Less than 48 hours after the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team duo fought for the top 10 in last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac returned to the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto for an important one day test session.

• Arbolino and Salac took full advantage of favourable weather conditions to carry out an intense day assessing a range of set-up options to improve their feeling and pace on new Pirelli tyres introduced for the 2024 Moto2 campaign.
• With 144 productive laps completed in Jerez, the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team is back in race action at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on May 12.

/// TONY ARBOLINO:  3^rd, 1:40.605, 76 laps

• With 23 riders staying in Jerez for the official test, Arbolino was immediately able to post competitive times in the opening session with a best of 1:41.016 in a 25-lap stint this morning placing him fourth fastest.
• The Italian completed an additional 26 laps in session two and a best time of 1:41.007 placed him fourth once again in the standings.
• With high grip levels and a confident feeling on his Kalex machine, Arbolino fired in an impressive lap of 1:40.605 in the final session to end third fastest on the combined leaderboard behind Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra.

“My feeling on the bike gives me a lot of confidence”

“The test was really good for me and I felt incredible on the bike and the team have done an amazing job. We had a busy schedule and my crew made a lot of changes very quickly so we could maximise the time on track. My feeling on the bike gave me a lot of confidence and we tried some new settings that I think has a lot of potential to help us moving forward. I am sure now we have a great base to work with in Le Mans and we are ready to do a great job in France.”

/// FILIP SALAC: 9^th, 1:41.015, 68 laps 

• Focusing on geometry modifications with his Kalex chassis, Salac was instantly able to lap in the low 1:41 bracket in the opening session and he ended in a strong seventh position to finish just over 0.2s outside of the top three.
• The Czech rider reeled off a series of fast and consistent laps in the second session as well and an improved time of 1:41.197 eased him into the top 10 and close once again to the quickest pace.
• Salac was able to lap comfortably more than half-a-second quicker than his best pace in Sunday’s 21-lap race and he ended the day with a 26 lap stint in the final afternoon session with a best time of a 1:41.015 placing him ninth overall.

“We leave Jerez with positive feelings”

“This was a very important test for us today and we leave with positive feelings. My pace was a lot faster than in the race last Sunday and I felt very good on the bike. Now I can’t wait to get to Le Mans because the team did a fantastic job. I feel very motivated for the next race and go to France with a lot of confidence knowing after today the bike works much better.”