Gary Johnson has been steadily chipping away with his GBMoto Kawasaki's during this week's North West 200 with the Lincolnshire ace slowly getting to grips with different suspension to what he's used.

Although familiar with the Kawasaki ZX-10R, in Superstock trim at least, Johnson has been running K-Tech in recent years but now finds himself equipped with Ohlins and admits it's very much work in progress.
 
"The bike's stable through the likes of Station Corner although you of course always want it easier but the Ohlins suspension is all new to me and I haven't been able to simply bolt in my settings from previous years - I tried that and it didn't work,” said Johnson, speaking to bikesportnews.com

“It's all new to me but we keep trying new things which have worked sometimes but not others. The bike goes from left to right very easily and I'm second on the grid so we must be doing something right!
 
"I had a bit of a problem with the fuel cap continually flicking open and I got sprayed with fuel a bit during qualifying so i don't think we've shown our true pace yet. I'm on the front row so I'll be looking for a good start to get away with the front group."
 
The Superstock class has traditionally been strong for Johnson but he's obviously hoping to make a major impression in the Superbike class too as well as on the Mar-Train Racing Yamaha in the Supersport although he did retire earlier from Thursday's race.
 
"It's my first time on an R6 since 2010 but they're a good bike and I've been pushing hard. The chassis feels great and giving me great feedback but I need to get a bit more protection from the wind on it and the engine didn't quite feel right in the race. I didn't want to break it by carrying on so opted to pull in and let the boys take a look at it."