British Superbikes Almeria test: Billy McConnell getting reaquainted with BSB

Billy McConnell has had his first taste of British Superbike action with the MSS Kawasaki squad at the team’s first test in Spain.

Despite having a small off during the opening day of the Pirelli test, the former British Supersport rider feels there’s more to come from the Kawasaki ZX-10R.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do with the bike,” said Billy McConnell.

“The new exhausts arrived this week from Italy and there’s still a lot more power to come from the bike, but for how stock it is it feels like a race bike already.

“The first couple of days is about getting the simple stuff setup like your bars and rearsets before starting to worry too much about times.”

Billy McConnell also commented on the necessity to get back into the swing of riding a race bike again.

“You get back on after four months off and think, ‘I’ve forgotten how to ride a bike’.

“You start to remember and it feels fast and you begin to think you’re flying and then someone tells you your lap time and you realise you’re not going that quick.”

McConnell was the only casualty on day one, running off the track and dropping his MSS Kawasaki in the gravel.

“I put the bike into first going into the tight chicane and the backend stepped out so I straightened it up and ran off the track.

“The problem was the gravel was so deep the bellypan grounded out and I just dropped the bike, but there was no damage.”