Faubel and Terol make it a perfect Aspar 1-2 on the final day of preseason testing
The preseason already over, the Jerez circuit has closed its doors today after three days of activity and the 125cc teams have packed their equipment and are ready for Qatar. Overall it was a good day’s work, marked again by the huge amount of riders eager to be out on track and by the conditions. Today they probably had the best conditions to ride, but there’s been risk of rain almost all throughout the day. The bets for the first race of the year are still open, but each time a bit clearer. In the 125cc class the main protagonists seem to be the veterans, because at the moment Faubel, Terol and Cortese have been the fastest. There are always some last-minute contenders possible, but the Bankia Aspar duo seems to have things pretty clear.
Hector and Nico are emerging as candidates for victory in the first race of the year. Yesterday Nico was the fastest, today it was Hector. Aside from the laptimes of 1.47.443 and 1.47.563, the most important was that both rode at a comfortable pace of 1.47 laptimes all day. After packing the most of their test schedule into yesterday’s session, today’s session has been just racking up laps to see if everything works correctly. Now, after maintaining a race pace throughout the day, they feel ready and eager to begin the show in Qatar in a few days.
Maybe not quite as prepared, because his preseason has been concentrated in the last three days of testing in Jerez, but is also highly motivated is Adrian Martin. The third Valencian rider of the Bankia Aspar team has picked up a good feeling with the bike, improving his laptimes each day and he expects further progress to be among the top ten in the first race of the year.
Héctor Faubel 1.47.443 (50 laps): “I leave Jerez very happy because today was a great day. Quickly after going out I started doing ’48 laptimes. And this with barely touching the bike, because I like the last setting from yesterday a lot. Step by step I’ve built up a steady rhythm in the middle 1.47s. At noon we took a break and after that I did only a few laps. We decided to stop before the end of the combined session, because the temperature had dropped and the track was cold. Going away with the best laptime gives me great motivation to start the championship on top. The result of the preseason is positive. Considering that in Portugal we could barely ride and here the weather was okay we did some acceptable laptimes. It’s a boost to see that I’ve regained the feeling with the 125cc bike quickly and surely we will be competitive in Qatar. I am satisfied and want to continue working in the same way, so the bike works as well as it does now.”
Nico Terol 1.47.563 (57 laps): “I am pleased with the outcome of this test; on the first day I had the chance to ride in the wet and in the other sessions I’ve been progressing slowly. Every day I felt very comfortable on the bike. Today’s session was very positive, especially in the end, even though temperatures have dropped I did my best laptime then. I rode all day in the middle 1.47s, I think this is a pretty good laptime, it’s about race pace. Today’s result is doubly positive, because there’s been again a lot of wind and gradually I’m getting used to it. It’s been a great test, I think that throughout the preseason we did very well and we’re ready for the first race. I have a big hunger for podiums, great feelings, and I want a good result in two weeks at Qatar.”
Adrián Martín 1.49.183 (41 laps): “Today was similar to yesterday as far as work is concerned. This morning we went out with the same configuration, which was the best for us. After doing the run in I’ve been much faster than yesterday. And not only that, but I also managed to maintain a faster rhythm. I am very happy with my performance and my feeling on the bike, although I’ve still not done enough laps. In any case, in only a short time I’ve been faster than last year. The mechanics are helping me to make everything much easier. We are very motivated and I don’t think it is unreasonable to believe that we can be regularly among the top ten.”
Source: Bankia Aspar Team
