Second winter test for Repsol Moto3 riders ends positively for Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira and Álex Márquez
The Circuito de Jerez was once again the place to be in Moto3 on Saturday, as the lower cylinder class riders undertook the final day of their second test of the year. Repsol riders Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira and Álex Márquez continued their adaptation to their 2012 bikes, with Viñales always amongst the fastest of the meeting.
With the World Championship curtain raiser less than two months away in Qatar, the focus has turned to fast times for the Moto3 competitors. Four-time race winner in 2011 Viñales has quickly established himself as one of the men to beat. With a best time of 1’47.5 to his name, Maverick continued to fine-tune the setup of his FTR chassis over the course of 48 laps.
Under the best conditions of the three days —sunny with track temperatures of 34ºC— the Repsol riders had their most productive day on the asphalt. Oliveira and Márquez continued to discover more about their bikes and picked up valuable information for their World Championship debuts this year. The Portuguese rider completed 46 laps with the best time a 1’48.6, whilst Álex Márquez undertook an additional ten laps —the fastest a 1’49.6.
Maverick Viñales >> Audio
1:47.5, 48 laps, 212 km.
“We have drawn very positive conclusions from these three days of testing, mostly because we have worked hard and have gone in the right direction. The important thing is that we have improved our chassis setup a lot and also made steps forward with the engine. The latter aspect is what we should most be looking at improving, but we are on the right path. I think that we have been putting down some decent lap times here. We are less than a second off the 125cc lap record, which means that we’ve had some good times and that we can aim to go even faster next time out. The competition is tough and there is always someone riding fast here, so I hope that we can keep up with the KTMs. Now we have a few weeks in which we will not be riding, so it will be a time for working on fitness in order to return strong to Jerez and test what remains to be improved before Qatar”.
Miguel Oliveira,
1:48.9, 46 laps, 203 km.
“We have concluded a hard three days of testing at Jerez, in which we have gathered a lot of information and put many miles on the clock. We continued to push all day today, looking to get the most out of our current machinery and eventually equalling our times from yesterday. We are satisfied, but there is still a lot to do. I want to thank the team for their hard work here and I am looking forward to the next test and trying out the new developments that will arrive for it”.
Álex Márquez,
1:49.6, 56 laps, 248 km.
“I am very happy with this second official test of the season. I got stronger as the days went on and felt very comfortable on the bike. I wasn’t expecting to get as good a time as I did in the end. I was riding as quickly this morning as my quickest time from yesterday, which is always a good feeling. Now I will focus on the CEV tests, but these laps alongside the World Championship riders are going to be very useful for me in the future”.
