The Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing team kicked off its 2013 season this week by testing with new recruit Martin Cardenas and returning rider Chris Clark on the 1.8-mile, eight-turn Classic Course just outside of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The test was originally scheduled for two days, January 23-24, but rain shortened the test to just one workable day, according to Peter Doyle, who is the Team Manager and the Crew Chief for Cardenas. “The track was dry and cold [on Wednesday],” Doyle said. “The track temperature never got above 20°C [68°F], but at least it was dry. We got about 70 laps in. So it wasn’t too bad,” Sporadic rain, overcast skies and cold temperatures on Thursday, however, prevented the track from drying and caused the Yoshimura Suzuki team to end the test earlier than planned. When asked about his team’s goals for the test, Doyle said, “In the case of Chris Clark, he hasn’t ridden since last year and he’s had a shoulder operation. And obviously with Martin, we just wanted to get him on the bike and get him used to it and used to the crew and used to the racetrack.” “Yesterday was good for that,” Cardenas told Roadracingworld.com in a telephone interview Thursday. “My first impression [of the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000] was pretty good. I need a little bit more time to get a little bit faster, but it wasn’t like something completely new.” According to Doyle, Cardenas recorded laps in the 1:15 range, while Clark (who is very familiar with the track) did some 1:16s. During the last WERA Sportsman Series race event at the Classic Course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (which was held in November of 2012), Jake Zemke turned a best time of 1:16.707 on a Superstock-spec Honda CBR1000RR. Yoshimura Suzuki plans to test again in February at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, in Desert Center, California.