TROY SATISFIED DESPITE BAD WEATHER Troy ended the two days test in Portimao upbeat despite the poor conditions throughout the two days at the Algarve circuit. Rain prevented Troy and his team from carrying out all the work they wanted to complete but, despite the conditions, a lot of information was gathered and, if nothing else, Troy has a very good idea of the right wet weather set-up. Troy, 71 laps, best lap 1:57.3 The conditions were not favourable during these two days and I never got the chance to even try slick tyres at any stage. I spent a lot of time sitting around waiting for the track conditions to improve and because of that I think I only did about 70 laps. Although we didn’t have a chance to try a lot of things, we did make progress and learnt some things that we’ll take to the next tests. A lot of the time it rained and although the sun came out for a while today, it wasn’t out long enough to dry the track. There were times yesterday and today when parts of the track were dry, but there’d always be parts – especially the corners – that were still wet and it would’ve been so easy to crash. I didn’t chase any lap times at all, because there was no point, but I tried to work with the guys and understand the characteristics of the 2011 engine and some of the other new bits and pieces. Because there was no dry track time, I couldn’t push the bike very hard. When the track was wet and I was on full wet tyres, the grip was pretty good – a bit better than I expected. The problem was when the track was part wet and part dry. Then it was not wet enough for full wets and not dry enough for slicks. The track has many changes of elevation and quite a few blind corners, so it takes a lap or so, each time out, to work where the wet parts are. Then it would suddenly start raining and you’d have to learn it all over again. Leon and I are saying exactly the same things about the bike and what we’d like – and that’s good. It’s always good when your team mate has the same feelings about the bike and hopefully the team will take our comments onboard and keep improving the bike. Generally, I am pleased with what we’ve achieved these days and we’ve managed to highlight some things that we need to work on for next time out. That’s all good and now I’m looking forward to a good break, some time with my family and friends and also a visit to my folks in Australia. Have a good holiday and all the best for Christmas. Troy