Rain dampens Moto2 Moto3 Test Day Two
Moto2
Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin was the fastest rider on a quiet second day of testing for the Moto2 riders at Valencia.
The intermediate class riders remained in their boxes in the morning, playing it safe during their first scheduled outing rather than risk crashing on a damp track.
A second session in the middle of the day saw only four riders head out for a few laps before eight riders went out in the afternoon.
Of those eight riders Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) lapped quickest with a 1’47.666 time, approximately 13 seconds down on Tuesday’s dry pace.
Italian Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team) was 1.217s behind Syahrin in second place on the timesheet with Spaniard Julian Simon (QMMF Racing Team) in third (+1.749s) on the Speed Up bike.
Belgian rider Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) was fourth fastest as he went round +2.271s behind Syahrin, with Italtrans Racing Team’s Mika Kallio in fifth (+2.949s) to make it four Kalex riders in the top five.
Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) registered a 1’50.686s lap in the session held in the middle of the day but he did not venture out in the afternoon. The Frenchman’s superb 1’34.754 lap on Tuesday was in no danger of being challenged as the top time of the week on Wednesday.
Octo Ioda Racing Team’s German rider Florian Alt (+3.343s), QMMF Racing Team’s Australian stalwart Anthony West (+4.801s) and Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2’s Frenchman Louis Rossi (+11.150s) completed Wednesday’s timesheet.
Tommaso Raponi (Xavier Siméon Crew Chief) – “Yesterday we simply refined the set-up we have used in the test already carried out at Valencia last November: we calibrated the rear shock and mounted a new front fork, and the results were immediately very positive, with Xavier who marked good lap times. Currently we have no major problems, we only need to continue a refinement work: in Moto2 now to make a difference you need to take care of every detail, and of course is also important the customization of the set-up to meet the needs of the rider, but the competition is very tight, and the differences are minimal. Tomorrow, in the last day of testing here, we will continue to run even if it rains; it would be a good opportunity to learn more about the Kalex, for which we have not yet references in wet conditions”.
Moto3
German rider Philipp Oettl was the quickest of a small group of Moto3 riders who tested at Valencia on Wednesday.
The second day of the three day test for the smaller classes at the Spanish venue saw the riders struggling for pace on a damp track, with Oettl just one of three riders to go out in the morning.
Indeed the Schedl GP Racing rider’s fastest time of that morning session (1’52.107) made him the fastest of the day, well over 12 seconds down on Fabio Quartararo’s sharp lap in the dry on Tuesday (1’39.392).
Oettl was also fastest in a slightly busier second session, followed closely by Alessandro Tonucci (Outox Reset Drink Team) and Jorge Martin (Mapfre Mahindra Team).
Tatsuki Suzuki (CIP), Francesco Bagnaia (Mapfre Mahindra Team), Ana Carrasco (RBA Racing Team), Remy Gardner (CIP) and Daryn Binder (Outox Reset Drink Team) also ventured out in that session.
The third and final session of the day was an all-Mapfre Mahindra Team affair with Juanfran Guevara joining his colleagues Martin and Bagnaia on track.
Oettl and Guevara both suffered light crashes during the day but were not seriously affected.
3º Jorge Martín 1.52.999 (27 laps): “The second day has gone very well. The objective was to get some track time in the wet and get a feeling for the conditions, and the results were very positive. I am happy because just like at Jerez we got on the pace quickly, and at the end all three MAPFRE Aspar riders went out together, which was helpful and good fun. We tried some different suspension settings and the results were satisfying. We found a set-up between wet and dry and I felt comfortable.”
5º Pecco Bagnaia 1.55.633 (28 laps): “Today was a pretty positive day because we were able to do quite a lot of laps in the wet. The Mahindra is a very competitive bike in the wet and that allowed me to get a good feeling straight away. We worked on the set-up, especially on the front suspension, but I already felt comfortable from the start. I am happy because even though we didn’t have good weather we still took some positives from the day. On the last run I went out with Juanfran and Jorge. With Jorge being so quick in the wet it was good to get some references.”
9º Juanfran Guevara 1.58.471 (28 laps): “The track conditions weren’t good this morning so waited to see if it rained a bit more before we went out. I tried to get as many laps in the wet as possible because I don’t like the conditions and it’s an aspect of my riding that I need to improve. So today was a good chance to get some experience in strange conditions. At the end of the day we took the chance to go out on track all three riders together and it was useful for me to build my pace and confidence. I am happy with the result today, we continued learning and that is important.”
Fabrizio Cecchini (Enea Bastianini Crew Chief) – “Here in Valencia, before starting to test, we assembled the new bike that we will use during the 2015 season: therefore, yesterday we took to the track for the first time with a completely new bike, starting to discover it and to know better its characteristics. The Honda NSF250RW machine can be considered a small MotoGP as it’s designed; it’s a motorcycle that allows to obtain a higher cornering speed compared to the bike Bastianini was used to ride in 2014, so Enea is adapting his riding style accordingly. Obviously, there is still a lot of work in order to suit the bike to the needs of our riders, and we hope that in the forthcoming tests the good weather can give us a hand. So far we spent only one day on the track, but we can be satisfied; in addition, the relationship with HRC engineers, many of whom I already knew from my previous experiences with Honda, is very good. Enea has grown a lot from a year now: a year ago, after all, he was a rookie and he needed time to be fast. Yesterday, at the contrary, he was able to set good lap times after only a few laps. This means that he is really determined and in a good shape. With regard to Andrea Locatelli, it was his first time with the team and with Honda, but nevertheless he has proven to be immediately fast: just think that after a few laps he immediately lowered by almost a second the lap time he got last November during the Grand Prix qualifying session, proving that he immediately felt comfortable. Of course we are only at the beginning, we still have to better understand his riding style, but I am convinced that we can do a great job with hi
Day One Dry Times
