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Aussie Pair Set Sights on Valencia Progress
Foggy Petronas Racing pair Garry McCoy and Steve Martin make an expectant return to track action this weekend for the second official Superbike World Championship winter test at Valencia, Spain.
The two Australians will be pleased to return to familiar territory after unpredictable weather at the first race in Qatar denied them the chance to make maximum set-up progress at the new venue.
But the tight and twisty Valencia circuit is expected to provide a more realistic gauge of the size of the gap that the team needs to close before race action resumes at Phillip Island, Australia, on April 3.
The team will be focused on testing a number of chassis and engine package modifications, while background progress continues to be made on the next stage of engine development.
Race team manager Jack Valentine said: “I want both riders to do a substantial amount of laps with the base settings from Qatar and then we will test things like new suspension links, new swinging arms and modified shocks. We will also be trying a different cooling package, featuring larger water radiators and different oil coolers.”
Steve said: “The track in Qatar was a difficult one for our bike at this stage of development. That, along with having to dust off a few cobwebs, made it difficult to get myself up to speed quick enough. So I want the team to go nuts at Valencia and use me to test as much as possible. I also need to try a lower centre of gravity and I haven’t really had the chance to make changes to the suspension internals. We will also be trying a few changes to the geometry to help the braking.”
Garry said: “The test will be important for having more track time on the bike, which we have lacked so far, so hopefully we won’t have too many dramas. The time in Qatar felt like I was starting again from our previous test at Valencia in November, which turned out to be a small one for me. But I have had good results at Valencia and it’s a circuit I know well and it is close to home in Andorra, so I am hoping for a very positive couple of days.”
The team also have a two-day test planned for the Easter weekend at Phillip Island.
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