The Swiss Dominique Aegerter and the Kiefer team are somewhat of the miracles of the 2018 Moto2 field. Left on the sidelines by a man named Pickworth who promised them a buyout and a cornucopia from Russia, the team and the driver fought to find funds for the season, with a promising KTM. Even solidarity on the internet worked. Not bad, but the hardest part remains to be done: be fast on the track…
However, after the first day of the Jerez tests, it is clear that we are very far from it. Of course, the group gathered in Spain is playing with the engines it wants, so the times have, at this stage, only an indicative value. However, when we are 28th out of 31 present and we are 2.2 seconds behind the best time of the Kalex of bagnaia, we have to admit that something is wrong.
And in fact : " we had difficulties with the weather with the cold then the rain » begins the one who, furtively, tried to eye the orphaned Yamaha Tech3 Folger. " The afternoon was better from this point of view but the lap times were not fast. I have to keep fighting because we are not heading in the right direction ».
« We don't have what we need yet. But we analyze the data with my mechanic Toni Gruschka and Jochen Kiefer. The WP and KTM suspensions also help us. But that's not it yet. I also have to adapt my driving style. We still need a little more time ».
Concerning the other KTMs after the first day in Jerez, we note the fourth place ofOlive tree, the eleventh of Binder and the fourteenth of Sam Lowes, without forgetting the twenty-fifth ofIker Lecuona.
Moto2 at Jerez J.1: Chronos
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kalex) 1:42,330 min
2. Alex Marquez (Kalex) +0,166 sec
3. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) +0,230
4. Miguel Oliveira (KTM) +0,264
5. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) +0,357
6. Luca Marini (Kalex) +0,402
7. Simone Corsi (Kalex) +0,450
8. Xavi Virgo (Kalex) +0,521
9. Isaac Vinales (Kalex) +0,530
10. Héctor Barbera (Kalex) +0,609
11. Brad Binder (KTM) +0,653
12. Romano Fenati (Kalex) +0,742
13. Danny Kent (Speed Up) +0,831
14. Sam Lowes (KTM) +0,863
15. Joan Mir (Kalex) +0,987
16. Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up) +0,998
17. Jorge Navarro (Kalex) +1,081
18. Marcel Schrötter (Kalex) +1,124
19. Tetsuta Nagashima (Kalex) +1,268
20. Eric Granado (Suter) +1,372
21. Joe Roberts (NTS) +1,391
22. Remy Gardner (Tech3) +1,437
23. Steven Odendaal (NTS) +1,460
24. Bo Bendsneyder (Tech3) +1,539
25. Iker Lecuona (KTM) +1,669
26. Khairul Idham Pawi (Kalex) +1,784
27. Andrea Locatelli (Kalex) +1,814
28. Dominique Aegerter (KTM) +2,240
29. Federico Fuligni (Kalex) +2,292
30. Jules Danilo (Kalex) +2,394
31. Stefano Manzi (Suter) +2,616
