Honda HRC completes one-day Donington test with Chantra and Dixon
Donington Park CircuitThe Honda HRC team today completed a one-day test session at Donington Park (UK) in very hot and sunny conditions (air temperature 32°C, track temperature 54°). Jake Dixon was back on track alongside Somkiat Chantra, with both riders working to prepare for Round 8 of the Superbike World Championship, which will take place at the same British circuit on 10–12 July
Honda HRC test rider Jonathan Rea also took part in the session.
Following a challenging Misano round that nevertheless brought encouraging race pace and championship points, Chantra used the track time to focus on familiarizing himself with a circuit that was completely new to him, while at the same time refining the setup of his CBR1000RR-R and establishing a solid base for the specific characteristics of the Donington circuit.
After making his WorldSBK debut at Aragón, in race 1, and then continuing with his rehabilitation while sitting out the rest of the Spanish weekend and the recent Misano round, British rider Dixon was reunited with his Honda HRC factory machine today. This one-day test provided Jake with a valuable opportunity to clock up some miles in preparation for his home round at a track he knows well.
The riders made the most of two sessions, running from 9:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00. Working their way through the respective test schedules, Chantra amassed 130 laps, all on race tyres, while Dixon completed 70 laps, as the pair gathered useful information and evaluated different setup solutions ahead of the race weekend.
While Dixon will now return home to continue his preparations ahead of his home round, Chantra will travel to Japan to join Takumi Takahashi and Jonathan Rea for the 47th “Coca-Cola” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race, scheduled to take place at Suzuka Circuit on 5 July.
"A good test, I’m super happy to be back. I now feel ready to tackle the Donington race weekend in two weeks. I’ll head home, rest for a couple of days, and over the next two weeks try to get a little bit stronger again. I feel that my wrist has taken another step and hopefully, over the next days, things will improve further. I’m just so happy to be back with the team and hopefully now I can be back full-time with all the guys."
"A good test, I’m super happy to be back. I now feel ready to tackle the Donington race weekend in two weeks. I’ll head home, rest for a couple of days, and over the next two weeks try to get a little bit stronger again. I feel that my wrist has taken another step and hopefully, over the next days, things will improve further. I’m just so happy to be back with the team and hopefully now I can be back full-time with all the guys."
"Today was my first time riding at Donington and, as a first approach, it didn’t go badly. It was a very useful test, because this track was completely new to me, so I tried to start learning it right from the first exit. Throughout the day, I completed 130 laps because that was my main target – I wanted to ride as much as possible to understand the bike and the track layout. We also tried some setup changes to build a good base and hopefully everything will be ready when we come back for the upcoming round. We will work hard and see what we can do over the race weekend.”
"Today was my first time riding at Donington and, as a first approach, it didn’t go badly. It was a very useful test, because this track was completely new to me, so I tried to start learning it right from the first exit. Throughout the day, I completed 130 laps because that was my main target – I wanted to ride as much as possible to understand the bike and the track layout. We also tried some setup changes to build a good base and hopefully everything will be ready when we come back for the upcoming round. We will work hard and see what we can do over the race weekend.”
