2012 World Superbike Prep

The 2012 BMW Motorrad team of Marco Melandri and Leon Haslam wrapped up two days of testing at Valencia Thursday, lapping the circuit almost 600 miles combined on the new race version of the S1000RR.

Throughout the World Superbike testing, the BMW Motorrad team tweaked the S1000RR, which features the latest version of the Bavarian inline-four, updated electronics and other parts.

Both riders were pleased with the two-day Valencia tests; the next WSBK testing session will arrive days before the season opener at Phillip Island, Australia, Feb. 26, the first of 14 rounds on the 2012 World Superbike calendar.

Marco Melandri (BMW S1000RR World Superbike) says: "It was good to be back on the bike after the winter. The testing of the updated electronics was very encouraging. We checked if everything is working well before we go to Australia, and the result was good. Of course we still need to improve in some areas.

"In entering corners, I still need some more confidence on the bike in order so I am to push properly, but we are all working very hard and I am sure that we will find a solution at the next test in Australia. Phillip Island is not an easy track, so it is important to be confident with the bike to be able to go into the corners very fast.

"In the next two weeks I will keep in contact with the team and we will analyse the data from the test to prepare for Australia. In addition, I will do a lot of training."

Leon Haslam (BMW S1000RR World Superbike) says: "It was a long winter back home and I am definitely happy to be back on the bike. We were lucky with the conditions. It was a bit cold in the morning, but we were able to get most out of the two days.

"We got through everything that we needed to go through, so I am very positive. These two days were important. We have a lot of new things for this year and it was good to test before we go to Phillip Island. In addition, it was good to get a few laps under our belts and get up to speed again.

"We definitely made big steps and are much further ahead compared to last year. It really is a stronger package and we still have five more days to test in Australia to dial it all in. Next week I will go to Germany to meet the team there. Then I will fly back home, do some PR-Events and continue my training program, and then we will be already heading to Australia."