Haslam: Honda is more rider-friendly
Leon Haslam feels he and PATA Honda are well placed for a good result at Motorland Aragon this weekend as the World Superbike Championship gets underway again following a lengthy break.
Both Haslam and team-mate Jonathan Rea struggled to get the most from the CBR1000RR during the opening round at Phillip Island, but a productive recent test at Jerez gave the pair an opportunity to improve the machine.
Indeed, Haslam feels the bike is friendlier and easier to ride than before, and though he admits he hasn't had great fortune at Motorland Aragon in the past, he is nonetheless eyeing a good result this weekend.
"It seems a while ago now, but I remember Australia as being not such a good weekend for us. After a really positive test there, we had some issues with the new race-spec engines, but the team has been working flat out since to get a good base map and they've done some good development work with the traction control.
"As a result, the bike is now much more usable and rider-friendly so I'm really looking forward to round two at Aragon this weekend.
"I've never had particularly good results there but Johnny [Rea] showed some good pace in one of the races last year so we're confident that the bike can go well there. It's another race for us to keep up this development work to get the Fireblade to a place where we can challenge for podiums again."
