British Superbikes: Late Spain test a success for Hydrex Bike Animal Honda

The Hydrex Bike Animal Honda team has managed to return from a late testing spell out in Spain in time for Brands, and confident to be on the pace.

The team looked to be heading into the first race weekend of the year with virtually no testing under their belt, but a last minute decision to go to Spain to has put them in good stead for the season opener.

James Ellison told MCN: “It was a mad rush to get back but we’re much more confident than we were after Snetterton.

“We finished the test at Calafat on Wednesday, lobbed our kit onto a plain straight after and flew straight back.

“The guys got back here with the bikes yesterday afternoon so we’re all ready for the weekend.

“We struggled a bit at Almeria last weekend, but everything seemed to come together when we got to Calafat.

“We did just a day there, and even though I hadn’t been to the track before I was just 0.4 seconds off Greg Lavilla who was there testing his 2008 World Superbike spec Honda Fireblade.”

And the issue the team had with electronics going into the Snetterton test appears to be resolved, too.

Mick Shanley, Ellison’s Crew Chief, added: “We got a new mapping sent from Japan for the Honda kit ECU and that sorted out the problems we had at Snetterton.

“The testing in Spain has been extremely worthwhile and the guys have worked their socks off – we could do with a week off now but we’ve got a race weekend to deal with first.”