Losail, Qatar – March 4, 2016: Tito Rabat and Jack Miller, the two drivers of Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, experienced three days of difficult tests under the floodlights of the Losail circuit which this week hosted the final session of preparatory tests for the 2016 MotoGP season.
Rabat started the Qatar tests in the worst possible way by going to the mat on the first evening. A fall without warning which immediately affected the Spanish pilot's confidence. If he managed to progress the next day by regaining a little of this confidence, the problems resurfaced on the last day. Rabat actually fell three times while trying to improve his times. The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS driver left Losail with the seventeenth time and many questions left unanswered.
Miller also went through this testing session lacking confidence, in particular because of feeling problems with his front tire. Even if he managed to improve the situation a little with his team, Australia knows that he will have a lot to do when he returns to Qatar for the first race of the season. At Losail, Miller also suffered from the predominance of right turns which took a toll on his injured ankle. This was not the case at Phillip Island.
Rabat and Miller will now travel to Madrid to participate in the launch of the Estrella Galicia 0,0 sports program which will take place on Monday March 7 at Casa Del Lector in the Matadero complex. They will then return to Qatar to take part in the opening round of the MotoGP championship.
Tito Rabat: 17th – 1'57.027
“This test in Qatar started off badly with this big fall on the first day which happened without warning. The second day, I didn't push too much because I didn't want to fall and risk injury, but the bike was a little better. The last day, I was starting to regain confidence and my times were going down when, trying to attack a little more, I fell again without seeing anything coming. The bike didn't warn me, one minute everything was fine, the next I was on the ground. I honestly don't know what happened between yesterday and today, but it was a lot harder. We'll have to think and come up with ideas before coming back here. If we don't find a solution, this first race will be very difficult. »
Jack Miller: 19th – 1'57.046
“These three days in Qatar were a real test for us, both to resolve our problems, but also because my injured ankle was put to the test with all these right turns. It was much more complicated for me than at Phillip Island. It was also difficult with the bike settings because I had no confidence in my tire and I even found myself at the limit several times to stay on my wheels. We've managed to find little things, but we're nowhere near where we should be and there's still work to be done. I hope we will resolve all this by the time we return to Qatar to be in a better position for the race. »
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Of the three test sessions we took part in this winter, this one was by far the most difficult. Our two riders had difficulty finding the feeling with their bike and the tires, which showed on the clock. Tito immediately lost confidence by falling on the first day, and that didn't get better today with three new falls. But Tito wasn't the only one in difficulty. Jack had the same problems and I don't think we are the only team in this situation in Qatar. Maybe we are more vulnerable because of our lack of experience... This is something we need to resolve, and very quickly because we will be back on this circuit in two weeks, and this time it will be for the first race of the championship. »
