Comprehensive Moto2 Moto3 Test Wrap

Lowes leaves rain-affected Jerez Moto2 test on top but Schrotter fastest in the rain on final day of Moto2 test

Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes finished the rain-affected final preseason test in Jerez on top of the overall timesheets.

Wind and rain affected all three days of the test at the Circuito de Jerez, with the fastest times being set during a ten minute period during the first session on day two. That session had started with a damp circuit, but as the on-track action created a dry line, teams frantically sent their riders out on slicks to post a flying lap.

With the weather creating hazardous conditions through the test, some riders took advantage of the situation to try out their wet set-ups, and carried on working despite the risks, although Tito Rabat was lucky to escape unhurt after a high-side at turn 4 on the final morning. The reigning Moto2 World Champion was taken to the Medical Centre, but escaped without injury.

Tito Rabat – 7th – 1’45.868 – “I know many riders were not so happy with three days of rain here in Jerez, but for me the conditions were perfect. To race in the rain you need to test in the rain, and we certainly got plenty of chances to do that this week! On the first day the feeling wasn’t so good, but the second day was a little bit better and today we made a big step forward in what were definitely the wettest conditions of the three days. Instead of being two or three seconds behind the riders who are always fast in the wet, now I’m much closer and, in many cases, faster. So, overall, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved during this test, despite the crash today. I’ve turned what was a weakness in my armoury into a strength. Now I know I am fast in the dry and the wet.”

Rain prevented any faster times on the final day, with many teams deciding not to risk their bikes and riders ahead of the season opening race in Qatar on the 29 March.

Lowes led the way with a 1’44.129, over a second quicker than the rest of the field, although his lap was 2 seconds slower than the fastest time set by Johann Zarco at the previous test in Jerez, during February.

German rider Jonas Folger, on the AGR Team Kalex, finished 2nd fastest overall, ahead of the Derendinger Racing Interwetten machine of Thomas Luthi (+1.115s). Takaaki Nakagami, who was one of the only riders to go out during the last session on the final day, ended up in 4th on the timesheets, just five-hundredths ahead of JIR Racing’s Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher.

Randy Krummenacher, #4, 2015 Team JiR rider: “It has been a busy week for us because in Jerez the various weather conditions confirmed a positive sensation in all conditions. The Almeria test was important for me to understand better the feeling with my bike and since we have tested a different set-up I’m now able to adjust my riding style’s base on the feedback. I worked hard during this winter changing many aspects in my preparation and now I’d like to transform my confidence into good lap times as I have done during the Jerez test. Even with very worn tyres I had good rhythm and I hope this will permit me to be optimistic for a season that will be important and make me step further forward.”

Nakagami’s teammate, Azlan Shah, was 1.6s off the pace of Lowes in 6th, while Rabat, who put in exactly 53 laps on both of the first two days ended up in 7th overall.

Technomag Racing’s Dominique Aegerter posted a 1’45.977 (+1.848s), which was good enough for 8th place on the combined timesheets, with QMMF Racing’s Julian Simon, the fastest rider after the first day, in 9th.

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Finnish rider Mika Kallio, who will ride for the Italtrans Racing Team in 2015, completed the top ten but was over 2 seconds slower than Lowes.

Anthony West was 14th quickest and we spoke to the Australian overnight about his progress at the test and what lies ahead. (Click the link to open Anthony West story in new window)

Xavier Simeon was 15th overall – “This final test was not significant and it’s a shame because it would have been useful to test on the dry before heading to Qatar for the first Grand Prix; anyway, the situation is the same for everyone… However, today we took to the track under the rain and we had the confirmation that also in these conditions my feeling with the bike is good and this is undoubtedly positive.”

Moto3 World Champion Alex Marquez finished the test 19th overall – 1m47.805 – “The weather here in Jerez couldn’t have been worse for us. For the first two days the track was neither wet nor dry and the only time it was even close to fully dry the session was red flagged. In those conditions you learn little, but you risk a lot, so it just wasn’t worth taking the chance with us being so close to the first race in Qatar. Today was completely wet, but it’s not wet track time I need. I need track time in the dry as I adapt to the Moto2 bike and this has been in short supply during all three preseason tests. It’s not the ideal preparation for my Moto2 debut, but it’s been the same for everyone, so we’ll all be in the same situation when we get to Qatar next week.”

Having completed the final preseason test, the teams and riders now head off to Qatar for the opening round of the 2015 Moto2 season on 29 March. The lack of dry testing time has only added to the excitement ahead of the first round, due to the fact no one is quite sure who will have the best race pace when the lights go out at the Losail International Circuit in just over a week.

Moto2 Jerez Test Combined Times All Three Days

Sam Lowes 1m44.129
Jonas Folger 1m45.207
Thomas Luthi 1m45.244
Takaaki Nakagami 1m45.651
Randy Krummenacher 1m45.709
Azlan Shah 1m45.729
Tito Rabat 1m45.868
Dominique Aegerter 1m45.977
Julian Simon 1m46.020
Mika Kallio 1m46.188
Franco Morbidelli 1m46.384
Axel Pons 1m46.454
Hafizh Syahrin 1m46.523
Anthony West 1m46.573
Xavier Simeon 1m46.790
Johann Zarco 1m47.061
Florian Alt 1m47.451
Lorenzo Baldassarri 1m47.552
Alex Marquez 1m47.805
Jesko Raffin 1m48.107
Louis Rossi 1m49.010
Zaqhwan Zaidi 1m49.255
Robin Mulhauser 1m49.404
Marcel Schrotter 1m55.243
Ricky Cardus 1m55.721
Simone Corsi 2m00.822
Sandro Cortese 2m02.511

Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes finished the rain-affected final preseason test in Jerez on top of the overall timesheets.

