WSB: Baz sees BMW's potential after first test

Loris Baz enjoyed a productive debut with the Althea BMW squad as he makes his return to the Superbike World Championship at this week’s Jerez test.

Having spent most of his career on superbikes, Baz appeared to waste no time in re-familiarising himself with the production based machine after two years in the Grand Prix paddock.

Just 0.7 seconds off Tom Sykes’ quickest time on the second day, the Frenchman showed a level of promise as he was pleasantly surprised by the S1000RR.

Completing a whopping 94 laps before concluding the test on Tuesday, Baz has already highlighted areas of improvement for the Althea BMW team to focus on over the winter before they resume testing next year.

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“It was a really good test,” Baz told MCN at the track. “There were many things to re-familiarise myself with, but I am happy. I found a good feeling with the bike straight away, especially with the front.

“The weakest point of the bike is the electronics, but we made some good steps in the right direction with that already.

“We did some really strong lap times at the end. We couldn’t seem to go faster with the new tyre, we had to wait a few laps for the grip to go down, make the bike slide and go fast. I have to get used to the style a bit better and work on putting it all together for one lap, but I was very happy with our race simulations. The potential is there, we just have to work in the right direction!” 

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