Simón and Márquez top Moto2 and 125cc test times at Valencia
The first official Moto2/125cc test of the year finished at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia on Wednesday, with Julián Simón and Marc Márquez the fastest riders in each respective category.
The first use of the official Honda engines which will be used in the inaugural Moto2 season in 2010 allowed the first true level of comparison to be drawn amongst the riders, and 125cc World Champion Julián Simón of the Mapfre Aspar team showed he is more than ready for the step up by setting the fastest time of the test with a lap of 1’37.156, set on Tuesday.
The Spaniard was part of a group who put themselves forward as early favourites before the start of the season, amongst them former MotoGP riders Toni Elías, Yuki Takahashi and Alex de Angelis, along with a range of others.
American rider Kenny Noyes (Jack&Jones by A. Banderas) also impressed, as he completed more kilometres than anyone at the Valencia track and found times and a race pace that are already very competitive, placing second fastest overall across the whole test at just over two-tenths of a second off Simón’s time.
Elías (Gresini Racing) set the quickest time on the first day and was third overall as he stated his intentions for the season, and another rider to make an impact was Claudio Corti (Forward Racing). The Italian was consistently in and around the top times every time the riders took to the track and was fourth fastest of the test.
Tech3 Racing rider Takahashi was fifth quickest as he maintained a presence in the top times throughout, and De Angelis (Scot Racing) – who only started work on Tuesday – improved his time in the late session on Wednesday to become the sixth and final rider to make it under the 1’38” mark.
Vladimir Ivanov (Gresini Racing) was another rider to do well, despite two crashes in the first two days and he was seventh fastest overall, and did not ride on Friday. Other riders leaving the test on a positive note include Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Racing), Yonny Hérnandez (Blusens-STX) and Fonsi Nieto (G22 HolidayGym) who completed the top-ten overall times.
In the 125cc category, Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) was the fastest of the test with a lap time of 1’40.280, well over a full second quicker than Simón’s pole position time from last year’s GP. Bainet Derbi duo Efrén Vázquez and Pol Espargaró were second and third fastest respectively, with Bancaja Aspar rider Bradley Smith the fourth and final rider to come in under the 1’41” mark.
The British rider’s team-mate Nicolas Terol completed the top five times, with Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team), Sandro Cortese (Avant Intact Ajo Motorsport), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), Alberto Moncayo (Andalucia Cajasol) and Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Racing) all registering top ten times.
The riders will return to action for the second official Moto2/125cc test at Jerez, scheduled for March 6-8.
— Marc VDS Race Team Report
The Marc VDS Racing Team’s preparations for the 2010 Moto2 World Championship season continued this week, with a successful three-day test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain.
The main focus for Scott Redding and his crew was to eliminate the chatter that had materialised during the final day of testing at Catalunya two weeks ago, as well as familiarising themselves with the Honda race engines that were issued to the teams for the first time at Valencia.
Changes to suspension and chassis set-up alleviated the chatter problem, allowing the 17-year-old British rider to cut a full second from his lap time on the second day of testing. However, Redding was unable to evaluate the effectiveness of further changes due to rain interrupting the third, and final, day of testing.
Vincent Lonbois continued his familiarisation with the Suter MMX Moto2 machine and Dunlop’s slick and wet tyres during the three days at Valencia. The 19-year-old Belgian rider crashed without injury on the second day, but set his fastest lap of the test after returning to the track for the final 30 minutes of the afternoon session.
Despite losing out on track time due to a combination of the crash and changeable weather conditions, Lonbois departed Valencia happy to have made another step forward in his transition from production to Grand Prix race machinery.
Redding and Lonbois will now head straight from Valencia to Jerez for a further three days of testing from 6-8 March, before heading back to Belgium for the official launch of the Marc VDS Racing Team on 18th March.
Scott Redding / Laps 147 – Best Time 1’39.198
“The weather was pretty changeable, and we’ve had a few issues with the bike over the three days, so we didn’t get quite as much track time as we were hoping for here in Valencia. Having said that, I’m pretty happy with how far we’ve progressed. We think we’ve found the cause of the chatter that was a problem in Catalunya, but rain on the last day meant that we weren’t able to confirm this. We should be able to confirm the set-up changes at Jerez, where I’m determined to try and close further on the guys at the top of the timesheet. We need to continue with improving the set-up, sure, but I also need to start opening the throttle and pushing for a fast lap time now. We’ve still got six days of testing before the start of the season but I need to start pushing from this point onwards, to make sure we’re well and truly on the pace for the first race in Qatar.”
Vincent Lonbois / Laps 112 – Best Time 1’40.525
“It’s been another three days of learning the bike, but I’m happy that we’ve made progress, despite a pretty big crash on the second day. We lost some time due to the crash, and also to some small technical issues, but we used the track time that we did have very effectively and we head to Jerez and the next test more confident than before. At the next test I need to improve my feeling with the bike, but I also need to learn the track, as I’ve never been to Jerez before. It’s a steep learning curve at the moment, but I hope that we’ll continue to see improvements over the next three days, to the point where I’m able to start pushing for a fast lap for the first time on the bike.”
Moto2 Team Manager
“The weather and some small technical problems have conspired against us over the three days in Valencia but, despite less than ideal conditions, I’m pretty happy with what we’ve achieved. Scott is increasingly confident on the bike and, once we’ve overcome a few issues with the set-up, I know he’ll be a lot closer to the top of the timesheet in Jerez. Vincent has continued to adapt to riding a Grand Prix machine on slicks for the first time and, even taking into account the crash on day two, he’s definitely starting to get a much better feeling for both the bike and the tyres. I’m confident that both riders will be able to make another big step forward in Jerez, as long as the weather plays ball.”
