Leon Camier hailed his first test with the Red Bull Honda World Superbike team as a ‘great start’, after making strong progress with the troubled CBR1000RR SP2 Fireblade during the Jerez test.
2017 proved a difficult year for Honda in WorldSBK. Delays in production of the new Fireblade put the team on the back foot when testing got underway in the new year, and decent results were few and far between throughout the 2017 campaign – a seventh in Thailand the highlight.
Injuries for rookie Stefan Bradl, a rotating rider line–up in the latter half of the season, and the tragic death of Nicky Hayden in May compounded a horror season for the Ten Kate–run Honda squad.
Signing Camier from MV Agusta prior to the Jerez round, Honda’s fortunes appear to be turning around after the Briton enjoyed a positive three days of testing at the Spanish circuit last week.
Camier – who ended the 2017 season eighth in the standings – managed a best lap of 1m39.333s on the final day of running, putting him around 1.5s off of the pace of world champion Jonathan Rea, and feels the team has found a ‘good base’ from which to build on over the winter.
“I’m really, really happy with this three–day test,” the Briton beamed.
“I managed to get up to speed quite quickly, and yesterday I was able to set decent laptimes on race tyres.
“Today it was more about understanding how the bike reacts to different changes – what works for me and what doesn’t.
“By the end of the day we had just about figured out how the bike needs to be set up, and we also tried some new components.
“Overall, I think we found a really good base from which to develop, but obviously we need to see how it will work on different tracks and over race distances.
“But it’s been a great start, nonetheless, and I’m delighted.”
The identity of Camier‘s team–mate for 2018 still remains unknown as the year draws to a close, though regular 2017 stand–in Jake Gagne is thought to be in line to partner the British rider.
There will also be a third Honda present on the grid in 2018, with the Triple M team stepping up from Superstock to WorldSBK as a one–rider effort. It is thought World Supersport frontrunner PJ Jacobsen will get that seat.
