JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s team manager for 2017 is Jack Valentine and for the new MCE British Superbike season he will be working alongside 2016 BSB runner-up Leon Haslam and last year’s Showdown contender Luke Mossey.

bikesportnews.com caught up with the main man himself at the cold and wet Donington Park pre-season test to get his views on how the team are getting on before the opening round at the historic track next weekend:

How has the test gone for you?

Today has been a bit of a nightmare really, as we haven’t been able to carry on where we have left off in Spain. Saying that we have had a really good pre-season test in Spain, so we are in good shape.

It is really cold here and wet, how has that been for the riders?

Here is a bit of a lottery we have been playing around with a few settings, for wet weather, but it can change as the temperatures are so cold, there is just no grip out there. We have been playing round with a few things on the electronics and the suspension. The main thing was keeping the bike up and we have got away with not having any crashes.

How are Leon and Luke doing at the moment?

The boys are great and are both happy with everything, but you are always wanting more. Luke says he is ready to race, Leon feels he is 100 percent in a better place than he was this time last year so it is all positive at the moment.

What key aspects are you working on with the Kawasaki with Luke Mossey?

With Luke he is very happy with the setup and says it is miles better than what he had last year and wants to leave it as it is, until he gets to the first round and will start working again from there.

What are you working on with Leon before the first round at Donington?

Leon is a very experienced rider and has been trying lots of small things on the suspension to try and get some feel on the tyre in these horrible condtiions and also working on areas for improved throttle connection in these conditions. But hopefully we cant get much colder than this.

How has the test gone generally for the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team at Donington?

In general everything has been positive today I could not really ask for much more. We have not been trying to bust any times or anything we just kept it safe and doing what we could in the cold and wet conditions.