaha
#8 – Shaun Winfield – Anvil Hire Yamaha
#27 – Jake Dixon – Lee Hardy Racing
#28 – Bradley Ray – Buildbase Suzuki
#40 – Martin Jessopp – Riders Motorcycles BMW
#46 – Tommy Bridewell – Team WD40
#64 – Aaron Zanotti – Platform Hire Yamaha
#96 – Jakub Smrz – Lloyd & Jones PR BMW
#TBA – Michael Dunlop – Bennetts Suzuki 

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