Technical gremlins plague teams on Day 1 in Cartagena

Author: Oli Rushby Pics: Tim Keeton Posted: 05 Mar 2015

British Superbike testing got underway in Cartagena

The first day of British Superbike testing in Cartagena saw many teams plagued with technical difficulties as riders dusted the cobwebs off to shake down their 2015 machines.

With the exception of the handful who tested in Almeria earlier this week, this test marked the first time on track for many teams this season.

TAS Racing rolled out Tommy Bridewell and Michael Laverty on the Tyco BMW for the first time but both riders suffered technical issues across the day. Throttle problems hindered Laverty’s morning sessions before issues in the afternoon saw his brake pads set on fire. Tommy Bridewell was forced to park his S 1000 RR up at the side of the track after issues in the third session.

Bridewell ran on in one session

Keen to get his head around his new ZX10-R, rookie Taylor MacKenzie was one of the first out in each session. His WD40 teammate, Jack Kennedy was equally keen but with his bike randomly losing power restricted his track time throughout the day. 

Things were a little better for the GBmoto Kawasaki team, with James Ellison pleased with his overall pace at the end of the first day. His teammate James Westmoreland spent his time familiarising himself with the ZX10-R while roads man Gary Johnson spent most of his time on his Superstock bike.

The Be Wiser Kawasaki boys got off to a strong start, with Chris Walker and Danny Buchan both happy with the day’s progress. Walker did however admit being slightly rusty after five months off a bike. 


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Jakub Smrz put in some good laps on the Motorapido Ducati Panigale R as did Martin Jessopp on the Riders BMW.

Luke Mossey, who topped the timesheets in Almeria, put a few laps in in the afternoon as did his Quattro-Plant teammate Howie Mainwaring.

Halsall Suzuki and PBM Kawasaki didn’t manage to get out until the final session, with the Suzuki duo only managing a handful of laps as they looked to fine-tune riding position on the GSX-R1000. 

No teams released times after the first day.