Domestic test readies WorldSBK rookie for opening round.
Australian international Josh Hook gained valuable track time at Phillip Island alongside a host of Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) regulars this week on board a privateer ZX-10R of renowned local national racer Phil Lovett.
Hook, 23, stunned with the second fastest lap on day two at 1m33.674s, completing 41 laps on Monday and 63 on Tuesday. It was his first time aboard a Superbike other than Honda’s CBR1000RR which he raced from 2013.
“It’s good to get back on track because I hadn’t rode since the last Moto2 round at Valencia,” Hook told CycleOnline.com.au. “It’s been quite a while between drinks, so I thought it would be good to get down there and sharpen my skills – I was a bit rusty at first.
“I’ve never ridden anything but the Honda, so it was good that Phil let me borrow his bike for a couple of days, just a standard Kawasaki, but my first impression on the thing was pretty good. I wasn’t expecting the power it had and the way it finished off the turns was really good as well.
“We did a lot of work to it at first, because Phil has 50 kilos on me, but at the end of the test we got it in the right direction and roughly where I wanted it. We ended up going alright! It all felt quite good, so I am happy.”
Hook and Lovett worked solely on the set-up direction between eachother, which makes his final laptime even more significant in comparison with a selection of Australia’s top domestic teams – including his previous Team Honda Racing outfit.
“I use Jamie [Stauffer] and Troy [Herfoss] as a bit of a benchmark there, because Jamie is always strong at tests and usually puts half a second into me at Phillip Island before I tend to come good for the race,” Hook explained. “To jump on this thing and go faster than him on day two, I was pretty happy, even though the track wasn’t as fast as we thought it’d be.
“On the second day I think I did 63 laps and set my fastest on the 62nd, so I was definitely getting better as the day went on. It was good to finish on a high after I felt comfortable straight away and made progress the entire time. I’m looking forward to getting on the Grillini Kawasaki now.”
Hook will start the WorldSBK season on board a 2015 model Ninja ZX-10R with the private Grillini team, increasing the relevance of his presence during the domestic ASBK test at Phillip Island this week.
“For the first three rounds – Phillip Island, Thailand and Aragon – we will be on the 2015,” he added. “Then after that we should be on the 2016 bike. Because it’s not a factory-backed team I think the parts are limited, but at least I know what I can do on the standard bike now, which will give us a direction and base to work from. It will be quite a bit different than standard.”
Hook will get his first taste of the Grillini Kawasaki in just under a fortnight’s time at Phillip Island when the official WorldSBK pre-season test takes place on 22-23 February to begin race week.