Free practice at Oulton Park was the first chance to test a number of changes to the MV Agusta F4 1000 of STP Motorsport. First reports indicate that they are having a positive effect.
Key among the changes are new magnesium swingarms on both race bikes. These parts, supplied by MV Agusta ,not only help to reduce the overall weight of the bike but also improve handling around the Cheshire circuit.
Finishing 21st overall in today’s free practice sessions the team is confident that this will be improved upon as the weekend unfolds.
Paul Snell – Crew Chief:“We have a choice of swingarm lengths and to help improve the bikes cornering ability we have set up the number one bike with a slightly longer than standard version. This, along with some other weight saving and suspension changes, is making Chris Burns’ job a little easier. These changes are all part of our development programme and as the weekend progresses I am confident that we will gain extra speed
advantages from them.”
Warwick Nowland – Team Manager“The changeable weather in today’s free practice didn’t make life easy for us, especially as we wanted as much track time as possible to test the changes that we had made since Mallory Park. That said, the bike is handling very well and our free practice times do not reflect the true potential of Chris and the bike and I am certain that we will improve on both time and position in tomorrow’s qualifying session.”