Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/448799
IN THE WIND P38 GUINTOLI, VAN DER MARK SHAKEDOWN HONDAS T he Pata Honda World Super- bike team finished three days of testing at Portimao, with both their new riders Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark. Only the first day was dry, with much of day two and all of day three given over to wet weather. The tests car- ried on regardless to allow the team to work on their full 2015 spec, which features weight reductions and greater stability under braking. With significant changes to engine tuning rules, Portimao was still an important early test for the official Honda squad. Guintoli was impressed with his latest machine spec and his team's willingness to work with him in finding a direction he is happy heading in. Despite the rains' eventual arrival, Guintoli found pace on the first dry day on the hilly Portimao layout. "The engine compared to last year is completely different because of the new rules," said Guintoli. "At the Jerez tests the engine was already in some parts 2015 spec, but that was a test to understand what kind of engine character we wanted and needed, and I think the team has done very good and made a great job this winter." Guintoli alluded to how rideable his engine feels now, especially with good work done on the electronics package in the winter months. "The engine character seems very good now," Guintoli said. "From that test there were differ- ent modifications to the chas- sis, the gearbox and the riding position, quite important things we had to try over these three days. Not all of it, but some of it is interesting, and for the season, it is a case of me trying to understand the bike and the way it works and having an input on making it better suited to me. The Ten Kate team has a big experience of this bike, but sometimes when you have an outside input, like I have been riding lots of different bikes, it is interesting to explore all the views. The team is very open to that, so that is what we are doing." For van Der Mark any track time helps him make the tran- sition from World Supersport Champion last year to a fully fledged World Superbike rider. So far so good, as he explained, "I must be really happy with the progress we have made. How it goes now is better than expect- ed. The weather was wet again on the final day but I got the chance to change many things and it has worked really well for us. There were more changes made on the electronics side than anything else, even in the rain, and we improved things a lot after so many laps." Gordon Ritchie Guintoli talks about his new Honda. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE