104 Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 | 5 Mar 2017

The team have finished a successful 5 days of track time in Cartagena and are on the way home to continue the planning, for the season start.

 

Full report attached...

BMW Sees Test Times Tumble
(Cartagena ProTest)

After collecting the newly liveried machines, the team then had to endure a gruelling 29 hour drive to Cartagena, to join the BSB ProTest. Arriving tired, they were optimistic at the tight and twisting circuit, bathed in glorious sunshine, that awaited and excited to finally, be able to unveil the team's brand new machinery. 

As testing commenced from mid-week, a day of rest on Tuesday allowed the team to recover and setup their garage, for the week ahead. And Daley by this point, was itching to get on track with the new EddieStobartRacing BMWs. After a grand reveal, including a photoshoot and press release, the new livery quickly went viral on social media (dubbed the best looking bikes in the paddock).

Day One Testing 
Saw clear sky's and the was sun shining, which meant track temperatures were quickly increasing. Reports from home of freezing temperatures and snow, made the arduous journey more than worth while.

Superbikes were the order of the day, with open pit lane proving ideal to give Daley invaluable track-time.  After gelling with the bike in his first stint, we saw Daley quickly match his personal best (set in November, on his Suzuki) and it wasn't long before he was consistently lapping quicker.

Day Two Testing 
Saw similar conditions in the morning, again riding the superbike however, today would consist of four set 25 minute sessions. Time between sessions allowed the team to make changes to the suspension and chassis dynamics, which were required to make the bike react, how Daley preferred. This allowed him to drop almost 2 seconds from his PB. The afternoon saw an increase in track temperature, meaning that the riders were suffering from overheated tyres, causing reduced adhesion on long stints. This resulted in the progress slowing down but still remaining constant with the new Dunlop tyres, providing valuable feedback to the rider.

Day Three Testing
Daley decided to give the super-stock bike its first outing. This was to provide valuable data for the first round of British superbikes in 3 weeks' time. Daley also enjoyed riding this bike, as it felt very similar and after making a few adjustments, we were a mere 1 second a lap slower than the superbike.

Day Four Testing
It was forecast showers with the day starting out overcast. Daley managed 2 fast sessions on the superbike, in much cooler conditions, however unfortunately after lunch, the heavens opened and Daley made the decision to call it a day, as he saw no real benefit from circulating in the wet conditions, thus eliminating potential risks. Daley decided to utilise this time to analyse the data captured in the earlier sessions, after debriefing with KTech support, we made further significant adjustments to the suspension and chassis.

Day Five Testing 
Was set to be a half day for Daley, as the long return journey home was imminent. With clear sky on the horizon and the track now dry, it was time for Daley to assess the new settings. Immediately lapping over 0.400s of a second quicker and setting a new personal best. Unfortunately, the team only managed two sessions before it was time to load and hit the road.

Overall, Daley was extremely impressed with the new machinery, whilst lapping a over 3.500 seconds faster than his previous best. Daley is now hoping to continue this improvement and is confident that it will allow him to compete at the front, this season.

The team would like to say a big thank you to all of our sponsors, for providing us with the means to be successful throughout the up and coming season.

Eddie Stobart Racing
Daley Mathison 

Photo credit Full Throttle Images 

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