Nicky Hayden took to the tracks again on his Honda WorldSBK Fireblade at Jerez, running some new material that brought forth some differing opinions from the former MotoGP World Champion.
“We had a new engine and some forks, a few upgrades from some of the stuff we tested in November,” Hayden said. “We put it all together – and a different rear link. I did not ask for a new link but going off what I said to them they came up with this new link. It is not too bad.”
In general Hayden was pleased with the early progress, despite losing some track time “The weather did not help us in the beginning but we still got in a lot of laps on day one. There were some positives to take from day one although there was not quite the same grip was I had here in November, which I guess in related to the track. After two months off the bike we have to start. We do not have much time as this is the only test we are doing before Phillip Island. These two days tests go quite quick.”
Hayden used the latest spec of Honda Fireblade engine but felt no great difference through the seat of his pants. “It is very small and to be honest I do not really feel it. We are talking a couple of horsepower, so it is not something I can really feel, but they say on the data that they can see a couple of Ks. This track is not really a place to feel it. The top speed on the straight away is all about getting off turn five – that can make a big difference.”
The new Öhlins front forks were more noticeable in their effect for Hayden. “They were quite good for turning but I had a little problem with them coming back too fast when I released the brake. So we had to work a bit with the rebound to fix that. It is not something night and day from the forks I used two months ago. If we had more time it would have been nice to start with the old forks and change to the new one, but Öhlins seem to say it is better.”
