A very positive attitude is the result of the third practice session for the Repsol KTM Team riders at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo de Cheste. Both Julián Simón and Marc Márquez – Esteve Rabat is in Barcelona recovering from his fractured collar-bone after practice in Jerez last week – have taken great advantage of the tests that bit by bit have got a good set up on the motorbikes they will race on in 2008.
The 250cc rider Julián Simón, was at the same level as the last couple of days, gradually improving his pace and setting the third best time of the day, in spite of the weather which was not really suitable for testing since there was not much sun, the Repsol rider set a best time of 1’35.8 secs. And what is more important managed to ride faster thanks to the improvements made to his bike by the team.Marc Márquez also improved quite a bit, setting a best time of 1’40.6 secs, and easily riding in the low 40s. He concentrated on the problems he had with the suspension, which from the first day had been his biggest headache. That is why he ruled out a race simulation since it was not going to provide him with any useful information taking into account the fact that the bike has room for improvement. Another aspect the Repsol rider is working on is the best solution concerning the ballast that his bike has to use so that it reaches the minimum weight according to the rules, as he does not know the best way to distribute it. In spite of the fatigue accumulated after so many laps, especially yesterday, Márquez`s debut on the KTM 2008 has been more than encouraging.The next date for the Repsol KTM riders is the MotoGP Test that will be held on 19th February at the circuit ofe Jerez, a day when Esteve Rabat may possibly return to work after the operation on his collar-bone last Sunday.Julián Simón, 1’35.861 secs. 48 laps, 192 Km. This was a positive day. Today there was bit more wind and so we could not do as many laps as yesterday. In fact we did not go out for the last set of laps because the tyre conditions were a bit bad. And we were not allowed to have as many tyres as in the previous sessions because as it was the third day there were no more. Nevertheless we equalled yesterday`s time. In fact I am pleased because we made more progress. We tried different set ups so as to improve the bike when entering some curves, and I really found a more comfortable set up. I repeat that if the weather had been better we would have been faster today. I am also very satisfied with the bike and with the work done by the mechanics.Marc Márquez, 1’40.6 secs, 60 laps, 240 Km.Today was more or less the same as yesterday. We started with the bike as we had left it yesterday, that is to say with the back end higher and I rode with that set up today. In the end we tried some different set ups, but it got worse. I still had problems with the suspension, as we still had not solved the problem of the bouncing, but in spite of that we managed to go a couple of tenths faster. As for the engine, the bike is working perfectly and the chassis too, but we will have to work on the suspension. In general I am happy with the way things have gone the last few days. I think that I have quite a good pace and I have lowered the times I had here. In general everything went well, the team has worked perfectly too, like the bike and myself.
