The Elf Marc VDS Racing Team travelled from Jerez to Motorland Aragon this week for a private two-day test session at the 5.078km venue near Alcañiz. 

• Without the time constraints of a race weekend, Lowes and Fernandez completed important laps to collect data on new components, while also working on a range of different set-up options to help their competitiveness in forthcoming races.
• Next up for Lowes and Fernandez is round five of the 2021 Moto2 World Championship, which takes place at the historic Le Mans track in France on May 14-16.

/// AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ:

• A new Kalex chassis with revised rigidity was a key item for Fernandez to test and the 23-year-old also worked hard on his race speed with Dunlop’s soft and hard compound tyres.
• Fernandez completed 84 laps on the opening day and a further 68 laps on a second day in which he concentrated on fine-tuning a new base set-up.

“We found a good base moving forward”

“I’m very happy with this test. It has been really positive. We got through a lot of work with a lot of things to try and we made very good progress. We have been close to the front in the last races but still missing that last step and this test was really important to help me try and find it. I’m very happy because at the end of the first day we found a good base to work with moving forward. We tried that direction for the whole of the second day and I’m pleased with my lap times and in particular my pace. Even when we were trying different things on the bike, I could maintain a strong pace. And when the temperatures were very hot in the afternoon my pace was also very good. Now I can’t wait to get to Le Mans and show the benefit of this test.”

/// SAM LOWES:

• Triple Motorland Aragon race winner Lowes focused primarily on set-up work during the test and the 30-year-old was able to draw positive conclusions from a range of experiments with different rear suspension and swingarm settings.
• Lowes completed 79 laps on day one and another 28 on the second day before he decided to end his time on track early with his testing schedule successfully completed.

“From the first exit I was very fast”

“The test was good and I was immediately able to ride with some very fast lap times. From the very first exit I was fast and in a good rhythm, which was surprising and gave me a very good feeling. It was good to ride this track in hot conditions and we found some interesting things with new parts. I didn’t spend too much time on track on the second day because we were happy with everything we had tested and feel like we have a good base when we return here later in the season. We also got a lot of good information in extremely hot conditions that will help us in the summer races when the conditions can be very hot in Europe. I’m looking forward to Le Mans now off the back of the podium in Jerez.”