Following a busy Christmas period the Anvil Hire Yamaha team head to Almeria, Spain, this weekend for their first test of 2016.
The team have been busy preparing and improving their Yamaha R1 machines and the first full superbike specification bike is now ready – However it won’t be heading to Spain with the team.
Instead riders James Rispoli, Billy McConnell and Shaun Winfield will be riding on Superstock machinery during the two-day test.
Ahead of the trip to southern Spain, Rispoli said: “I am really excited to get back on the Anvil Hire Yamaha R1. It is really important that we take these tests serious, and get as much seat time as possible.
“It will be a new track for me, so getting up to speed quickly will be important, but I’m excited and looking forward to getting out there.”
Almeria is a popular testing venue for many MCE British Superbike teams with the high-speed nature of the track.
McConnell, who moves onto the Yamaha from the Smiths Racing team, is looking forward to getting to grips with his new machinery and working with his new team.
He said: “This weekend is going to be great, I’m really excited to be going back to Spain and to Almeria to burn some laps on the Anvil Hire Yamaha. Again we’ll be on the stock bikes which means I can get back into the swing of things on the bike, and find a little bit more feel with the R1 before we jump onto the Superbike in a few weeks time.
“This time Lee my crew chief will be out there with me so we can start developing a solid working relationship with each other. I’m really excited ahead of this weekend, and hopefully we can get some skids and wheelie’s pulled!”
Winfield showed plenty of potential in his debut season last year and is looking forward to seeing what the new Yamaha R1 can do.
He said: “I am really excited ahead of this weekend, the two days on track will help us in many ways to find our feet with the Yamaha and find the limits a little bit more.”
The first round the 2016 BSB season gets underway at Silverstone on Friday, April 8.
