Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Franco Morbidelli and Álex Márquez are fully focused on delivering a strong challenge when the 2016 Moto2 World Championship campaign resumes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.

Morbidelli will arrive in Spain in a confident frame of mind after he recently completed a positive one-day test session at the 4.7km track. And the Italian is determined to get himself back in top five contention after his ride to a battling eighth place on home soil in Mugello at the previous round.

Márquez will be hoping Barcelona will bring him some home comfort after a complicated start to his second season in Moto2.

An unfortunate combination of crashes and bad luck means he has scored points in just one of the opening six rounds but he can count on the vocal support of a large home crowd at a track where he won the 2014 Moto3 race from pole position.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya features a series of high-speed corners and hard braking zones that make it a challenging proposition for Morbidelli, Márquez and their Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS technical crew.

The track is established as a firm favourite on the calendar and only Jerez, Mugello and Assen have a longer on-going sequence on the World Championship calendar.

Franco Morbidelli:
“I am really looking forward to being back on track in Barcelona this weekend because my result in Mugello was not as good as I expected. I have already tested in Barcelona just a few weeks ago and while it could have been better we gained a lot of data that will give us a good starting point for practice on Friday. I really like the layout of the track. It is a bit bumpy but I’m sure I can be fast there and be back fighting for the top five where I was before Mugello.”

Álex Márquez:
“It is always a special feeling to be heading to my home track and this year is no exception. The important thing is to keep concentrated and try to treat the weekend like any normal race. We have already completed one test there, so we can expect to start with a better understanding of what we need to be competitive. Last year I had a strong weekend throughout and hopefully I can put the difficult start to the year behind me with a top 10 result.”