Image: Russell Colvin.

Race Center has confirmed it won’t field Jed Metcher in the 2016 World Superbike Championship opener after a disappointing shakedown at Phillip Island alongside the domestic teams on Monday and Tuesday.

Metcher rode the team’s Kawasaki ZX-10R – labeled the RC-10 due to having no official support – to a 14th place finish in race one last year, before pulling out of the second leg early on.

“Our two-day test at Phillip Island on the Demolition Plus RC-10 World Superbike was very underwhelming with our fastest lap a 1m34.8s,” a statement from the team read. “The pace was a full 2.4secs off our pace from last year.

“So what happened? The simple fact is we were under prepared. Monday the 8th of February was the first time the RC-10 turned a wheel since last year’s World Superbike event at Phillip Island Gran Prix Circuit. We haven’t had the cash flow in the business to allow us to go testing or do much R&D on the bike.

“But why was it slower than last year? Truth is the pace is exactly the same as last year – we only did similar times in the equivalent test last year. When it came to WSBK weekend we pulled out all stops and found the extra pace through sheer hard work and talent from Jed.

“The bike has the exact same lack of mid-corner turning it had last year. Jed is a massively experienced rider and knows when the bike is not right, pushing harder would just risk smashing himself and the RC-10 into a million pieces and right now that isn’t going to achieve anything.

“If we don’t fix the mid-corner turning then we are not going to realistically challenge for a top eight, even if we find the extra pace we found last year. We have tried everything imaginable in regards to chassis and set-up, but nothing has cured the issue.

“We have suspected the issue is in the engine management for some time, but we haven’t had the resources or funding to solve the issue. It’s pretty sad when our pace is actually slower than Jed would probably do on a standard Superbike with suspension and tyres, but sometimes the more complex a bike is, the more complex the issues are.”

While there were improvements in the package noted during the two days of on-track activity, budget restraints have forced the team to reassess its options unless a major backer rises prior to the official pre-season tests and race weekend.

“The engine and gearbox this year are stronger for sure, we got the ratios a lot better and the engine performance has improved,” it continued. “We know we could turn it around, we have done it many times before. The difference this time is budget problem has become crippling.

“If we were to do the wildcard we would need to shut the workshop for two weeks and spend a lot on parts and tyres, so unless we get a massive cash injection in the next few days our 2016 WSBK wildcard is officially off.

“We know we can achieve so much more than our pace shows right now. Jed has the talent and we have the smarts. We just need to work harder on the budget in future and hopefully we can do that for 2017.

“Our focus will shift to our 2016 Yamaha Supersport team, which will be announced very soon and focus on making 2017 a really strong and proper effort. We need to thank all our wonderful supporters and sponsors.”