Leon Haslam got his 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship campaign underway at the opening R&G Official Test at Circuito de Navarra, making his debut with the Moto Rapido Ducati Racing team as the ‘Pocket Rocket’ returned with the Italian manufacturer for the first time since 2007
Haslam ended the opening R&G Official Test in fifth place on the overall combined times, 0.880s adrift of the pacesetting time, as he continued to get acquainted with the Ducati ahead of the second R&G Official Test at Donington Park.
Haslam said: “It’s good to be back! From my side the last time I rode a race bike was back in October, but we have had a productive winter. I had quite a lot of injuries over the last two years and so I pretty much went straight to the gym after Brands Hatch and have been fixing myself. Now I am back doing fun stuff again like trials riding and pit biking and I am feeling a lot stronger.
“Coming here to Navarra, I have been getting to know all the boys for the first time, it’s the first time adapting myself to this Ducati, and to be honest at this test we have gone through a big old list of stuff. We probably used the least amount of tyres to anyone but we are feeling pretty strong and competitive even though we haven’t thrown anything at it yet.
“The Ducati has similar characteristics to what I remember from the last time I rode one, obviously Ducati at the minute are really putting a lot of force into championships – it’s amazing. From my perspective, I have obviously been battling the Ducatis for a lot of years. I remember being teammates with Alvaro and seeing him move back to Ducati and win a championship it hurt a little so to finally get on a Ducati now is amazing.”