Moto3 duo will test from Tuesday through Thursday at Ricardo Tormo circuit as they develop their Honda machine.
Alex Rins and Alex Marquez returned to work today in Valencia in preparation for the 2014 season. After the first private tests held last week at the Circuito de Almeria, Rins and Marquez were in action at the Circuit de Valencia, to advance the development of their new Honda for the Moto3 World Championship. After putting in more than 260km, Marquez finished eleventh and his teammate seventeenth, with the top spot taken by Niccolo Antonelli.
Marquez and Rins had a hard day’s work in which they completed 65 and 67 laps, respectively. The Repsol riders focused on adapting the set-up of their Honda –a completely new machine– to the twisty Valencia track. The bike will be used by Emilio Alzamora’s protegés to compete in the World Championship, which starts on 23rd March in Qatar.
Slowed by strong wind and low temperatures, the Repsol riders started from scratch on the settings of their bikes and closed the first day of testing with Marquez setting the eleventh best time of 1:41.502, and Rins in seventeenth –with a time of 1’41.815. Marquez suffered a small crash at Turn 12 when his front tyre lost grip, but was able to continue testing.
On Wednesday, the duo will continue to put in laps with their new Honda Moto3 machines.
Alex Rins
1:41.815, 67 laps, 268 km.
“After the first test last week in Almeria, today we have been working hard with the technicians to find a good setup. The conditions were not ideal, but I’m happy to see that the whole team is doing their best and that HRC is working hard to bring new developments to the tests. We are focusing on the configuration of the chassis and the suspension. It is a completely new bike, so we still have to continue working, but we know that we have much room for improvement in which to adapt and get everything in place.”
Alex Marquez
1:41.502, 65 laps, 260 km.
“The first day in Valencia started with tricky conditions, because it was very windy and the track was pretty cold, so we started slowly. Every time out I feel more comfortable on the bike, despite a small crash towards the end of the day which did not really affect me. We have been working hard on the setup of both the chassis and the suspension, to find a good base as soon as possible. Regarding the engine, we have improved slightly since the previous test and HRC is working to continue bringing developments. My shoulder is a little better than last week. I am working hard with the physios to take the load off the area as much as possible, because I’m still not a hundred percent fit, but the important thing is that we are keeping up the pace.”
