Alex Márquez finishes with good feeling and the 5th best time on the first day of testing in Jerez
Set-up adjustments and work with tyres and geometry were the focus of a testing session from which both Team Estrella Galicia 0, 0 Marc VDS riders were left feeling satisfied. Xavi Vierge finished thirteenth and Márquez was constantly among the riders with the best pace.
The good weather allowed Márquez and Vierge the chance to exploit to the maximum the first day of the official tests staged at the Circuit of Jerez-Ángel Nieto. The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders have been able to fulfil their respective work plans in a testing session in which is the first that the entire Moto2 grid has been assembled together to be measured against each other.
Working on his position on the bike and adjusting geometry settings have been top of the agenda for Alex Márquez, who closed the day with 54 laps completed. With a preferred set-up fixed in the last private tests, the number 73 began the day checking the state of the track and working on his position on the bike. That allowed him to focus on working on new front and rear tyres that Dunlop has brought for this test in the second and third sessions. Alex finished the first day with a good feeling and impressively he was among the riders with the best pace.
Xavi Vierge opted to start the day working with used rubber, with the clear objective to fine-tune the set-up of his Kalex chassis that included modifications to what he tested last week in Jerez. This enabled him to confirm the changes with new tyres in the later sessions. Suspension modifications and his position on the bike were other aspects on which the number 97 and his team focused on during a productive first day. The Spaniard completed 53 laps and set the thirteenth best time on the combined standings, which didn’t reflect the good sensations with which the Catalan rider finished the day with.
Alex Marquez: 5th, 1'41.370, 54 laps, 239 km.
“We made steps this afternoon and my rhythm is so good”
“The first day has been really, really positive and very good. We came here with some information from the last test and already in the first laps I felt very good with the bike and we made some steps with the set-up. We’ve tried some new things to help me adapt better to the bike and to understand how things are going. We made steps this afternoon and my rhythm is so good and we need to keep working in this way. For one fast lap, I need to attack a little bit more, but for sure tomorrow everybody will improve the lap time and I’m sure I can do the same. The track condition is really good and tomorrow I will try and improve my lines in some corners where I can still adapt a little bit better. We can also work on some small things to improve the set-up but we are working in a correct and good way and I want to thank my team for that.”
Xavi Vierge: 13th, 1'41.925, 53 laps, 234 km.
“I finish the day very happy about the work we completed”
“I’m very happy with today because I started with a good feeling after the last here. We started to make some changes to the set-up of the bike which didn’t seem to suit me and that made the day a little bit more difficult. But on the final exit we found again a good setting on the bike and I could recover my positive feeling again and finish the day very happy about the work we completed. Now I’m looking forward to analysing the data from today to try and improve a little bit more again tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow is to improve my race pace and if we can do that I’ll be happy. I can also improve my one lap pace also but the most important thing is to find two or three tenths more on the consistency for the race pace.”