Toseland happy with 2011 BMW bike
Added on Monday, December 13th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Toseland happy with 2011 BMW bike
After two days of testing at Portimao, the former World Superbike champion James Toseland has said the new BMW Italia machinery that he will be racing in the 2011 World Superbike Championship is ‘very good’ and he is pleased with his debut for the 2011 season.
Toseland was joined by reigning FIM Superstock 1000 champion, Ayrton Badovini, for the two days of testing where they both put the newly built BMW machines through their paces on a dry track, despite the track initially being shut due to muddy conditions.
“The package is very good,” Toseland said, adding: “The engine has good power and we are working to obtain a more even distribution. The bike’s strength is I think that the chassis provides excellent response when changing direction.
“We worked carefully on the set up of the suspension, weight distribution and the bike responds very well to changes. We must, however, work to develop the whole package. The team is fantastic and a lot of the guys are the same as those with which we won the title in 2004 [at Ducati]. ”
Team manager, Serafino Foti, added: “”We started working on the bike just a month and a half ago and we put in a lot of effort to be ready to test in Portimao. We are quite satisfied with the way the bike responded but obviously it remains to be seen what else happens as it was on the track for the first time in Portugal.”
The shakedown data will now be used by the team to plan any further development on the machines, ready for their return to the Portimao track in January 2011.
Badivini added: “I was impressed by the professionalism of the team, which I already knew. We have already seen the details of what we will be doing and I am sure at our second outing at the end of January everything will be even better.”
