Queensland’s Mike Jones will make his Australian Superbike race debut this weekend as a large fleet of the nation’s best riders will line up as a support category to the opening round of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island.
In the last week, Mike has completed four days of testing at Phillip Island aboard his new Crazy Dogs Kawasaki ZX10. Being his first time around the 4.5km circuit on the 1000cc ‘green machine’, it provided an intense introduction for Jones as to what to expect with the increased power and performance compared with his racing of past seasons.
“There’s nothing better than having four solid days of riding at Phillip Island. Each day was very enjoyable with fine weather. The track time has been invaluable for my adaptation to the Crazy Dogs Kawasaki ZX10. The Phillip Island Ride Days on Monday and Tuesday were a real eye opener of the acceleration and speed from the ‘green machine’. I made logical steps over both days to gain confidence and comfort on the new bike which I feel was a success,” Jones said.
The test days not only provided the opportunity for Mike to adapt to the increased power of the Crazy Dogs Kawasaki ZX10, but also a chance to fine tune critical suspension and overall bike setups that will assist him in working toward strong results amongst the field of 38 bikes.
“I worked heavily with XXX Rated Race Suspension to adjust various bike settings, but we primarily focused on getting the standard rear shock to work well. This proved worthwhile on Thursday and Friday as I managed to unofficially set lap times under the Prostock lap record on both of these days,” Jones added.
With testing complete, Mike is now focussing his attention on the weekend’s events, with a large crowd expected, the International level event’s atmosphere will provide exemplary race conditions for Jones as he chases a successful start to the 2014 race season.
“I’m very pleased with the progress from testing and I’m sure with more decent time in the seat throughout the year, I’ll become more comfortable and competitive. I’m excited and look forward to competing in the national support events for the World Superbikes at Phillip Island this weekend,” Jones concluded.
Mike Jones’ first event in 2014 will be as part of the National support categories at the World Superbike Championship event at Phillip Island, Victoria from February 21-23.