Moto3 rookie Navarro fastest overall in Jerez but Kornfeil rules in the wet on final day of Moto3 test

Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Jorge Navarro, in his debut season in Moto3, ended the final preseason test in Jerez fastest overall.

Wind and rain affected all three days at the Circuito de Jerez, with most of the fastest times being set during the second session on day two. Despite the harsh weather, the test saw riders out on track in every single session, as teams took advantage of the time to collect valuable data during wet conditions.

Navarro, who was runner up in the FIM Repsol CEV Moto3 Championship last year, set a 1’48.189, which was over two and a half seconds slower than the best time recorded by his teammate Fabio Quartararo at the previous test at the circuit in February. Despite this, the young Spaniard was still over 7 tenths quicker than the rest of the field, with British rider Danny Kent finishing second on the Leopard Racing Honda.

Quartararo (+0.844s), who had dominated the two previous preseason tests, had to settle for third on the combined timesheets, with Niccolo Antonelli making it an all-Honda top four on the Ongetta-Rivacold machine.

Another class rookie, the Red Bull Rookies Cup winner from 2014 Jorge Martin, finished the test in 5th on the leading Mahindra bike, 1.076s slower than his compatriot Navarro.

Jorge Martín: “We have had wet conditions for the third straight day here at Jerez. We only managed a few laps in the first session to get a feeling and run in the new engine. We didn’t want to take risks with the start of the new season just around the corner but we got some work done on the gearbox and now we are ready to go racing.”

Gresini Racing Team Moto3 rider Enea Bastianini was in 6th place, 0.12s behind Martin, with Isaac Viñales just one-hundredth of a second further back on the leading Husqvarna in 7th.

Enea Bastianini (6th – 1’49″277) – “We’ve been really unlucky! In this final test we wanted to keep trying different things on the bike, but the weather was not of the same idea… I could only complete a few laps, some on the dry and some on a damp track. Basically, I still need to get acquainted with the bike, because during the winter we didn’t ride a lot. This means that we will be forced to carry out our tests in Qatar during the Grand Prix weekend, but this won’t stop our enthusiasm!”.

Belgian Livio Loi ended the test in 8th on his RW Racing GP Honda, ahead of the Sky Racing VR46 KTM of Romano Fenati. Next up were the factory Red Bull KTM Ajo bikes of Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira, separated by just 0.047s, in 10th and 11th overall respectively.

Binder said the final day had been positive despite the weather. “Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great, but the truth is I’d rather be out there riding than sitting in the garage. I had a small problem with the bike when I opened the throttle fully. We have changed almost everything and we have solved the issue. Now I feel more confident for the first race in Qatar and I’m ready to have a good race. I’m looking forward to returning to ‘normal’ weekends, because I’m a raced ay rider.”

Oliveira said he felt confident on the wet track conditions, saying: “Today has helped us to find a better feeling in the wet. In the end it has been very positive, because I was fast and consistent. I was riding better every lap and also feeling more at ease on the bike.” Looking ahead to the first GP he said: We are ready for battle. We have a great team that has done a good job. I have great confidence in them and I know that when a problem occurs, they will be there to help. I have to concentrate on myself, have a good race and try to score points.”

Unfortunately for RBA Racing Team’s Ana Carrasco the test ended on a sour note, as a crash on the morning of the final day ended with her breaking her collarbone, although the medics at the track have ruled out the need for surgery, and the team is positive about her recovery schedule.

Andrea Locatelli was 15th quickest overall – “Unfortunately in these last three days of testing we met very strange conditions: it rained almost always and also the short time spent on a dry track was not very significant. This trip to Spain turned out to be pretty useless: it’s a shame because we couldn’t work on the bike and basically the situation is the same of one month ago, after Jerez Test 1. Now we wait to hit the track in Qatar, but we already know that there is still a lot of work to do to better understand the bike”.

Karel Hanika was 16th quickest – “The first session went well, as the track was wet but it was not raining hard, so we worked on improving the setup we had found yesterday. Overall I am happy with how these tests have gone. I think both the team and I are ready for Qatar, because although we have not had too many days to test, we have done enough laps to get used to the new bike and it has been very positive. If we continue to work like this, we will have a good first race.”

Remy Gardner – “Things have gone much better today because we fixed the engine problem and I’ve been very competitive especially at the last session. Riding alongside a very experienced rider like Brad Binder and do it in the same lap times is the best possible news before starting the Championship next week at Qatar. For sure I need to learn and grow a lot but I’m confident for the first GP of the season”.

Alain Bronec (Team Owner for the CIP Team Remy is riding for): “Conditions today has been more or less the same than the other days but we’ve done a good jobs in terms of setting the bikes, fixing the problem of Remy’s one and giving to out riders the best possible conditions to end this test in the best possible way. This has been our last preseason test and I can say that we’ve done a very good job during winter time. For sure our young riders need to increase their experience and they will do it during the season, but Remy and Tatsuki are ready to start the Moto3 World Championship next week in Qatar and the whole team too”.

The weather conditions during the final preseason test may have it made it more difficult to predict who will be pushing at the front come the first round in Qatar on 29 March, but if anything this just adds even more excitement to the already unpredictable Moto3 World Championship.