Sun and warm temperatures accompanied the teams and riders testing at the circuit of Jerez on the second day of practice in the 2009 pre-season. The riders in both 125cc and 250cc have continued testing at the track in the province of Cadiz, and with all eyes on the first race of the season, 12th April when the 2009 season officially gets underway at the circuit of Losail as the host of the Qatar Grand Prix.
Of the four Repsol riders that will race in the World 125cc Championship this season, Marc Márquez on his KTM number 93 has shown once again that he is the fastest. In the timed morning session, shared with the 250cc riders, Márquez set the second fastest time behind Julián Simón, who on an Aprilia has led on the two days so far. Márquez set a 1:47.625, just one tenth of a second slower than Simón. Márquez and his team of technicians worked on the bike`s corner handling in the morning, with some modifications being made to the setup on his KTM.
In the afternoon the young Repsol rider concentrated on testing a new fork, something that did not stop him from setting the fourth best time. The average of the two sessions together makes Márquez into the third fastest rider on the track, behind Julián Simón and Andrea Iannone.
Cameron Beaubier, Márquez`s teammate in the official KTM team, did not have his best day today. Affected by flu symptoms and associated physical problems, Beaubier set a time that was 4 tenths faster than his best time yesterday, but as the day went by he felt worse and worse and by the end had fallen down to the back of the field.
Turning to the riders in the Blusens Aprilia team, there was a good performance from Scott Redding who lowered his best time by 6 tenths, compared to yesterday, and another good one from Esteve Rabat, who was 4 tenths faster than yesterday in spite of having mechanical problems on his Aprilia both in the morning as well as in the afternoon.
Tomorrow, Friday, sees the final day of practice for the 125cc riders at the circuit of Jerez. The riders in the top category of the World Championship, MotoGP, arrive on Saturday and Sunday.
Marc Márquez, 1’47.625 secs, 42 laps, 186 Km >> Audio
“This morning I was one of the first riders out because we wanted to test some possible solutions we had found for the engine and we were worried that it would not be reliable. And this was the case, but it is normal in pre-season testing, which is precisely for testing modifications and improving the bike. After an hour the mechanics solved the problem and I was able to ride some more. I then found my pace and soon I did a 1 minute 48 second lap and that`s good. We have been testing the suspension and chassis the whole day. When we found the best setup I went out on new tyres and that is when I set my best time, which I think is good. In the afternoon we tried a different fork. Tomorrow we will carry on working to see if we can adapt and improve the performance.”
Cameron Beaubier, 1’49.310 secs, 40 laps, 177 Km. >> Audio
“This morning things went quite well because the engine setup was quite good and I rode comfortably. But then I felt a lot worse and it was more and more difficult to get faster times. After lunch I had problems keeping my concentration, and that is why we stopped a little early. I improved on my times from yesterday, so I am pleased, but I hope I feel better tomorrow and so be able to continue learning.”
Esteve Rabat, 1’38,628 secs, 23 laps, 102 Km. >> Audio
“This was a difficult day`s work; we had problems with the bike soon after beginning the session and that prevented me from riding for more than an hour, because that is how long it took the machanics to fix it. I went back in the afternoon for more practice but I could hardly do a good lap because when I opened the throttle we had more problems and I had to stop again. The good thing is that we are having these setbacks now which is the right time and we can continue learning about the bike as it is new to both me and the mechanics. I am sure they will find the solutions for the future.”
Scott Redding, 1’48.418 secs, 50 laps, 221 Km. >> Audio
“Today we made some changes to the suspension and on the chassis setup, and towards the end my team got the bike working better. A couple of problems cropped up but nothing that should worry us too much. When it warmed up it was a bit more difficult as the tyres do not last so long and they do not have so much grip. The bike moves around more and it is harder to find the right line. We were a little faster than yesterday and so we have improved, but we are still taking things step by step. I was among the fastest ten in the afternoon; that`s not bad.”
