Loris Baz concluded the last official test in Qatar on a positive note despite a slight fall. The French rider took advantage of this last day to fine-tune the final settings of his Ducati GP14.2 before the first Grand Prix.
Satisfied with this configuration, Loris embarked on a final race simulation. Once again the victim of a defective tire which caused an insignificant fall, the Avintia Racing team and the French driver had to end this last session prematurely.
However, the Haut-Savoyard is convinced of his potential and knows that he has the possibility of aiming for a better position in the ranking.
Impatient to kick off his second season in MotoGP, the French rider will take advantage of these last days of the winter break to continue his intensive training program and put all the chances on his side for the first Grand Prix. « We left with the old tires in order to adjust the bike as best as possible. We found a setup that was really ideal and I was able to improve my best time by five tenths to 1'56.00. I did it with a front tire that already had 30 turns and a rear tire that was not the best since it already had 8 turns. Thanks to this adjustment, I managed to regain the confidence of Phillip Island.
We then went back to get a new tire. And when we left, it turned out that the front tire had a defect. A defective front tire, a bit like that of my teammate who had crashed for this reason. I was losing the front everywhere, but I still insisted on trying to improve. Knowing that I no longer had a front tire available, I continued. I have improved very little. I fell because the front tire was destroyed on the right side. Since we had no more tires, we decided to stop. It's a shame, because I knew we had the potential to achieve a sixth place in the standings in 1'55.5.
I remain satisfied with this test. We found the feeling of Phillip Island again and it bodes well for the race. The ranking is tight and I think there will be a way to do something during the Grand Prix. I'm really looking forward to starting the season. Between now and the first Grand Prix, I will take the opportunity to have a good week of training. I'm going to do a bit of ice buggying and motorcycling. Looking forward to the first Grand Prix! »
