Rain and a wet track on the first day, sun on the second, and overcast skies and strong wind on the last day imposed new challenges on the team and its two drivers during this second test on the Ricardo Tormo circuit. .
However, despite this difficult weather, the team still managed to make positive progress regarding the development of the bike.
Mike leitner (vice president Onroad): “A big congratulations to our two drivers and congratulations to the team who all did a very good job at the during these three very different and difficult days. Despite all this , we were able to carry out a large number of tests and work in various directions. Similar comments from Mika and Randy have us put on the right track to continue work before the next round of testing. The team makes new progress in the field of electronics and we are in able to have a better understanding of the tires and adjust the motorcycle accordingly. result. When it comes to pure performance, we were able to take a clear step forward in before by compared to the test we did here in November last year.”
Mika Kallio (MotoGP test rider): » Regarding the feeling, we resolved some important points on the last day, during which we worked on the front end and the balance of the bike. At the same time, the way the electronics work is also a positive point and even though we lost more than a day due to the weather, we were able to achieve all the planned objectives. I feel like more and more comfortable on the bike and even if we are still rather calm on the track, step by step, we work not far from the limit ".
Randy de Puniet (MotoGP test rider): "It was a very important test for me, I'm happy with the bike and we were able to try a lot of new parts. Unfortunately, in due to weather conditions and other things that we tested, I did less than tricks that Mika. But with the experience that we all have two united, we will be in able to start even stronger in the next test. “
The KTM MotoGP Factory Racing Team will use the period between now and the next test at the end of April to analyze data from all previous tests, and further improve the KTM RC16 with developments and new elements.
Photo: © Philip Platzer