Van Horebeek relishes first factory Yamaha test
Saturday 19 October: Pleasant weather in central Italy this week have allowed new Yamaha factory racing MXGP rider Jeremy Van Horebeek to take his very first laps with the works YZ450FM.
Pleasant weather conditions in central Italy this
week have allowed new Yamaha factory racing MXGP rider Jeremy Van
Horebeek to take his very first laps with the works YZ450FM and enjoy a
shakedown test. The Belgian finishes the third of three days today
(Friday) getting accustomed to his new team and to the motorcycle with
the rearward slanting engine with which he will contest the eighteen
round 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship, beginning on the March 1st
in Losail, Qatar.
The 2013 Motocross of Nations winner spent a long
session riding the new 2014 model before starting to work through basic
set-up details and then clock laps while focusing on engine and
suspension modifications to suit his personal preference. "It has been a
very positive way to already look ahead to 2014. I’m pleased with how
easy it has been to ride the bike and also work with the team,” he said.
"It is what I expected from a set-up with such a good reputation and
the 2014 YZ450F has big potential. The power is very impressive but well
controllable. We have some more work ahead but this has been a very
good start.”
"We’ve had temperatures around twenty degrees each
day and Jeremy has been able to ride the bike quite a lot and get his
thoughts and opinions about it,” said Team Manager Mino Raspanti. "We
started with a range of settings very similar to the stock YZ450F and he
actually rode with a standard engine for the first day as we went about
customising the bike to his riding position and his general feel for
it,” he continued. "We then looked at the balance of the YZ with regards
to front and rear feel and after that experimented with some different
engine adjustments.”
Another test with the rider who made his World
Championship MX1 (for next year rebranded ‘MXGP’) class debut in 2013
will take place in November as the whole team look to refine a direction
for chassis and suspension settings. Van Horebeek is part of a
two-rider structure in the Michele Rinaldi-led Yamaha Factory Racing
squad with Frenchman Christophe Charlier challenging for the MX2 crown
in 2014 on the brand new YZ250FM after claiming race wins and 4th
overall this term.