SUCCESSFUL FIRST TEST FOR MARC VDS RACING TEAM Marc VDS Racing Team riders, Scott Redding and Mika Kallio, both declared themselves happy with progress made during the opening three-day test of the 2011 season at Valencia in Spain. Redding was quickly back up to speed on the opening day at Valencia, despite more than two months off the bike during the annual test ban. Having missed the final day of testing at Jerez in November following a crash, the 18-year-old British rider used the second day at Valencia to resume the evaluation of new components and settings on his Suter Moto2 machine, before completing a full race simulation in the afternoon. The Marc VDS rider improved his lap time throughout the test, posting his fastest ever lap around the Valencia circuit on his final run this afternoon. Redding leaves Valencia satisfied with his pace at the opening test and determined to improve further at Estoril in just four days time. Kallio underwent major surgery on an injured collarbone just one month ago and only regained full movement in the affected arm the week before the Valencia test. Despite the injury causing him some pain on the bike, especially under braking, the 28-year-old Finn was regularly faster than his fellow newcomers to the ultra-competitive Moto2 class. The Marc VDS Racing Team will now head direct from Valencia to the Estoril circuit in Portugal, where Redding and Kallio will participate in a further three days of testing, commencing on 16th February. Scott Redding #45: “Today I set my fastest ever lap around Valencia, so it’s definitely been a successful test for us. The new bike has been set-up to suit me more, with a different footrest position and a longer seat unit, but these changes have also affected the balance of the bike. At the start the new bike was riding too much on the rear, but working with my Crew Chief Pete Benson and our Öhlins suspension technician, Mike Norton, we have been able to improve things a lot in this area over the past three days. Now we need to continue this progression at the next test in Estoril, which is just four days away.” Mika Kallio #36: “This has been a very positive test and I’m quite happy with how things have gone. If I’d gone another half-a-second faster then I’d be leaving here completely happy. I didn’t really know what to expect from my shoulder after the operation, but it’s been more or less ok. We tried a lot of things on the bike during the test and, lap-by-lap, we saw improvements, but I still need more time on the bike to learn how to get the best from it. The more kilometres I do on the bike the more comfortable I feel, so I’m looking forward to continuing the process at Estoril next week.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “This first test has been a very positive start to the new season for us. Scott was very quick getting back up to speed on the opening day, which allowed us to start evaluating new components and different set-ups almost from the start. We know in which direction we need to go with the bike and Scott’s lap times have improved with each set-up change we’ve made during the test. Mika underwent a fairly major operation on his shoulder just four weeks ago, and it’s obviously an issue on the bike at the moment, but he’s also made good progress here in Valencia. He fits into the team extremely well, his feedback is excellent and he’s enjoying a good feeling with the bike. I’m confident that if we can carry this momentum through into the first race then we will be amongst the main contenders in Moto2 this season.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3 Racing Team: Tech 3 Racing Team complete vital work in Valencia Tech 3 Racing Team duo Mike di Meglio and Bradley Smith declared themselves satisfied with the start of their preparations for the 2011 Moto2 World Championship after completing a productive three-day test session at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia. Cool but sunny conditions throughout the test gave Smith and di Meglio the perfect opportunity to put in vital development miles on the new 2011 Mistral 610 machine that has undergone a major winter revamp in readiness for the new season. The most significant modification to the new bike is an all-new chassis that both Smith and di Meglio were able to quickly adapt to and post competitive times as they completed nearly 350 laps together. Although there was no official timing available at the test, di Meglio was credited with a fastest time of 1.36.6, the Frenchman completing over 150 laps to fully understand the potential of the Mistral 610 machine by evaluating a variety of settings. Smith was one of the hardest workers on track as he completed almost 190-laps in his quest to familiarise himself more with the heavier and more powerful Moto2 machine. He made impressive progress throughout the test, the British rider knocking close to 1.5s off his best time compared to his Tech 3 Racing Team debut in Valencia at the beginning of November. The Tech 3 Racing Team now moves quickly to the Estoril track in Portugal for a further three-day test session that begins on Tuesday (February 15). Mike di Meglio 1.36.6 “This has been a really positive test and the bike has improved so much during these three days that I am very, very happy. I leave the circuit with a good lap time and we have started to understand the bike and what are my needs and what I like for the future. This makes me very happy as I already have a good feeling with the bike and the Tech 3 Racing Team after this first test. We were working on the balance of the bike and I feel we are definitely making big progress in the direction I want. We have six more days of testing now, starting next week in Estoril and I am sure we can find more improvements. We only used a standard engine in Valencia and we don’t know what engine our rivals had. But I am already better than my time at the last test in Valencia and I can feel that the bike has very good potential.” Bradley Smith 1.37.3 “This test was very important and I learned a lot. It was my first time with the 2011 bike and we worked a lot on the geometry to find a good balance. It was hard work, but a great learning process as we tried many different solutions that helped me understand what happens to the bike when we make changes and how big the differences can be. It is scary that we only have six more days of testing until the season starts, but as we found a good direction with the bike in Valencia, I am confident. I improved my time by 1.4 seconds compared to November, so it shows that we did a very good job. I am happy with my team and we work together very well and I have to thank them for their efforts. Now we go straight to Estoril, but it looks like the weather forecast is not so positive. I hope we will have as much dry track time as possible to help us build on the progress we made in Valencia.”