Andrews to race WSB this weekend

MSS Colchester Kawasaki’s Simon Andrews will be back on track this weekend, but this time in WSB when he replaces injured Chris Vermeulen on the factory Kawasaki at Valencia.

Vermeulen is still recovering from knee injuries sustained in the opening round at Phillip Island, so the Paul Bird Motorsport Team has drafted in BSB contender Andrews as a replacement to join Tom Sykes.

Prior to Brands BSB last weekend, Andrews spent two days testing in Valencia on WSB ZX-10. MCN asked him how the bike compared to his BSB machine.

How was the factory bike?
The same but different. It’s got a skinnier seat and tank unit than our bike. I tweaked the riding position to take account of that because all that stuff affects how you tip into a corner.

What about actual handling?
My BSB bike is more stable. Theirs is agile and fidgety with the setting Chris Vermeulen had.

It wasn’t better or worse – just different. The feedback I gave the team just reinforced what Chris had already said.

How important was riding at Valencia to you for BSB?
Well Guadix was cold and wet. We never did Cadwell so it was god to do laps. There was no pressure on me at the test so I just enjoyed myself.

I wanted to learn as much as I could from working with their MotoGP guys. Then I came to Brands and we talked over what I’d learned and how that could help us.