Honda’s Donington test: Jake Dixon is back, Somkiat Chantra hard at work

Conditions at Donington Park were unusually sweltering: When the Honda Racing Corporation’s factory Superbike team and other teams held a test day on Tuesday at the circuit in Leicestershire, the air temperature was 32 degrees Celsius and, in the sunshine, the track temperature was significantly higher at 54 degrees Celsius.

Nevertheless, this one-day test was important for Honda. This was because, alongside the development work – driven primarily by test rider Jonathan Rea – regular rider Jake Dixon was able to assess the condition of his left hand; the Englishman had withdrawn from race day at Aragon due to pain during his comeback and subsequently missed the Misano round as well. Furthermore, Somkiat Chantra was able to familiarise himself with the circuit layout ahead of the race weekend from 10 to 12 July.

In total, the 4,023-metre-long circuit was open for seven hours. During this time, Dixon completed 70 laps and noted a significant improvement in the condition of his hand. “A good test; I’m absolutely delighted to be back. I now feel ready to tackle the race weekend at Donington in two weeks’ time,” said the 30-year-old. “I’ll be heading home, having a few days’ rest and trying to get a bit stronger over the next two weeks. I feel that my wrist has taken another step forward, and hopefully it will improve even further over the next few days. I’m just so glad to be back with the team.”

Dixon’s Thai team-mate completed significantly more laps and was pleased with the progress. “It was my first time riding at Donington, and for a first attempt it didn’t go badly at all. It was a very useful test, as this track was completely new to me; so I tried to get to grips with it,” explained Chantra. “I completed 130 laps over the course of the day, as that was my main objective – I wanted to ride as much as possible to better understand the bike and the track layout. We also tried out a few changes to the set-up to create a good basis, and hopefully everything will be ready when we return for the next round. We’ll work hard and see what we can achieve over the race weekend.”