Beowulf Racing on the pace at final Valencia test

The Beowulf Racing team completed their final winter test session at Valencia this week in preparation for the opening round of the European Superstock 600 championship at the Spanish circuit on April 5.

The three man team made up of Dan Linfoot and Gino Rea who will compete in the European Championship and Pat McDougall who will race in the British Supersport Cup enjoyed positive testing with all three men dipping under the current Superstock 600 lap record.

The four-day test, which ran from Friday until Monday, took the form of traditional practice sessions on the first and last days, with races on the Saturday and Sunday.

The Beowulf Racing team upheld British honour with Gino Rea and Dan Linfoot taking the top two positions in Saturday’s rain-hit Open Class race and Rea and Pat McDougall again beating the rest of the field in Sunday’s 600cc outing.

Gino Rea (European Superstock 600 Championship) said: “I have had a brilliant test overall. I am getting on really well with our new mechanic Andy Williams and I can’t wait for the first race of the season.

“Even the wind has helped us – if it is gusty when we come back here to race next weekend we’ll know what to expect and if it isn’t we’ll know we can go faster straight away.”

Dan Linfoot (European Superstock 600 Championship) said: “Despite the wind it’s been a really good four days for me. We’ve concentrated on the handling and ignition maps of my machine.

“I got plenty of laps in and it is just such an advantage to be testing at a circuit where we’ll be racing in under a fortnight’s time.”

Pat McDougall (British Supersport Cup) said: “We’ve gained a lot more mid-range power, along with testing new brakes, electronics and suspension settings.

“I definitely made the right decision coming here rather than attending the official British Superbike test at Snetterton – I heard they were pretty much snowed off for most of their sessions.”