Gosselies, Belgium – 10 March 2016: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders, Álex Márquez and Franco Morbidelli, head to the Middle East this week, for the second and final preseason test of 2016 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

For Morbidelli the Qatar test is an opportunity to continue the progress made in Jerez, where the 21-year-old Italian posted his fastest ever lap of the 4.4km Spanish circuit after making a significant step forward with the set up of the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex Moto2 machine he’ll campaign this season.

Márquez goes into the Qatar test after another week working to regain strength in the left wrist he injured in a testing crash back in February. The 19-year-old Spaniard is confident that his condition will be much improved compared to that at the recent Jerez test, where the injury already proved no obstacle to a fast lap time.

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS will test in Qatar for three days, starting on Friday 11th March and concluding on Sunday 13th March. On Thursday 17th March they will return to the Losail International Circuit for the opening race of the 2016 season.

Franco Morbidelli:
“For us it is important that our final preseason test is here in Qatar, the venue for the first race of the season just one week from today. Our aim is to continue the work we started in Jerez, but also to focus on refining the set up of the bike to suit the characteristics of the Losail circuit, so that we have the most competitive package possible going into the opening race of the season. While I’m satisfied with my race pace I still need to work on improving my outright pace over a single flying lap, which is so important when it comes to qualifying in Moto2. We still have some work to do, but I’m feeling confident going into this final preseason test.”

Álex Márquez:
“We head into the Qatar test after showing good pace in Jerez and with a clear understanding of how we can improve the bike further ahead of the first race. With many fast turns and very few slow corners, Losail is one of my favourite tracks. While we know from the past that the conditions we have for the test could be very different to those for the race, we need to make the most of these three days to make the final refinements to our set up. My wrist is also better than it was in Jerez. I feel less pain and I’m not anticipating any problems for the test. For the race I think I will be close to 100% recovered from the injury.”