Team SUZUKI ECSTAR is ready for the final pre-season test at Losail in Qatar that begins this weekend as the team prepares for the opening round of the 2015 MotoGP™ Championship at the end of the month.
Team riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales are both eager to test the GSX-RR at Losail in order to evaluate their machines under new and different track conditions. The recent test at Sepang in Malaysia provided encouraging results, due to the effective set-ups tested and also the improved electronics.
The Qatar test will be an important appointment because it will be the first appearance of the new GSX-RR livery in a MotoGP™ official event, with the ECSTAR logo prominently displayed on the bike fairings and rider leathers.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“We were all looking forward for this final test in Qatar. It will be very close to the race therefore we will face real race conditions and see how our bikes and riders can improve further. In Malaysia we had pretty encouraging results: both riders are happy with the bikes and we had positive improvements in set-ups and electronics. In Losail we will test the final version of the software, which will be used in early races, and we will work mainly to get ready for opening GP of Qatar. Since we are a young team we don’t have many previous data to rely on, so this is the chance for us to gather information that we will use in the race at the end of the month.”
Aleix Espargaro:
“I can’t wait to get rolling in Qatar. We have been testing the GSX-RR only in Malaysia and I’m very curious to see how it behaves on other circuits. We will work hard to get ready for the race, we will probably test some long runs with the main objective of finding the best set-up and as much data as we can. In Sepang I tried some new fairings and we will probably get some more evolutions on this, as well as consolidating the huge job we made on the traction control, which has already given good results. I’ve trained a lot during last past few days, my knee is not 100% fit yet, but I’m very eager to test my bike on this track because I like it very much.”
Maverick Viñales:
“I like the Losail circuit, I have won and got some podiums so I’m curious to test my MotoGP machine and compare it to my previous experiences. I’m still learning how to manage the GSX-RR and how to help my engineers to tailor it to my needs, but I feel that both the bike and I are improving very quickly. In Qatar we will work to find a good set-up for the race, which is the most important thing since we don’t have any reference. The electronics have been greatly improved at Sepang and we can rely on this, moving forward to find a good set-up and be competitive on a single lap as well as the overall pace.”