Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Franco Morbidelli and Álex Márquez got their 2017 Moto2 campaigns off to a flying start during a successful two-day test at the Valencia circuit in Spain.
Despite cold conditions, both riders managed to complete an extensive test program over the course of the two days.
Morbidelli’s focus was on acquainting himself with the 2017 specification Kalex Moto2 machine, which he was testing for the first time. The 22-year-old Italian worked together with his crew to identify a base set up on the new bike, with positive results. A time of 1’35.3 meant the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider ended the two days second on the timesheet and less than a tenth off the top spot.
Márquez was running comparison tests between the 2016 and 2017 versions of the Kalex Moto2 bike at Valencia so wasn’t running with a transponder, which meant he didn’t appear on the official timesheet. However, a best lap of 1’35.7 would have put him sixth on combined times at the end of the two days.
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS will now head further south, to the Jerez circuit, for another private two-day test, which gets underway on 22nd February.
Franco Morbidelli: 2nd – 1’35.3
“This was a very positive two days for us here at Valencia and it’s always good to start the season in this way. This was our first experience with the 2017 Kalex and we tested a lot of things over the two days, as well as running back-to-back tests with the 2016 bike. Everything we tried on the 2017 bike was really positive and for me it offers some improvement over last year’s version, so I’m happy about this. Now we head to Jerez where we’ll get to confirm everything on a very different track and, hopefully, with some warmer weather. A good start to the season, but we still have some work to do to be ready for the first race in Qatar.”
Álex Márquez: 6th – 1’35.7
“This was my first time back on a bike since I had the operation on my arms at the end of last season, so it was important to do as many laps as possible. The arms weren’t quite as fully recovered as I’d hoped, but they weren’t an issue on the bike and with more track time they will be back to normal quite quickly. These two days at Valencia were mainly about comparing the 2017 and 2016 specification Kalex bikes, to understand better the strengths and weaknesses of both. We also tested a number of different swinging arms on both bikes. We will continue this process later in the week at Jerez, before making any decisions about the exact specification of the bike we’ll race this season.”
More, from a press release issued by RBA Racing Team:
Successful test at Cheste for RBA Racing Team
Cheste, Spain
RBA Racing Team returned to Cheste, Valencia, to continue the preparations ahead of the 2017 Moto3 World Championship.
After the test on 8th and 9th February, Gabriel Rodrigo and Juanfran Guevara could progress with the development of the set-up of the KTM machines. Thanks to the work done during these two days on the Spanish track, both riders can now count on a good base to face the upcoming private test in Jerez de la Frontera, on 27 – 28 February and 1 March.
#19 Gabriel Rodrigo:
“The ending of this test was really positive. I’m happy because it was a couple of tough days, with some crashes and trying out quite a few different options. At the beginning we didn’t get to work in the direction we were following in the previous test, since we had to try out some important ideas which had to be put into practice, for the team and for myself. Now we definitely know in what direction we need to work. We set a good lap-time on race tyres, when we were doing a long run. I could have been even faster, if we had done a Qualifying Practice simulation, however that wasn’t among our objectives for this test. We gathered plenty of valuable information and now I’m looking forwards to getting to Jerez. It’s a different track, which is also very demanding when setting up the bike. I believe that now we are ready and that over there we can confirm if our decisions so far were correct.”
#58 Juanfran Guevara:
“These were two good days of testing. We tried two settings for the bike, which were quite different, and that was our main goal for this test. We finished with a good feeling on both options, which gives us the chance to maintain two strong bases from which to start in Jerez. Each change on the bike was easy to notice, even the smallest details, and that’s really what is interesting at the minute. The team was skilled when it came to making modifications, we always improved and that was useful to define on what we had to focus. Now we’ll analyse the data that we have from these two days and we’ll use it for Jerez, in order to make sure we keep making progress and to find the best base ahead of Qatar.”
More, from a press release issued by Tech 3:
Confident Vierge and Gardner wrap up Valencia outing
The Tech3 Racing Team riders eagerly look towards the approaching season after making some solid steps forward in the two-day test in Spain. Xavi Vierge sampled the 2017 specification Mistral 610, and he made constant progress with it as he also focused on the new KYB rear suspension. The Spaniard finished with a time that was impressively just 0.514 back from the leading rider and almost half a second quicker than his best from yesterday. Whilst Remy Gardner continued to gel with his bike as he worked relentlessly with the Tech3 crew, despite being limited by grip issues. Nevertheless, he remained resolute and completed 88 laps today, which was more than any other rider, and his fastest time from yesterday places him under a second back from his teammate. Both riders will return to the track on the 8th of March for the Official IRTA test at Jerez where they fully intend to carry on advancing.
