In Qatar, at KTM we were not doing much at the end of this off-season concentrated in five divided days on the Losail track. And for good reason: the RC16s were not at the party, and not only that: no solution has apparently been found to make things better. Unfortunate on a site which will host the first two Grands Prix of the season. Miguel Oliveira explains…
KTM undoubtedly hoped for better for its start in the year 2021 of MotoGP. Yesterday, Thursday, at the end of the tests, none of its bikes were in the top 15. Which does not bode well for the rest of the events in Qatar... Miguel Oliveira takes stock of the situation on the Austrian brand: “ I felt pretty good on the bike Thursday. But unfortunately this was not reflected in the lap times “, said the two-time MotoGP winner. “ We always imagine that we have the potential for better results, this was already the case on Wednesday. But we can't get the most out of all areas of the track. This is why we are still losing a lot of time on the leading group. Looks like we're suffering a little more than expected. We now need to find better solutions and better use our package ».
Qatar and KTM: “It seems like we are hitting a wall”
« It seems like we're hitting a wall » the Portuguese bluntly admits. “ We can improve the bike in small steps, but we haven't managed to take the big step so far », Regrets the Red Bull KTM factory rider. “ Of course, not all changes can have a positive effect. Our situation is a little difficult, but we are not giving up. We also tried new parts. And one thing is clear: if you have a proven motorcycle and you can concentrate entirely on the settings, it is always easier and simpler. But here we have two tasks to solve, so we progress more slowly ».
Olive tree continue on speedweek : " our KTM strengths do not manifest themselves on the Losail track. Other brands do much better here. We must accept this fact. We must remain calm. 1,4 seconds late is not the end of the world. But there is no denying that we need to improve. I hope we manage to get the most out of the equipment during the Grand Prix weekend. For the moment, race pace is our great strength ».
« There is a strong risk of losing time in the first sector, there are tight turns, there you need to have grip and also a good turn. On the other hand, we maintain ourselves quite well in flowing turns. We are competitive there. But if you lose more than a second, you have small weaknesses everywhere. At the moment we have the most problems in the first part of the route » said the teammate of a Brad Binder which fell more often than not during these tests.
« We know we can still be competitive and keep up with the race. Even on straight lines. We are wasting too much time in the first sector. But we can still be competitive in the race ". This is the KTM rider's assessment Miguel Oliveira after four days of testing Qatar...
Qatar Tests: combined final ranking
