Lichfield rider Gary Mason has admitted it is “frustrating” to be slipping down the British Superbikes Championship pecking order – but believes it is a price worth paying as he continues to test his team’s 2012 bike.
The MSS Colchester Kawasaki rider narrowly missed out on the top six championship showdown, but found himself with two 14th place finishes at Silverstone.
After missing out on the showdown, the decision was taken to put Mason on the 2012 Ninja ZX-10R in order to get valuable laps in on the new setup.
And despite meaning Lichfield racer is now restricted to the lower reaches of the grid, he believes the team will reap the rewards in the long run.
“We are definitely going in the right direction,” said Mason. “It is frustrating to run down the order but that’s racing and it will make us stronger next year.
“The 2012 bike has a completely different electronics package to the 2011 superbike and we are still at very early days with it. We are playing around with chassis settings to try and be kind to the tyres. We have some good settings for Brands so hopefully we can finish the season on a high.”