Reigning Quattro Group British Supersport Champion Jack Kennedy is confident of continuing his consistent start to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship with the Mar-train Racing Yamaha Team following a positive test at Knockhill in preparation for the event.
Kennedy and the team completed their test yesterday (Tuesday) despite a crash earlier in the afternoon at the Hairpin, with the multiple Supersport Champion back on track to finish the day ready for the next round of the championship on June 16/17/18.
Kennedy said: “We had plenty of laps in the sunshine so that was good at Knockhill yesterday. We improved the bike as the day went on, trying to make it better for doing consistent lap times. Unfortunately, I had a highside out of the chicane, I’m sore but ok. The team got the bike fixed and we got back out at the end of the day to make sure everything was ok, which it was, so we are ready for FP1 in two weeks’ time.
“We worked on the balance of the bike to try and get a better feeling for pushing in the corners; we also worked on a bit of engine braking to try and help me go into the corners to not be pushing me on so much so I don’t have to get so much front brake. We also looked to using stronger and stiffer and less stiff springs with both more and less preload to try and get the bike a bit more user-friendly to meet the demands of Knockhill because it is so demanding on the bike and rider, especially on the Superbike.
“We experimented a lot with all of those things and I feel that we have come away with a package that was the best of everything that we tried and a good direction to start the first free practice session with and I feel confident that going into the round we can hit the ground running.
“I am really looking forward to Knockhill and hopefully we have the weather like we did at the test as it was amazing. It always gets a big crowd so I am looking forward to seeing everyone there and enjoying the atmosphere of racing in Scotland.