Honda HRC battles rain and wind to complete a day of testing in Portimão

After testing at Jerez, the Honda HRC team completed another day of testing with Dixon and two days with replacement rider Nagashima, this time at Portugal’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

Honda HRC was back on track on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 January, fielding Jake Dixon as he continues his preparations ahead of his rookie Superbike World Championship season. Dixon’s injured team-mate Somkiat Chantra is still not fit to ride following recent arm surgery, which meant that HRC test rider Tetsuta Nagashima stood in for the factory rider during this week’s session.

Last week’s test at Spain’s Jerez Circuit was affected by wet weather and unfortunately Portugal brought even trickier conditions. Faced with a soaking wet track on Wednesday morning and mixed conditions for the rest of the day, only Nagashima ultimately went out on track for the Honda HRC team. On Thursday, which proved wet from start to finish, rookie Dixon joined the Japanese rider on track.

Dixon focused on testing rain settings, riding position and electronics together with his technicians. This was the team’s final test session in Europe before flying to Australia for the official two-day test that will precede Round 1 of the WorldSBK Championship, scheduled to take place over the weekend of 20–22 February.

Jake Dixon #96

“It was a very challenging test because of the weather, with a lot of rain and difficult conditions, but we tried to make the most of the time we had on track. Riding in the wet all day is not easy, especially for me as a rookie in Superbike and on a completely new bike, but every lap was important to keep learning. We focused mainly on rain settings, my riding position and electronics, working closely with the team to better understand the bike step by step. Coming from Moto2, the feeling and the way you ride the bike are very different, so I know I need many more laps to build confidence, especially under braking and on corner entry. Of course we would all prefer dry conditions, but even in these circumstances we were able to learn useful things. Now we head to Australia knowing there is still to improve, but with a clear direction and the motivation to keep progressing”.