WorldSBK: Tarran Mackenzie hopes to get his hands on ‘new bike’ at future tests

Like factory Honda riders Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, Mackenzie was in action on both days although he used last season’s CBR1000RR-R bike as opposed to the brand new 2024 machine.

That was also true for team-mate Adam Norrodin, who was completing his first-ever Superbike test after missing the post-season outing at the same venue.

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Mackenzie, who despite a couple of tests and wildcard appearances, still believes a lot more running is needed in order to become familiar with WorldSBK-spec machinery.

Mackenzie won’t be testing until the new year when he takes part in the Portimao test.

Speaking to WorldSBK.com, Mackenzie said: “Day 2 was good; the conditions were a little bit better. It helped me a lot, I improved a little bit and had some more understanding. 

“There are still some things I need to learn but we are on the old bike; hopefully, for the next test, we have the new bike which will change some things. 

“I haven’t had so much time on a Superbike with traction control, only really at the Suzuka 8 Hours, so it was nice just to understand that side of it. 

“I still need to understand and learn a lot, but the lap time was a little bit better. It was the last test of the year, but hopefully at the Portimao test in January we can make a step.”