Honda WorldSBK team pile on the miles despite more wet weather disruption

Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam defy the poor weather to get some useful miles in on the updated Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP

Ollie Barstow

31 Jan 2021

Alvaro Bautista, Leon Haslam - Team HRC Honda

Inclement weather once again descended on the HRC Honda team to hamper its preparations for the 2021 WorldSBK Championship season at Jerez, even if Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam did get some miles in eventually.

With rain washing out a two-day group test in Spain last week, Honda stayed back for a private outing this week only to find the weather wouldn’t play ball once again.

Despite this, both managed to get out on track for some running in dry conditions on the Honda CBR1000RR-R SP Fireblade, while it was a chance for ex-rider-turned-manager Leon Camier to integrate into his new role.

“We have not been very lucky with the weather, it’s been either rain or a wet track, but we finally made the most of a half day, testing some new items HRC has brought for the upcoming season, said 2019 WorldSBK runner-up Bautista.

“We were able to collate some useful data and gain some references, and at least give the technicians the indications for them to be able to continue their development work. So with that in mind, it’s been an important and very positive test, albeit a short one. Now we have the direction to follow in order to take the next steps at future tests.”

Despite the limited running, the test means Honda has got a small edge on its main rivals at this stage in the winter period, with Haslam declaring the changes ‘interesting’

“The weather here has been crazy but honestly, I think this test was very important as we needed to evaluate quite a few things for HRC. Even though we eventually had just half a day, we were able to complete some laps and give the engineers and team the information they needed, and so now they can continue their work to prepare for the next tests.

“It’s been really good to get back on my CBR, the feeling was good and the new items we’ve tested were very interesting, so now I have even more motivation ahead of my training camp in coming weeks. Hopefully we can test again soon so that we’re well prepared for the start of the season.”

The WorldSBK teams have longer to prepare than usual for the start of the year following the postponement of the traditional Phillip Island round, with the season set to begin on April 23-25 at Assen.