Salom working hard at Jerez whilst recovering from illness

Luis Salom and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s other two riders were on track this Monday in the first of four days of testing at the Circuito de Jerez. The Moto3 and Moto2 field were riding at the Spanish track for the second time this year, in what is the final test of the preseason. This opening day also saw the team debuting their colour scheme for 2013.

One month on from their last visit to Jerez, the Moto3 riders began to put the finishing touches to their preparations today. The action began at midday in a session exclusive to Moto3.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders made the most of the pleasant weather, right from the first stint on track. Luis Salom clocked a 1’49.169 lap time in the opening session, putting him fourth on the timesheet despite his suffering from fever. Teammates Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin used the first run to recover their feeling for their bikes and prepare the machines for the second session.

In the combined Moto3 and Moto2 afternoon outing, Salom continued to dice amongst the top five. He eventually placed fourth with a best lap of 1’47.457. Sissis and Khairuddin put in 50 and 47 laps, respectively, as the riders with the most kilometres on the clock on Monday. Both stopped the clock with 1’48.5 lap times.

Testing continues tomorrow at the Circuito de Jerez, and will go on through Thursday.

Luis Salom
“Despite having fever and feeling ill for the past two days, that didn’t go too badly. I got a good time on the final lap, which put the three KTM riders in the 1’47.4s. I am happy with our work today. We tried out some different things and made some changes. We hope that tomorrow we can improve our times and also if I can get better. I’ve been feeling rough, with my whole body aching, so it was a hard time out there.”

Source: Red Bull KTM Ajo