From a press release issued by Hawk Kawasaki:

HAWK KAWASAKI ON RECORD PACE AT FINAL BSB TEST

Hawk Kawasaki showed what a force its new ZX-10Rs will be in the year’s BSB championship by running at lap record pace at the last pre-season test at Silverstone today. Scott Smart set an unofficial time of 1:27.4 around Silverstone’s 2.252 mile International circuit, matching Michael Rutter’s lap record, despite it being the new bike’s first dry test and its first time around the Northamptonshire track.

Smart completed more than 60 laps aboard the 10R and was delighted to have got to grips with it so quickly. “The bike really isn’t a million miles away from where it needs to be. I’ve been experimenting with settings today and found one that I like, plus today’s also given us a chance to learn how to ride the bike. It’s really good and much quicker than the ZX-7 although oddly it doesn’t feel any faster, but that’s because of its power delivery and that’s a big bonus.

“The 10R is smaller with a more upright riding position compared to the 750, which is quite stretched out, so you can clamber all over it and, as a result, it’s less tiring to ride which will give us an easier time in races.

“Now that we’ve been up against the opposition we know that we’re lacking a bit in speed, but we’ve closed the gap by more than half from last season.”

His Hawk team mate Glen Richards also broke into the 1 minute 27s with a fastest lap of 1:27.9. The Aussie spent much of the three 50 minute sessions experimenting with suspension set-ups and completed over 50 laps on the new machine. “It’s been fantastic to get out on the bike today,” he said. “Although at the moment the bike’s still a lot better than me. I need to spend more time in the saddle and get my strength up so I can muscle it about. Riding a superbike is always hard work, especially after the winter.

“We’ve got a good motorbike and both Scott and I are getting around here good. I’ve pretty much matched my fastest race time from last year so it can’t be bad and throughout the day we’ve definitely got the bike to feel better and it’s looking good.”

With less than two weeks to the opening BSB round, again at Silverstone, today’s test proved invaluable to the Hawk team, as Team Principal Stuart Hicken explained. “It’s been an excellent test for us because at the moment I feel the bikes are 65 per cent of where we want to be. We’re still running road ignitions and there’s still a huge amount to come from the bikes. Nothing’s broken or proved unreliable, the handling was there or there abouts, we’ve made a lot of changes and the bikes responded to all the changes – which is the important thing. Now we’ve just got to concentrate on getting four bikes ready for Silverstone, run with what we’ve got and then after that there are still lots and lots of things to come.

“From today we’ve learned that the motor isn’t going to go bang after five laps, which is important and that the bike responds to changes and the riders can feel those changes, which is crucial. Everything’s been positive and I’m very pleased with the way things have gone.”

The first BSB round will be held at Silverstone on March 28.