Jordi Torres & Nico Terol aiming for further progress in Motegi

Last year’s ‘flyaway’ races ended with the Grand Prix of Japan but this year the Motegi circuit plays host to the first of the three traditional intercontinental back-to-back races that bring the MotoGP World Championship towards its climax.

Australia and Malaysia are the next two destinations before the series returns to Europe for the annual curtain call at Valencia, with the title chase in the Moto2 class looking like it could well go down to the wire.

Tito Rabat will be hoping to avoid that scenario by wrapping things up during a three-week trip that starts with a visit to the mystical Motegi circuit, high in the hills of the Tochigi Prefecture.

For the MAPFRE Aspar Team the goal is to finish the season on an upward curve and the ‘flyaway’ races provide the pefect opportunity to do just that.

During the last round at Aragón Jordi Torres finally made some progress with the front-end set-up of his bike, which allowed him to take an encouraging eighth place in the race, giving the MAPFRE Aspar confidence and determination to take further steps forward at Motegi.

Nico Terol is keen to put a disappointing weekend at Motorland behind him and finish a mixed season on a high note.

Jordi Torres:
“I am really looking forward to these three back-to-back races, mainly because it’s a chance to spend quality time with the team, which only helps us at the track. We all work in the same direction and channel our energy together to find solutions. At the moment we need to solve the issues we have had all season with the front end of the bike in corner entry. We found some things at Aragón that allowed us to challenge for a good result in the race and now we need to take some more small steps to find a balance between the front end and the rest of the bike. Otherwise the bike is perfect, we just need to find that confidence in the front. We go to Motegi looking forward to working hard. It’s a great track and it’s usually good for me.”

Nico Terol:
“We go into three back-to-back races now and I think it is going to be good for me to spend some time away with my team. Last year’s race at Aragón couldn’t have been better and this year couldn’t have gone much worse so hopefully we can put that behind us in Japan. I remember I enjoyed Motegi last season and I rode well there. We had some problems in qualifying and I had to start from a long way back but I fought through to finish sixth. I like Motegi because it has some hard braking zones and I think this suits my style. It also has a nice fast section and it’s fun to ride at Motegi so I am looking forward to getting the Grand Prix started. Spending time away with the team, bonding together and going racing… I’m sure this trip can be a good way for us to finish the season in the right way.”

Source: Aspar Media