DAO Racing Honda completed a positive Spanish pre-season testing programme ahead of the 2026 ZYN British Superbike Championship, after four successful days on track at Monteblanco and Andalucía with riders Lee Jackson and Josh Brookes.
The opening two days at Monteblanco kicked off their first 2026 appearance on track, working hard through a number of fresh items, with the pair completing more than 300 laps combined at the 2.7-mile venue.
Refining set-up on the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP was focus on the opening day, with both riders assessing the potential improvements of two separate engine specifications that were available to them, following a winter of development back at the team’s HQ.
The team returned to action for a further two days on track at Circuito Andalucía, continuing the programme and continued to work extensively on making improvements to the Fireblade package.
Day one began with both riders fine-tuning settings and improving their base set-up, making steady progress through the six-hour open track window.
The second and final day of running saw both riders taking the chequered flag pleased with the development they had made, giving them confidence heading into the R&G official test at Donington Park.
Brookes said: “We’ve ended this series of tests making some good changes and found some good feeling with the bike, it’s given us a real clear direction of where it could go to improve.
“I’d been putting off new tyres in during a lot of the days, because sometimes it can disrupt the course of change, but when we did, we went faster with everything that we’d tried. We now have enough knowledge of where we need to be, we need to focus on the fact that we have made some steps, we’ve put the bike in a different range where it feels better than what I have been riding on most of 2025.
“We’ve got some time now to evaluate our work, I think we’ll start the official test at Donington Park with how the bike is right now, we might make some calculated changes that aren’t risky, but ultimately I’m pleased with our work.”
Jackson said: “The first two days at Monteblanco were pretty positive as we’d been there before, we had data to compare against and I went a little bit faster than I had done in previous years. That isn’t the key point of testing but it’s always nice if you can do that. We left there feeling pretty positive, we tested a lot that we wanted try and that gave me confidence heading into Andalucía.
“It isn’t my favourite style of track but I got myself dialled in early on day one, we made a good step and that set me up nicely for the next phase of what we had planned. I do get frustrated with the testing process because I want to keep going faster, and when you’re trying things the process doesn’t always allow for that to happen.
“I feel like I’m riding well, I feel like I have a good understanding of the bike, I just need to get back to the UK now, get a familiar set up in the bike and continue the process at the official test.”
Team manager Jonny Bagnall concluded: “Testing has gone relativity well, both Lee and Josh have come away safe, with no major incidents, which is always a positive. We had a structured plan with things we wanted to try and revisit, we have new components and some changes in the team this year, so it was good to get all those working well.
“I’m happy with how the riders have performed, I’m pleased that they have stuck with us with what we wanted try, and through the programme we had planned. We have made progress and improved the lap times, so all in all it’s been positive as we head into the Donington test.”