The 2017 season is now underway for Loris Baz and the Reale Esponsorama Racing team. After taking his first steps on the Ducati GP15 in Valencia and then in Jerez, the French rider took advantage of the winter break to heal and prepare to return to full fitness.
On Monday, Loris Baz worked on his riding style which he still finds a little too aggressive to match the demands of the Ducati. The rain disrupted all three days, but the Haut-Savoyard still managed to perfect the settings of his machine with different configurations such as riding with a full tank.
Despite two falls on Tuesday, the Ducati rider was delighted with the performances achieved during this test. He finished with the 20th time in the ranking combined, just 1.5s off the reference time.
Loris Baz (20th – 2'00.873): “It was a good test for me. It felt good to get back on the bike in great shape, without pain or discomfort. It's really a very nice feeling.
I had good feelings from the first day. We tried different settings. The second day was more delicate. I made two small mistakes, falling twice: once when hitting a wet part of the track and once due to a bad adjustment.
On the other hand, we tried some very good things this Wednesday. Everything was going very well. We weren't looking for the best weather and the conditions weren't really suitable for it. We didn't have a schedule to follow. We simply worked on the points that had given me problems in the past.
We have made a lot of progress, I understand the bike more and I am starting to find a good working method alongside my new chief mechanic. There is a good atmosphere in the team and he tried to help me understand a lot of points, such as having to change my driving style. I have to be less aggressive on the bike. There is still a lot of work, small details to be ironed out, but overall this test was very good. We may be finishing far behind in the rankings, but we are not far from the reference time.
For Phillip Island, I hope the weather will be better than last year. We have to work on the start of the race with full fuel. I need to get a good feeling back with a heavier bike."
