After a very complicated off-season due to the painful problems of the Kiefer Racing team, the Swiss driver was able to barely bounce back thanks to the generosity of his supporters, and the goodwill of KTM who showed sportsmanship due to adverse circumstances. . But the first tests in Valencia were an opportunity to see that there was still a lot of work to be done.
From the first dry sessions, agitated after his debriefing with his team leader Toni Gruschka, explained to Speedweek: “ I have a good feeling with the KTM. It was still quite cold, but we have already made some progress. Working with the team and this bike is a lot of fun. »
“The cooperation with WP and KTM is also excellent. They are completely behind me. They look closely at the data, listen carefully and try to find solutions. But the day passed quite quickly as we only had two sessions. It was only in the last session that we fitted the soft rear tire. But it was definitely better, because with the harder one I didn't have such a good feeling. »
“The potential of the KTM is enormous. It offers good grip to the rear wheel and is very homogeneous. But now I have to find a little more feeling to get through the corners faster. This also applies to focus, we need a good base. I need to find more confidence. The second day I was losing half a second or more, because I wasn't at the limit yet, I'm going step by step to get a good feeling. »
“Miguel Oliveira won the last three Moto2 races in 2017 for KTM, because of course the bike was tailor-made for him for a year. Victories won't be as easy for me. Everyone thinks I have the best bike and that I will win, but it's not that easy. »
“I have a great manufacturer and a very good team behind me, the potential is there, that’s what KTM showed last year. Now we have to find the right set-up. I don't want to rush things, I'm not worried. »
Thursday, Dominique finished his tests in 23rd position, 1.666 behind the best time of Mattia Pasini.
“Of course I wanted a better lap time,
noted Aegerter, but first we need to be able to get the bike tuned up so we can ride it really fast. Conditions were difficult for all three days. I could certainly have risked more if the conditions had been better. »
“But I trust my team, KTM, and WP. I think we will be able to resolve the issues in the following testing days. We hope to have warmer weather in Jerez from February 12th to 14th. »
“I didn't think I would be so far behind, because last year I was in front with Suter. It's a little harder now, but that's because the basic setup of the KTM isn't ideal for me. Coming out of corners it worked very well, and braking stability was correct. But when turning corners I had problems. »
Combined ranking of the 3 days of Valencia testing:
1. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1'35.799
2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) +0.016
3. Simone Corsi (Kalex) +0.136
4. Miguel Oliveira (KTM) +0.367
5. Isaac Vinales (Kalex) +0.443
6. Héctor Barbera (Kalex) +0.470
7. Marcel Schrötter (Kalex) +0.604
8. Xavi Virgo (Kalex) +0.638
9. Romano Fenati (Kalex) +0.918
10. Brad Binder (KTM) +0.950
11. Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up) +1.022
12. Bo Bendsneyder (Tech3) +1.064
13. Joe Roberts (NTS) +1.100
14. Jorge Navarro (Kalex) +1.198
15. Remy Gardner (Tech3) +1.254
16. Steven Odendaal (NTS) +1.286
17. Tetsuta Nagashima (Kalex) +1,508
18th Danny Kent (Speed Up) +1,528
19. Stefano Manzi (Suter) +1,529
20. Andrea Locatelli (Kalex) +1,620
21. Eric Granado (Suter) +1,635
22. Khairul Idham Pawi (Kalex) +1,649
23. Dominique Aegerter (KTM) +1,666
24. Federico Fuligni (Kalex) +2.147
25. Jules Danilo (Kalex) +2.469
26. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Kalex) +2.814
Photos © Kiefer racing
Source: speedweek
