Race Preview: New team, new bike. 2024 starts now.

Racing season is officially here! Young Aussie Tom Edwards has touched down in Spain for his season opener of the World SuperSport Challenge at Circuito De Catalunya.

Season openers don’t get much more exciting than this one. Edwards is gearing up to make his team debut with D34G Racing on the ultra competitive Ducati V2 Panigale, it’s set to be a pivotal moment in Edwards racing career.

 

Last time in Barcelona:

Tom’s strongest qualifying of the 2023 season came in round 2 in Barcelona, with an astonishing hot lap right on the checker flag which earned him P4 on the grid, missing a front row spot by less than 0.1 of a second.

The rookie wasn’t able to make the most of his strong qualifying results, getting roughed up in the pack on the first corner losing positions.

He finishing race 1 - P14 and race 2 - P11 which he put down to a lack of experience, something he has worked on throughout last season and is confident it will be different this time around

 

Goals for the weekend

With the changes to the SuperSport schedule in 2024, teams will only have one practice session before heading straight into a 40-minute qualifying session.

Tom’s goal this weekend is to quickly get comfortable on his new bike in FP1 and build as much confidence as he can for qualifying.

When it comes to the races, Edwards says he won’t be making the same mistakes as last year, making sure he’s more aggressive and hold his space.

 

TOM EDWARDS:

“Very excited for the weekend to get underway. thought I haven’t done a lot of laps on the V2 I’m confident that the season will start off well.

“A new bike and a new team, usually you’d be a bit nervous but I’m really glad that I went down to Phillip Island, even though I wasn’t racing. I was able to see the team dynamic and see the guys in action and it’s given me a lot of confidence in the season ahead.”

“I’m feeling more prepared and ready than I ever have been going into a season. I’ve been working really hard in the off-season. My physical fitness is the best it’s ever been and my mental game is also stronger than ever.”

“Barcelona is a track that I love. I got one of my best qualifying results, so it’s a great way to kick off the season for me. Heading into the weekend with a lot of confidence.“

 

Event Schedule (Local Time)

Friday 22 March

Superpole: 4:00pm

 

Saturday 23 March

Race 1: 3:15pm

 

Sunday 24 March 

Race 2: 3:15pm

 

Aussies at home can watch qualifying and the races lives on Fox Sports 506, Kayo and WorldSBK Video 

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