Christian Iddon and the Sencat by Swan Racing team have begun their on track preparations for the 2026 season with an initial test at the Circuito Almeria to experience the Yamaha R1 for the first time.
Iddon moved to Sencat by Swan Racing for the new season, with the test at the Spanish track marking his debut with the new team as they continue their pre-season preparations after switching to Yamaha at the end of the 2025 campaign.
Iddon said: “It was great to get out on track; it was the first time in a long time that I have got out with a new team before the new year and its invaluable really. The bike is obviously new to me, but it is also new to the team, so it wasn’t just a learning process for me, but for the team too so to get out in a less pressured situation was a nice way of getting that first run out of the way.
“I felt comfortable ergonomically on the bike very quickly and I enjoy riding the Yamaha, it is a very different prospect of a bike and does a lot of things very differently to what I am used to from this season. I had a nice sensation and feedback from the bike, which is nice to feel that early on and the bike moving underneath you and understand how it talks to you, as they are all different, so that was really good.
“It was also nice to create a bond with the team, to meet all the guys and girls that I will be working with next year so all in all it was really positive and we ticked a lot of boxes. It is a learning process for me and the team and now we have ticked off the first run out of the list, and getting the initial nerves out of the way too! As much as I have been doing this for a long time, the first run out is always nerve-wracking.
“We tried nothing major in terms of set-up as we are not really at that point yet, but we tried a few different seats, footpeg and handlebar positions, and different brake options that I can run. So we just got the basics out of the way, which are things that are all really simple things, but are really important and take time. The fact that we have got those done, I feel puts us ahead of the game already, so we are all good. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to getting back out again as soon as we can.”