Lusail Winter Test: Preview 

Lusail International Circuit, Qatar:

Trackhouse Racing, America’s MotoGP Team, arrives in Qatar for the second winter test after a challenging three-day opening test in Malaysia. With only two days of running left before the opening race of the Championship, here at the Lusail International Circuit in just over two weeks, the emphasis for the team and for both our riders, #88 Miguel Oliveira and #25 Raul Fernandez, is finding a solid baseline set-up on their respective Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP bikes. 

For Raul, after missing two days on track after his huge off on Day 1 in Sepang, Malaysia, this test will be a challenge for him physically but a valuable opportunity to get some miles on the clock. 

The team also welcomes Team Principal, Davide Brivio, back into the MotoGP paddock – for the first time since he joined the Trackhouse Racing MotoGP Team just over 1 week ago. 

 
MIGUEL OLIVEIRA

“I’m excited to get the last test underway. Our goal is to leave here satisfied with our speed, especially because mentally we can get good confidence for the 10 days break in order to come back here well prepared for the race. Hopefully, everything goes well, the weather is fine and we can do some good laps.”

 
RAUL FERNANDEZ

“First of all, I need to see how I feel on the bike. Normally recovery time for this kind of injury is longer than two weeks. I would like to say thanks to Jaime and Nacho and all the Quiron Group because they worked really, really, hard for me to try to give me everything to be here. I need to see how my leg feels and if I can do some laps. If this is possible, it’s important to do laps of quality, gather information, try different things, which is our main target for this test.”

 
WILCO ZEELENBERG – TEAM MANAGER

“After Sepang we are looking forward to this second test of the year. Raul missed a lot of track time in Malaysia, so it’s very important for him to have a good test here. Saying that, of course he has to be careful to stay on the bike and try to be as fit as possible for the race here in less than two weeks. There is a lot to try and to test with the bikes. Riding here in Qatar for the first time with the new livery makes us very proud. I think we will be shining bright under the floodlights of Lusail International Circuit.”