Productive testing at Jerez for Alex Marquez

The first official Moto2 test of 2016 proved a productive one for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Álex Márquez and teammate Franco Morbidelli, both of whom completed an extensive test program over the course of three days at Jerez.

Márquez declared himself satisfied with the test, despite being hampered on the bike by the left wrist he fractured less than two weeks ago. The 19-year-old was forced to limit the number of laps each day, but still managed to exceed his target lap time and complete the full test program.

The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider focussed mainly on refining the suspension set up in Jerez, running back to back comparisons of various front fork and rear shock settings, with positive results. Márquez now heads to the second and final official test in Qatar with a better understanding of the 2016 Kalex and confident the wrist injury will be much improved with the additional recovery time.

Márquez will now head from Jerez to Madrid for the official launch of the Estrella Galicia 0,0 racing program, which takes place on Monday 7th March at the Casa Del Lector in Madrid’s Matadero complex, before heading back to Qatar for the final preseason test of 2016.

Álex Márquez: 15th – 1’42.953
“To be able to ride here at Jerez with a reasonable pace just one week after the surgery on my wrist is like a win for us. In some areas the wrist was definitely an issue, but over the three days we’ve tried out many things that are so important before we head to Qatar. Now we have a clear idea of the direction we need to take with the bike. At the Qatar test I expect the wrist to be better; maybe still not 100% but at least good enough to allow me to push harder for a lap time. I’m not happy, because I wanted to go faster and be closer to the top of the timesheet, but given the injury I think we’ve done a really good job here and now I’m even more motivated for Qatar.”

Source: Marc VDS Racing