Lowry and Scassa debut Padgetts Honda at Cadwell Park

Padgetts Honda’s Ian Lowry and Luca Scassa have completed their initial shakedown of the new specification Fireblades at Cadwell Park as the team got their pre-season testing schedule underway ahead of the opening round in four weeks time.

The pair were due to test at Snetterton earlier this week but poor conditions meant that they had to wait until today for the opportunity to shakedown the Hondas as Scassa visited the challenging Lincolnshire circuit for the first time.

After the initial time on circuit Lowry admitted he was instantly impressed with the Honda and believes that their next test will give him the chance to continue making headway on another MCE BSB circuit.

Scassa meanwhile was enjoying the challenging of the Mountain section and admits that the team have already made a strong start to their season.

Lowry said: “It has been an absolutely awesome day and I am really happy; the Hondas are second to none and from the first time we jumped on them this morning I was impressed.

“This is what I need for this season and I know that I will be able to ride it fast. This was our first shakedown so we weren’t pushing for lap times or anything like that but I am looking forward to our next test now next week.

“It was easier to ride than I expected and we already after one day have a good base setting that we can improve with now. We did stints of about eight laps and although it was cold this morning it felt brilliant this afternoon.

“The bike feels how I like it to be, I don’t mind it sliding but to be honest we didn’t really have a problem with that today and we had good grip once the temperature improved.

“The engine is softer at the bottom so it is perfect really. All in all it has been a good start and it just felt good being back on a bike again after the long winter.”

Scassa said: “It was amazing today at Cadwell Park! This was the first test for the team and for me so we used it as a shakedown for everyone and we are all very happy. We already have some big ideas of what we can work on at the next test as because I am quite tall we are going to make me a little more comfortable on the bike, but that is always what we do at the first test. Overall though I am very happy and already feel good on the Padgetts Honda as we did a good number of laps today. I already love the track and I started to go faster once I had done some laps in the morning. To start with I was trying to jump the Mountain like in the photos and I wasn’t getting it right, but it was fun trying! By the afternoon I understood better what I needed to do and it felt amazing jumping in the air. I am very happy with the new team and I want to go to our next test now!”
Team Owner Clive Padgett concluded: “It has been a fantastic day for the whole team; it is the first time we have been out on circuit this year and we couldn’t have asked for a better shakedown test. Both riders were feeling comfortable and happy with the bikes and there was a real buzz today about the start of the season.”