Since last Sunday Esteve Rabat and Scott Redding have been at the Circuit of Estoril for their third pre-season practice session, after those in Valencia & Jerez a few weeks ago. Thanks to the good weather conditions, that is in spite of a little wind today, the riders have been able to cover many kilometres and to try out several things on their bikes. They will therefore go to the to the Official MotoGP Tests in Jerez in the best conditions possible, these take place next week at the circuit in Andalusia.
These have been three days of intense work, demanding both physically as well as psychologically, above all because of the number of tests carried out. The Repsol riders concentrated on the overall setup on the bike, but especially the chassis, so that they get through the test schedule in the best way possible as all eyes will soon turn to the championship. Many different setups have been tried in an effort to find the best options and rule out those that do not work well, work that is at the same time very positive as it lets everyone involved get to know the bike better.
For both Rabat and Redding it is the first time that they have ridden an official Aprilia RSA, and their adaptation is going well. This can be seen from the times they set; the Spanish rider finished fourth overall, with a best lap of 1’47.231 seconds. His teammate was sixth, stopping the clock at 1’47.520 seconds.
Esteve Rabat
“These were three very positive days with a lot of work. We did a lot of tests on the engine, chassis, suspension, wheels, tyres, everything in fact. I know the bike better than ever and I feel more and more at home on it. The conclusions we can take from the three days are very good and the sensations too. Moreover I feel very motivated, which is the most important thing. I get on perfectly with the team and I am very pleased. My hands are in a bad state after so many kilometres but thinking ahead to the IRTA in Jerez, we only have one thing left to do, open the throttle.”
Scott Redding
“I am more and more comfortable on the RSA and I am getting better sensations from it. We are working very hard to get a good setup for the beginning of the season but we have not got it quite right yet though, but we are getting closer. What I most like about the RSA is the low rev power, but what is most difficult for me is to get a good setup on the chassis. At the start of these three days in Estoril we had a lot of problems, but as the time passed we found the right solutions and I think that we will go to the IRTA in Jerez in good conditions”.
