Terol and Elias satisfied with progress during Valencia test
The cold has made way for some warmth at Valencia, so after two days the Moto2 riders were finally able to ride in less harsh temperatures. Together with a lack of wind this made for favourable testing conditions. Despite the better conditions however, there’s been again a number of crashes on the final day of testing, but fortunately none of the riders was seriously injured.
Most riders continued to improve their laptimes, showing once again that even though the season has only just begun, the young Moto2 class remains very tough after its first two seasons. It’s been the final day for the Moto2 riders and some already decided to close their garages at the end of the combined session and think about the next three days of work awaiting them next week in Jerez.
The Mapfre Aspar riders used their test days for improvement. Nico Terol and Toni Elias have not worried at all about trying to post fast laptimes, but rather concentrated on getting used to as many changes as necessary. And finally they improved by about half to over a second per day. Nico continued to work on the right setup for his new frame to find a good feeling for the opening the throttle and on the final day he lapped a consistent pace of low 1.37s. He eventually posted a fastest laptime of 1.36.80 and was pleased with the developments in these three days. Toni has also set his best time at 1.36.80 and found a solid rhythm of 1.37. The Spaniard has extensively tested solutions for the rear suspension to help im with more progressive and consistent cornering.
Nico Terol 1.36.80 (34 laps): “I am very pleased with the progression of these three days. We regularly improved the laptime and the pace is not bad for a first test of the year. I’ve done quite a few laps in the low 1.37s and the feeling was great. At noon we did some modification to see if we could find a bit more grip and we were successful. The first day was for adaptation and yesterday I tried again to find a good position on the bike while today we tried to find a good rhythm. Every time we get closer to the front guys, but I insist that my goal is not to ride too fast now, but to keep working and find the improvements. We have evolved the suspension settings, which gives me much more confidence when opening the gas, this is a key point in our progress. I finish this test very happy and I can’t wait to ride at Jerez.”
Toni Elias 1.36.80 (48 laps): “We are making progress, every time we go faster and little by little we’re getting to the best laptimes. Most importantly, we have worked very hard in these three days and each day the improvements have been remarkable. The work of this test has also helped us to screen and discard things we know are not going well, but we should not stop testing now that we have time. Next week we go to Jerez also eager to continue testing many things, I hope the weather will be okay. I am not in a hurry, I work diligently to reach the first race fully prepared. Yesterday we started working with the chassis and it has improved somewhat, we now understand how the new 2012 chassis does.”
Source: Mapfre Aspar Team
