Auto Racing

On the final day of testing at Cartagena Tommy Hill and the Swan Yamaha team pushed on in the final sessions of the afternoon to set the fastest time of the test with a 1m:32.914s lap time which put…

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On the final day of testing at Cartagena Tommy Hill and the Swan Yamaha team pushed on in the final sessions of the afternoon to set the fastest time of the test with a 1m:32.914s lap time which put him ahead of team-mate Michael Laverty.

In the penultimate session, the final one on track for Swan Yamaha, Hill put in a new tyre towards the end and fired in a lap time faster than anyone else so far to edge ahead of team-mate Laverty who closed in.


Hill said: “What a good day. I have been doing some race simulations today with some longer stints on track and was comfortably running in the 33s region so I was happy with that.

“I wanted to see if we could go faster so in our final session we put in a new tyre and did the 32s which is awesome way for us to end the test. It showed we can do consistent runs but when we need to we can put in a fast lap when it counts.

“We have made some real improvements over the last few days and there is still more to come when we get back to the work shop and strip the bikes down. We can then have a look through the data and then plan for our next tests in the UK.

“I have to thank the whole of the team for all of their efforts over the last week as we have really achieved what we needed to here in Spain.”

Josh Brookes spent the afternoon session switching between three bikes as he continued to get to grips with the Relentless Suzuki as he slashed some time of his personal best lap of the test so far.

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne had an off track moment when he ran into the gravel on the HM Plant Honda early in the session, but in true gritty style was back out on the track and gunning for further improvement as the team prepare to complete the final day.

Ryuichi Kiyonari also improved his pace in the penultimate session after working through a series of changes.

Unofficial overall test times from Cartagena – Day 4/Final day:
1. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 1m:32.914s
2. Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) 1m:33.1s
3. Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) 1m:34.2s
4. Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne (HM Plant Honda) low 1m:34s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) 1m:35.6s

Source: Participating teams unofficial times

You can now book your advance tickets for the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship season opener on Easter weekend (22-25 April) at Brands Hatch by visiting www.brandshatch.co.uk or by calling 0843 453 9000.

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