The Bennetts British Superbike Championship teams wrapped up a productive two-day test at Spain’s Circuito de Navarra, gathering valuable data ahead of the 2024 season opener at the weekend. Despite an incident involving Tommy Bridewell in the final session, riders made significant progress in fine-tuning their setups.
Kyle Ryde, riding the OMG GRILLA Yamaha, set the quickest time of the test with a blistering 1:36.374 in Session 5, edging out Glenn Irwin on the Hager PBM Ducati by 0.185 seconds. Ryde’s teammate, Ryan Vickers, secured third place overall, cementing a strong showing for the Yamaha squad.
Leon Haslam, piloting the ROKiT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad machine, finished fourth fastest, just 0.019 seconds adrift of Vickers. Danny Kent on the McAMS Racing Yamaha rounded out the top six, underlining the competitiveness of the field.
In the final session, Tommy Bridewell suffered a crash while representing Honda Racing UK. Although he was uninjured, the incident brought a premature end to his test. Despite the setback, Bridewell still managed to claim seventh spot overall, with a best time of 1:37.158.
Josh Brookes, riding for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad outfit, secured a top-ten finish, while his teammate Peter Hickman concluded the test in 11th position.
Further down the order, several riders made notable improvements during the final session. Fraser Rogers, TAG Honda, climbed to 13th overall, with Alex Olsen, Cumins by Team IWR Honda and Billy McConnell, C&L Fairburn / Look Forward Racing also making progress.
Luke Hedger, onboard the Whitecliffe CDH Racing Kawasaki, finished the test in 25th place, as he and his crew diligently worked on optimizing their package for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, an engine letting go on day one put him significantly behind on testing.
As the teams now look ahead to the season opener at Circuito de Navarra, the knowledge gained during this test will be invaluable in their pursuit of a strong start to the 2024 campaign. With the data collected and the experience of riding on the Spanish circuit fresh in their minds, riders and teams will be better prepared to tackle the challenges that lie ahead when the lights go out for the first race of the year.
