The Swan Yamaha team got their 2012 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship underway at Brands Hatch today (Friday) as Tommy Hill prepared to kick off his title defence on Easter Monday alongside new team-mate Noriyuki Haga.

In the opening test session of the day the team encountered some problems with fuelling issue, but they worked hard ahead of the afternoon test and Hill was able to run at the top of the times before ending the session in fourth place, but only a split second down on the fastest lap of the day. Haga focused on testing different engines and also spent the early part of the day learning the final section of the 1.2-mile Indy circuit, which he hadn’t previously ridden in the World Championship. The team are now feeling positive ahead of tomorrow’s free practice sessions at the Kent circuit.

Hill said:

“We had issues this morning in the first session but the Swan Yamaha team have been working hard to resolve it as we had some of the gremlins come back with the fuelling. The team’s efforts paid off though as the bike felt better this afternoon and I am fairly happy. We are a day down here as most of the other teams have tested at Brands Hatch already but I am making headway and feeling ready for tomorrow when we get the practice sessions underway.”

Haga said:

“I know Brands Hatch but I have not ridden the last part so to begin with I was learning that; it isn’t easy to compare settings as most of this circuit I know quite well, but in testing they were all new to me. We have been trying to solve a few problems and little by little we have been getting better. We have made a lot of changes today and we also tested different engines and now I know which one will be better for me. Tomorrow we will make some changes to the suspension and then we will see what is possible before qualifying.”

Team Manager Gary Ekerold concluded:

“The first session was difficult for both riders as they both suffered some issue with the fuelling; we have changed systems to Motec over the winter and now we have found a way forward. Tommy’s performance in the second test session shows we have removed some of the gremlins he was having earlier in the day and hopefully we can do the same on Noriyuki’s side of the garage tomorrow. Today was another test day for us in our schedule; the weekend starts for the Swan Yamaha team with practice tomorrow.”

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