WSB: Tyre life hampers Red Bull Honda at Phillip Island

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Issues with tyre conservation led to a frustrating weekend at Phillip Island for the Red Bull Honda duo, who left the Australian circuit with just seven points between them.

Having struggled with the new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade in testing, both Bradl and Hayden were expecting a tough weekend but were unable to hide their disappointment at being unable to finish in the top ten in either race.

While both showed flashes of pace, they would ultimately drop back as their tyres dropped off with Bradl taking two 15th place finishes and Hayden taking 11th and a DNF after a crash at Lukey Heights.

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“We made some changes to the bike prior to the second race especially at the front, which turned out to be a positive step,” Bradl said. “Unfortunately, whilst the entry corner was good and I could be aggressive on the brakes, we were lacking on corner exit. We’re also too hard on the tyres at the moment and this meant that by the end of the race I could not keep the pace. At least, I could stay within the second group and learn a lot. All in all, it was not an easy weekend but I’m sure we will be able to improve for Thailand.”

Hayden added: “I set my fastest lap of the race and was improving my splits while trying to stay with the second group, but I over pushed down into Lukey Heights and came off the bike. Obviously I cannot say I’m happy with the results and with the weekend in general: today I tried my best and rode as hard as I could, but it didn’t go to plan. We’ll try to turn things around for Thailand.”

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