The Bennetts Suzuki team and riders Ryuichi Kiyonari and Tommy Bridewell have completed their preseason preparations ahead of their assault on the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship, following two official tests at Silverstone and Donington Park this week.

Despite having one eye on the opening round at Silverstone in less than two weeks’ time, the team remained focussed on using both days to further test a variety of components and setup options, from different swingarms to forks, shocks, and various fuel maps, with both Kiyonari and Bridewell working well together to get the best from the GSX-R1000.

Testing at Donington Park Kiyonari completed 74 laps and finished the day in seventh place on the time sheets, just seven tenths of a second off fastest time, and is now looking forward to doing it for real at Silverstone.

Ryuichi Kiyonari, 

“I feel really happy with the team and my new bike, and today’s test has been another good one for us. I’m really enjoying riding the bike and I can feel the potential. The engine is really smooth and the chassis is very good, very manageable. It is easy to ride fast. We are competitive, but today was about testing and not pushing too hard, and we know what direction we need to keep working in to make more improvements. I like testing, but I’m now looking forward to racing.”

Tommy Bridewell completed 61 laps at Donington Park as he continued to evaluate his Bennetts Suzuki, testing a number of different items and setups ahead of the opening round next weekend.

Tommy Bridewell, 

“It was good to get back out on the bike again today, and we've had a really good winter's testing. Today showed up a few little areas we need to work on, but that's what testing is for. On the whole though we've had a really strong, really positive few tests, both out in Spain and back in the UK. We've posted good times while still focussing on the actual testing. Everyone's working really hard and the guys in the team are going to go over all the data in the next few days. I don't mind testing but I get a little tired with it. Racing is the bit everyone looks forward to, and hopefully we'll be in a good position for round one."

The Silverstone and Donington Park tests marked the team’s fourth and fifth tests this winter, following two outings in Spain and a shakedown test at Brands Hatch in February.

Team Owner, Martin Halsall, summed up the team’s pre-season, 

“This has been a good winter for us, and both Tommy and Kiyo have settled in really quickly and are getting on with the job at hand. And it’s great to see them both with a smile on their faces and to see them enjoying riding their bikes again.

"Everyone in the team has worked hard, both at the track and also back in the workshop, making sure we test as much as possible and get everything that we can out of the track time we’ve had. We’ve used the tests for what they are for; to evaluate components and to try different options. We’re all feeling very positive ahead of the first round at Silverstone next weekend and we're looking forward to going racing."


The opening round of the 2016 British Superbike series takes place at Silverstone on 8-10 April.