Team EBR Hero start early testing

Team EBR Hero riders Larry Pegram and Niccolò Canepa have kickstarted their 2015 testing early, making the most of the Southern US sunshine to get in track time at Louisiana’s NOLA circuit and also at Jennings racetrack in Florida before heading to Europe.

Using team manager Pegram’s 2014 AMA machines with control Pirelli tyres and WSB-spec suspension, the team were able to get their initial set-up out of the way to hit the ground running come the first Spanish test later this month at Jerez.

Speaking afterwards, Pegram commented: “First of all, I would like to say how positively the tests went and also how well Niccolò adapted to the bike. After just a few laps he was smiling and happy and that made the whole team feel good. NOLA and Jennings are two very different types of tracks and it was good to see how the bikes behaved at each one.

“I think Niccolò was surprised about how well the EBR Hero 1190RX performed and, once he had turned a few laps, he was already pushing it and finding out what it could do. I was surprised how comfortable he was on the bike so quickly. He was fast right from the get-go and ending up by breaking the Jennings lap record by 7/10ths of a second!”

 “I think it’s going to be very exciting next year – Niccolo has experience of the tracks and that’s going to be a big help, as he will know his way around from the first lap. He is great to work with and his feedback is very good. I know the bike very well, so I really feel that we can move this amazing project along.”

Former Ducati MotoGP test rider Canepa added: “It was good to leave Europe’s weather behind and ride a bike in Louisiana and Florida in perfect conditions. Not only the weather was good, but so was the EBR Hero 1190RX! I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. It didn’t take me long to feel comfortable and start pushing and trying to find its limits. The bike is a lovely package. It handles and steers really well and I enjoyed myself a lot during the tests.”

“It was very interesting to try the bike on two different types of racetrack and that gave us a superb opportunity to try lots of different thing and get very used to it. Larry and I swapped bikes several times and we both had similar comments, so we know we’re heading in the right direction. At Jennings I broke the lap record, which made us all very happy. There’s more to come from this bike for sure. My first taste of it has been very good and positive and now I cannot wait to ride it again and see how far we can progress.”