High mark for the Repsol riders after the last test before the Spanish Grand Prix.
Sebastián Porto fastest again, closely followed by Pedrosa and De Puniet.
The last tests of the 250cc preseason have finished today at the Jerez circuit, venue of the first Road Racing Grand Prix of the 2005 season on April 10th. From today at 18.00h, end of the tests on the Andalusian track, until Friday April 8th at 11.15h, start of the first practice sessions of the Spanish Grand Prix, the teams and riders of the 250cc class won’t turn back into action and will take a deserved rest to prepare what seems to be a long and highly contended season.After the last tests in Barcelona and Jerez, it seems to be clear that there are two riders, just like last year, who will be setting the pace in the class.
Porto and Pedrosa, Pedrosa and Porto, have proven throughout the preseason that they are the riders in best shape. Current World Champion and championship runner-up are going to meet again in approx. one and a half week, and both seem to be firm candidates for the fight for the title. Behind them, Randy De Puniet, Repsol rider as well, has shown a notorious improvement from the first tests in Barcelona to the last ones held in Jerez.
His third fastest time after the two test days are good proof of it.The new young lions of the class, Héctor Barberá and Jorge Lorenzo, have also shown good manners and are eager to give more than one surprise this season, while Japanese rider Aoyama, who will be racing his second season in the World Championship, won’t be having the handicap of racing on circuits he doesn’t know. Alex Debón, with set-up problems yet to be solved, couldn’t finish the tests as good as expected and he’ll have to work with his team during the previous days of the first Grand Prix in order to find the necessary solutions.
The 250cc World Championship will be starting on April 10th at 12.15h in Jerez.
Repsol rider´s comments:
Sebastián Porto
1st, fastest time: 1’42.818
Thursday, 1st, 1’42.818, 53 laps.
Wednesday, 1st, 1’43.403, 54 laps.
‘I’m very happy with the result of these tests. My fastest lap yesterday was really fast and today we’ve even been able to improve it by more than half a second. The balance of these tests is therefore quite positive. I’m very satisfied with the tests made with the chassis, suspensions and tyres, although we may need to continue working on the engine. The bike is better than the one I had last year and we’ve really done a good job with it. I feel fully prepared to face the season with a guarantee for good results.’
Randy De Puniet
3rd, fastest time: 1’43.710
Thursday, 3rd, 1’43.710, 65 laps.
Wednesday, 9th, 1’44.772, 78 laps.
‘The truth is that I really felt the fact of not having been able to lap under normal conditions yesterday, but such is racing. Today we had both 2005 bikes and we’ve made big progress with them; in fact, we managed to be one second faster compared to yesterday. We’ve been working especially on the front suspension and the feelings where getting better all the time. My aim for the first races of the season is to step on the podium, while adapting to the new team and the reactions of the new bike.’
Dani Pedrosa
2nd, fastest time: 1’43.103
Thursday, 2nd, 1’43.103, 60 laps.
Wednesday, 2nd, 1’43.700, 68 laps.
‘Today we’ve been able to make good use of the whole day and test everything we had planned for the sessions in Jerez. We’ve managed to fix the bike we had set aside due to carburetion problems and the vibrations are gone as well. We started a bit late due to the wet track, but it’s been a good testing day in general. We’ve made a step forward in all aspects. We’ve been able to see that there’s high activity everywhere, we’re all looking forward to the start of the championship. It’s been a long preseason and I’m looking forward to the first race. We’re ready and very motivated’.
Hiroshi Aoyama
5th, fastest time 1’43.831
Thursday, 11th, 1’44.880, 62 laps.
Wednesday, 5th, 1’43.831, 89 laps.
‘The general balance is positive although I expected to be faster today. In the end I wasn’t able to improve the fastest lap I made yesterday. The track conditions were worse and since we started lapping much later and focussed on making some pending changes in the set-up, it was already too late to start pushing harder to set better times’.