Xavi Vierge
Position: 5th – Time: 1’35.753 – Laps: 109
“I am very happy with what we achieved at this test. Yesterday, I started with the 2016 version of the Mistral 610, but then after lunch, I sampled this year’s bike. After just one lap, I felt comfortable and stronger. I could feel the differences, which were positive so I was able to ride a quicker lap than my best from the morning, and this is really encouraging. Today, I worked a lot on the rear suspension with the KYB technicians and the results are pleasing. Every shock that we tried was better than the previous one and we kept on improving with the new parts. I’m delighted with my first contact with this season’s bike and I managed to ride the same time as my fastest lap from last year’s test. I also finished just half a second back from Nakagami, which marks a positive start to the 2017 campaign for me. I am looking forward to Jerez where we intend to continue working in this way and I have to say many thanks to the Tech3 team for their hard work here as well as over the winter and also to KYB for creating such amazing suspension.”
Remy Gardner
Position: 12th – Time: 1’36.558 – Laps: 156
“We made some solid progress at Valencia, but to be honest, I had hoped that we could have achieved a bit more. Yesterday, we improved the front feeling of the bike, which we were happy about, however, we were struggling with the rear. Today, we found some grip but it affected the front, which made things tricky, and now we’ve got to see what’s going on with the bike and find out how we can amend this. We completed some positive work and we’ve got to keep advancing so I am confident and certain that the Tech3 team and I can get the best out of the bike before the first race in Qatar. We need to make a new plan, but I’m looking forward to getting back on the Mistral in Jerez in just a few weeks.”
More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:
Positive debut aboard the new Mahindra for Arenas and Dalla Porta
Mahindra Pull&Bear Aspar riders start the 2017 preseason with two days at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo
Albert Arenas and Lorenzo Dalla Porta have dusted their leathers this weekend at Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, where they have completed two positive days of testing. The Mahindra Pull&Bear Aspar riders have ridden for the first time their new bike for the 2017 season and have continued their adaptation with the team after last November’s tests.
The Spaniard has set a time of 1:40.249, while Dalla Porta has remained only fifteen thousandths shy of his teammate mark (1: 40.264). The next tests for the Mahindra Pull&Bear Aspar riders will be from February 27th to March 1st at Jerez.
Albert Arenas 1:40.249:“I’m happy to be back and start again with good feelings with the team and the bike. In this test, we started with a new bike and we tried to get a good set-up and a good adaptation taking small but consistent steps. We have worked thinking about a race, but also about a single lap. We have tried many things, but always with a defined path”.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta 1:40.264: “I think it has been a very good test, we have been working a lot both days and we have set a good lap time riding alone. I’m happy with the Mahindra chassis, which works great. This weekend, at each stage, we have improved and I have been getting better feelings with the bike and with the team. We will continue working in Jerez, where we hope to take another step”.
More, from a press release issued by AGR Team:
THE AGR STARTS THE NEW PROTOTYPES
Yonny Hernández and María Herrera in their first preseason tests in Valencia
The Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team’s structure at the 2017 Motorcycling World Championship has already started its path. In fact, we have been preparing this first performance of our team for weeks already. Our team has now new faces, both in the riders’ and in the technical team’s front. But this weekend in Cheste we took our first laps of the preseason. They have been two days with a lot of work on a new setup for us and with our efforts shared between Moto2 and Moto3.
Over at the Moto2 corner, Colombia’s Yonny Hernández did a good job, specially with his adaptation to the class and his new surroundings. The objective is not yet to go for a fastest lap. He started yesterday riding over 1.37 and today he was 7 tenths faster. The reference of this test was the Japanese rider Nakagami, who rode slightly behind the official record of the track (1.35.239).
Yonny Hernández #68 Moto2, 1.36.321 (66 laps): “We improve each time I get on the bike. We are already doing decent time, as we ended just one second behind the leader. We have improved one second since November. This is positive, but I still feel the clutch, I need to get used to it, as I’ve been for a long time in MotoGP. I think that for the first race in Qatar, we will be able to make quite a good progress with the tests we still have left. We’re also working well with my Chief Mechanic David Gutiérrez”.
María Herrera (AGR-Moto3) prepared herself thoroughly during the winter. The rider from Oropesa has recovered from an injury she sustained at the end of last season and arrived in her first test in full shape. On Saturday, the day was complicated, but things went back to normal on Sunday and both she and her team are looking forward to start the KTM again. AGR has signed as the Chief Mechanic for the Spanish rider Mark Keen, who recently worked with the Scottish rider John McPhee. The reference of this weekend in Valencia for Moto3 was Italian Bulega (1.39.844), who set his best lap 4 tenths faster than the track’s official record. Our team will be again at the Jerez Circuit next week, on Wednesday and Thursday.
María Herrera #6 Moto3, 1.40.5 (66 laps): “Yesterday I started very well, I liked the bike very much, but we had a problem as we could find no grip. Then today we found a solution and we worked with used tyres. I’m happy, I like the bike a lot and I think we can make progress”.