Viñales, Oliveira and Rins kick off last test of preseason at Jerez, ahead of Moto3 category debut.
The Circuito de Jerez is the scene of three days of testing for the lower cylinder classes, and the Moto3 riders had their first chance of the week to ride this Monday. Maverick Viñales remained one of the fastest riders on the timesheet, completing day one in second place. Miguel Oliveira clocked the seventh fastest time as he continued to work on his new Suter chassis, whilst Álex Rins was able to ride without the niggles of the shoulder injury that has troubled him throughout the preseason.
The Repsol riders went back to work aware of the importance of being fully prepared for the start of the inaugural Moto3 series, which begins in under three weeks in Qatar. This test was a chance to further evaluate their readiness for that Grand Prix, and all three looked impressive. Maverick Viñales was the standout, placing second on the timesheet with a 1’47.755 lap only bested by surprise package, Romano Fenati.
Under a second slower than Viñales was fellow Repsol rider Miguel Oliveira. The Portuguese youngster dedicated his time to working on the new Suter chassis debuted 10 days ago at Albacete. His best time was 1’48.614, the seventh quickest of the day.
After missing a large part of the preseason, Álex Rins was able to confirm the improvement in condition of his shoulder and experienced a practically problem-free day. His work onboard his Honda resulted in a best lap of 1’49.632.
The Repsol Moto3 riders will continue with their testing tomorrow and Wednesday.
Maverick Viñales >> Audio
1:47.755, 72 laps, 318 km.
“I felt good. We tested some chassis changes and adjustments to the engine, and we noticed some steady improvement. The chassis is getting better and we were almost able to equal the times from the last test at Jerez, but we have to keep working to bring the times down. I felt really comfortable today and used a lot of old rubber in order to make things ‘race-realistic’ instead of pushing for one hot lap”.
Miguel Oliveira >> Audio
1:48.614, 64 laps, 283 km.
“Today was rather good. I tried to ride fast from the start and was part of the top group right from the start. We have worked with the Suter a lot and have improved various details of the bike. We were trying to understand how the bike was reacting to our changes and I tried to modify my style to adapt as well.
Our pace is pretty good and better than our last times here. I hope to continue to improve tomorrow”.
Álex Rins >> Audio
1:49.632, 59 laps, 261 km.
“It was a positive day and I am very happy, because my shoulder feels a lot better and I hardly had any bother from it. I need to get more familiar with the team and the bike, which is completely new for me. Jerez is one of my favourite tracks and today we used practically the same setting as with the 125cc before. We improved some things and the times came down. We need to fine-tune some things tomorrow, but we are happy for today”.
