Ricky Cardus completes final pre-season test at Jerez as Qatar nears

Tech3 Racing Team’s stand-in rider Ricky Cardus today concluded the final pre-season test at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain, with just over a week until the start of the Moto2 World Championship.

After various developments and improvements were made during the winter by the Tech3 Racing Team to enhance the Mistral 610, the team took advantage of three days of near perfect weather conditions to make the final preparations before the beginning of the season.

Young Spanish rider Ricky Cardus began his adaptation to the Mistral 610 at Jerez this week, in preparation for the opening Moto2 race at Qatar. Cardus is temporarily replacing the injured Alex Mariñelarena who is recovering from an injury sustained at a private test at the end of February.

Having never ridden the Tech 3 Racing Team bike before, the Spaniard proceeded to undertake a shake-down initially, having not raced a Moto2 motorcycle since the last season’s final round at Valencia. On the following days, his knowledge of the Mistral 610 grew, as his confidence did.

At the close of the test, Cardus finished the session in 26th place with a best time of 1:44.029.

Ricky Cardus – 1:44.029 – 26th:
“First of all, I want to say thank you to the team for the opportunity and the faith they placed in me to test their bike. Of course, it’s not the way I’d like to get on the bike, and I really hope Alex recovers quickly. In all honesty, the test went well and was a really good experience. At first, after 3 months of not riding, I struggled to adapt straight away. I saw how far back I was and became slightly nervous. However, with more time on the bike I improved and felt better every day. My fastest lap could have been quicker but unfortunately I made a mistake in it. The lap time was not the most important part of this test for me, as I needed to prepare myself as much as possible for the first race, which I am really looking forward to”.

Herve Poncharal – Tech3 Manager :
“Overall, it was a good test. We have been lucky with the weather and had three days of great track action which helped us to prepare for the first race. We cannot say anything about the Moto2 test without mentioning Alex. We miss him a lot. Last time here he was very fast and very confident of improving. His condition is getting better every day and we all hope to have him back with us very soon. I want to thank Ricky Cardus… He jumped on the bike having not ridden all winter. His final time was the quickest lap time he has ever completed around Jerez. Ricky has ridden many other brands so it was interesting to hear his comments which will help us to improve. Finally, the long testing period is over, and just like everyone else we are very excited to go to Qatar. Now, let the show begin and get the championship underway”.

Source: Tech3 Communications