Under changing Spanish weather conditions Bo Bendsneyder made his first laps on his new FTR Honda with the Dutch Racing Team on the Navarra and Valencia circuit. Bo got all the time to get to know his new ride and to get used to his new team. Bo looks back quit satisfied on a very learnfull and succesfull week of training. ”I am glad the tests went so well, there was no pressure from the the team what so ever. So I could really do my laps relaxed and get to know the bike. It really worked out well”. The goals going into this week of testing were clear: to get to know the bike and the team. “I was quit nervous when we left for Spain. Everything was new to me, not just the bike, but the team as well. We even have a guy analyzing data, that’s the first time for me. But the feeling with the Honda was immediately good, and the click with the team was there instantly. It was my first time on a FTR Honda and it’s something different to what I rode before, but luckily I get used to new machinery quit fast, and I felt soon in control with the bike.” This week of testing was also a nice way to get the bike set up properly and learning what changes do on the bike. Mechanic Jarno van Geffen is very pleased with his new rider: “Bo is a smart guy who picks up things fast. It’s nice to see he is able to tell after a few laps on the bike, what he feels it does and to tell what to change to make it better. We talked a lot this week and made some good steps. Off course we ran into some little mechanical and electronic issues, but we were able to fix those quickly. We could use some data from last year with Bryan Schouten, to get a base setting for Bo. In a few weeks we’ll be testing on Jerez and there we can see where we stand. There will be a bunch of riders competing in the Spanish Open as well.” Using a data engineer is new but very informative to Bo: “After each session we plug the bike into the computer, and we can see where we can win time. I can see in which corner I can get on the throttle earlier and where I have to brake some more”. Jarno is giving me tips on how to improve on those points. I really learned a lot of it. It is quit nice the team has a lot of data from Bryan last year, wich means we don’t have to start from scratch everywhere”. The first outing for Bo on his new machine was at the Valencia track. With lots of sun on tuesday and allmost perfect conditions, wednesday was a rainy day, and the team decided to skip some sessions. At the end of the day conditions got better and Bo was able to get some laps in. Bo: “Valencia is a fast track with some highspeed corners, despite the weather on wednesday I was able to do enough laps on the bike to get to know it”. At the Navarra track testing continued and Bo saw his laptimes coming down bit by bit. “Allthough the focus wasn’t on laptimes, this gives us a chance to see where we are at this moment. I’m pleased with the results. With the wind on Saturday we were not really able to go faster, but that is something you can not influence. It is a track where you have to work hard, with some 90 degree corners wich gives it a real “stop and go” feeling, but I like that a lot”.
Satisfied with Spanish testweek
