Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK Completes Pre-Season Testing at Aragón

I was excited to be back on my Yamaha R1 after a long wait! Day one was ok, I enjoyed riding a lot, but day two was a positive improvement after we tried some new parts to find a good set-up for the first race. I felt the lap times were coming really good on the race tyres, but as always we will have to see what happens in the races. I think this year I am more strong, last year I was not fast at this track but this time I have improved physically and mentally. The conditions have been quite hot, and to test some new parts in these conditions and find some improvements is good preparation. Now we must put together the best package, but I am happy to be back and I feel ready for the first race.

It was better on day two compared to day one and in general, the feeling of my R1 is good. We have worked a lot and tried different set-ups, we also did a long run to understand the performance over a race distance. It was very good for me to do this because it’s important, but also it has not been easy for Yamaha on this track in the past so I want to work and push to understand where I can improve. The last test here was not so good for me, but now the feeling is better, like I had at Barcelona or Misano. I know my first race in WorldSBK will not be easy, this I expect, but I want to learn and to improve. During the race weekend we have a lot less track time, but maybe I can follow other riders and learn more – and then maybe on Saturday during the first race I can be in a position to fight a little bit. The weekend of the first race, with the emotion and energy, for sure will push me more compared to testing!

Aragón’s weather was much kinder for this test, we had two beautiful sunny days and the opportunity to put in over 1,750 kilometres and improve our performance at this circuit. It was really good to have Toprak back on the bike after his enforced absence and immediately he was able to find his rhythm and significantly improve his performance potential at MotorLand Aragón compared to last year’s race event, both on the Pirelli SC0 race tyre and the SCX sprint race tyre. The race simulation this afternoon wasn’t quite as good as we had hoped, but was still an improvement on 2020 and has given us some really important information for the next steps. It was great to have Toprak around the team again, in positive spirits and we can’t wait to see him perform under race conditions again on the Yamaha R1. As a rookie in the WorldSBK class, there’s a lot to learn for Loka and his third visit to Aragón was the best test so far. It’s a tough balance when a rider has to learn how to get the best from the superbike in terms of technique, and also improve the machine from a technical point of view. Finally this afternoon, the guys found some points that helped him to improve his style and the race simulation was quite encouraging in terms of pace and consistency. We know that Aragón is going to be a challenging event to start the 2021 WorldSBK Championship but, with the great support of Yamaha and the whole group around the team, every possible effort has been made and we’re looking forward to getting back here to see what we can achieve!