The Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team wrapped up the pre-season on Monday with the final day of testing at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit ahead of the new racing season. At the Australian circuit, which will host the first races of 2024 this weekend, the Dutch team prepared itself for the upcoming battle.

Due to logistical problems, not all Pirelli tyres were yet present at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit so only the World Supersport class could be in action at the Australian circuit on Monday. The fact that they had a full day at their disposal meant that the track was reserved for just the World Superbike class on Tuesday.

This meant that the testing plans for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing had to be adjusted. Both sides of the pit box were working hard to be as prepared as possible going into the new season ahead. Vice-world champion Stefano Manzi did a lot of test work and eventually finished third on the timesheet with a fastest lap time of 1’32.183. Glenn van Straalen faced some challenges during this day of testing and eventually closed it in sixteenth place with a 1’33.244 as his fastest time.

The first race weekend of the total of 12 race weekends this season will be held this weekend at the same Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia. This weekend will see a revised schedule and starting from this season, the format of the race weekend has also changed. After a free practice session on Friday morning, the Superpole session will be run on Friday afternoon at 14:55 local time, 04:55 Central European time. After a warm-up session on Saturday morning, the first race of 2024 will start in the afternoon at 2:30pm local time, 04:30am CET. The same schedule will be used on Sunday with Race 2 at 14:30 local time, 04:30 CET.

Stefano Manzi: “It was a long day and we have done a lot of work. I am very happy with what we have done, we tried many different things. In the morning the track conditions were a bit critical but with more rubber on the track, the conditions improved. In the afternoon the conditions were a lot better and it felt very comfortable to ride. I enjoyed riding and we finished in third place, so all in all we have had a good day. I expect a tough battle this weekend because the difference with many riders was very small. Let’s see what happens this weekend.”

Glenn van Straalen: “It was a busy day of testing because we now had to do everything in one day. We started quite early in the morning and the asphalt did not yet offer the normal level of grip, so we had to wait for a while. We then eventually managed to do a few laps but it wasn’t great. In the afternoon the conditions were better and we wanted to pick up the pace there, unfortunately we faced a technical problem which cost us a lot of time. In the last run we were able to do quite a number of laps and improve, so that was a positive end to the day. We have to start dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s this weekend and then I’m confident.”

Kervin Bos – Ten Kate Racing team manager: “We had a great test day here at Phillip Island. As always, the tyres play a big role here and with the new asphalt that will be another critical point this weekend. The track looks fantastic but it is extremely tough on the tyres. Because of the logistical problems we had seven sets of tyres at our disposal instead of nine, so we had to use them sparingly. Manzi continued the trend of last season and this winter, while Glenn also showed a very good side. When he went for time-attack at the end of the day the red flag was waved so there is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of lap time. I expect both riders to be in good shape on Friday, it will be an interesting day for sure.”