Repsol Moto3 riders complete positive three-day test at Jerez.
The Moto3 preseason saw further action this week at the Circuito de Jerez, with Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Navarro and Maria Herrera undertaking three productive days of testing. Leaving the bad weather that affected last week in Valencia behind them, the Repsol riders put over 800 kilometers each under their belts ‒continuing to adapt to their bikes and preparing for the start of the World Championship in four weeks’ time in Qatar.
Quartararo, who dominated the Valencia test, was again the fastest and left Jerez track with a record to his name. After putting in 217 laps with his NSF250RW Honda, today he set the fastest lap ever recorded at the track with a Moto3 bike: 1:45.580. His teammate, Jorge Navarro, sealed the sixth fastest time of the three days by stopping the clock at 1:46.338 after 206 laps. Maria Herrera continued her adaptation to the Husqvarna and, after 189 laps, yesterday set her best time of 1:47.376. That placed her twenty-sixth on the combined timesheet.
The activity for the Repsol Moto3 riders pauses until March 11th, when they will begin three days of private testing at the Circuito de Almeria. The next official test will see them back at the Circuito de Jerez, from March 17th, and will be the last before the first race in Qatar on March 29th.
Fabio Quartararo >> Audio >> Audio FR
1st – 1:45.580, 217 laps, 959 km.
“I’m very happy with the work we have done during these three days of testing at Jerez, where the weather has been better than at Valencia. We have spent the three days working on the setup of the bike. Today has been very positive for the team, because we have focused on working with the first race of the World Championship in Qatar in mind and I am very happy with the results. I have to thank the whole team, because we have worked very well together.”
Jorge Navarro >> Audio
6th – 1:46.338, 206 laps, 911 km.
“These three days have been very positive for us, since the good weather allowed us to put in many laps and try many things out on the bike. I personally focused on finding my own pace, without using a slipstream or references, because what we wanted was to analyse the behaviour of the bike with every change we made. The truth is that we have found a pretty good base, but we still have work to do with used tyres. We know the points that we need to improve on with both the bike and my riding, and at the next test I hope to be better prepared.”
Maria Herrera
26th – 1:47.376, 189 laps, 836 km.
“It has been a very positive test, and every time I am adapting better to the bike. The first of the three days of testing was very windy and we struggled to pick up the pace a bit, but on the second day we managed to set some quick laps and improve my pace and times. Today we continued to try things with the bike and we found a good setup. Although we still have work to do, I have noticed some progress. I can see the kilometres I have accumulated this preseason and now I feel more comfortable on the bike. We must continue to progress, and one of the areas where we need to improve is our braking.”
