BMW Italia concluded their first winter test at Jerez hampered by cool and wet weather conditions, however Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies were able to complete 149 laps over the two–day test.
The Italian team, which has taken over BMW’s factory efforts had new parts to test (an upgraded engine spec, electronics, a new swingarm and Ohlins new suspennsions) on the S1000RR, but the rain stopped the testing program.
To make up for the lost time BMW will be joining Kawasaki and Ducati (we should know by then who will be running their factory effort) on Wednesday and Thursday at the Aragon circuit.
Here’s what Melandri and Davies – in his debut on the BMW machinery had to say after the test.
Marco Melandri said, “Unfortunately we could not ride that much because of the weather.
The track was never really dry or really wet, it was always in between so we could not do as many laps as we planned but had to wait in the garage for some time.
We hope to have more luck and better weather at the next test.
Anyway, it was nice to be at the race track, to meet up and work with the team again.
It was also good to test with my new team-mate Chaz for the first time.
It is interesting to know what he thinks about our RR.
As a person, I think he is a good guy and I feel that we will get on very well.
” “It was great to test my RR for the first time and to be back on the track again.
Unfortunately we didn’t have the weather we were hoping for; it would have been nice to have consistent conditions no matter if wet or dry but that wasn’t the case so it was a little bit challenging.
I think I need to start steadily; I wouldn’t be on the pace after one test even in perfect conditions.
We need to keep working and hopefully we will have better luck with the weather at the next test.
My first impression of the bike is very good.
When I tried the bike for the first time, there were no surprises at all, which is always nice.
The RR is very well balanced; it has a lot of power and a lot of options to control the power.
So far, we have mostly worked on finding my riding position.
The BMW Motorrad team is really great.
I knew a few of the guys before but not too many of them so it was good to meet everybody.
I have to learn a lot of new names with so many people in the garage but I am sure that I will get there soon.
Everybody is so friendly and welcoming and obviously good at their job, so it is a pleasure to work with the team,” said Chad Davies.
Serafino Foti – team principal added: “We were not so lucky with this test; the weather did not help us at all.
We had a lot of things to work on.
Our riders did different jobs: Marco tried some new components to improve the bike, but unfortunately it was impossible to evaluate all available material.
For Chaz it was the first test with the BMW family.
He used it to become familiar with his RR and to find the right settings and riding position for the bike.
We hope to have better conditions at the next tests, because it is very important to keep up with our work programme.
Regardless, the test was good for consolidating the new team structure.
All the guys have done a great job and there was a positive and confident atmosphere in our garage.
We are very motivated to start the new season.
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