Nico Terol breaks Alcarrás lap record in second day of test

Perfect conditions once again at Alcarrás allowed for a full second day of testing for the Mapfre Aspar Team ahead of the Grand Prix of Aragon. Alongside the riders from the previous day Thomas Lüthi and some other test riders also took to the track yesterday, which was open from 10 AM to 6 PM with an hour for lunch.

MAPFRE Aspar pair Nico Terol and Jordi Torres made the most of the available track time with Nico this morning testing the 2014 chassis before returning in the afternoon to his current frame to continue working on set up ahead of this weekend’s race. With a best lap of 1’34.511 the Spaniard set a new unofficial record around the circuit, which was previously held by Dominique Aegerter (1’34.632).

His teammate Jordi Torres also did back-to-back chassis comparisons and is now looking forward to the next challenge this weekend at Motorland.

Nico Terol 1.34.511 (54 laps):
“I am very happy with the conclusions that we have taken on the second day of testing. This morning I went out onto the track with the new chassis and the feeling that it gives me is that it is much easier to turn with the throttle open. It also gives a lot of grip, which allows you to get out of the corners quickly. That is the area where we have improved the most although in the fast sections and in the direction changes the bike doesn’t move as much as with the previous chassis and it absorbs the bumps better. After lots of tests with the new chassis in the afternoon we went back to our standard frame and the feeling of grip was different but at the end of the day we managed to find a very positive set-up which allowed me to set the circuit record here at Alcarrás. We also set a consistently fast pace so I am really happy.”

Jordi Torres 1.34.70 (76 laps):
“Today has been a productive day and we have been able to draw many conclusions. This morning we tried an evolution of the current chassis and at lunchtime my mechanics fitted the 2014 frame. The two chassis’s have notably different properties – the new one is quite a bit more stiff than the evolution version that we already have. I agree with Nico that next year’s chassis turns very well and that the grip on the rear is incredible. We still need to find more feeling with the front but that is what the test was about, to work on these things. The good thing is that we have gathered a lot of information from all the material that Suter has brought to Alcarrás and now we go to Motorland with some ideas in our head and I’m sure they will be very useful.”

Source: Aspar Media