Bradl was until this Wednesday afternoon the one who led the Honda troops in these tests in Qatar. In full progress and with confidence, the German appreciated his rise in power and the good results of his work on the RC213V. But things turn quickly in MotoGP. It took just one fall to put everything back on track and especially since, during this time, his teammate Pol Espargaró was progressing by leaps and bounds on a bike that he was barely discovering, without having to reproach himself for the slightest fall. …
By the way, Alex Marquez as Nakagami have also fallen, and they are also more experienced on the Honda …But back to Bradl who was badly received by his somersault at turn 2: “ I'm fine, tomorrow I'll do it again » assures the freelancer of Marc Marquez. " I felt good straight away and did a good job “, declared the Bavarian in an interview with speedweek. " I rode with the medium front tire this time. After that I got to know curve 2 better, which is also not unknown to some of my colleagues ».
Bradl knows why this turn 2 is considered the critical point of the Losail circuit. “ After a few right turns you take a left turn for the first time, so the tires have cooled down on that side. This is the particularity of this curve. There is also a small dent in it, which is quite insidious. It's a little difficult to find the limit on this turn. I always lost a little time there the first three days. My first sector has always suffered a little from this curve. Today I felt really good. So I thought, 'Now I'll try.' And then I found myself on the ground ».
« It wasn't a serious fall at all. “, reported Stefan Bradl. “ It was a harmless accident on the front wheel. The stupid thing is I slipped and slid on my back and the back of my head in the gravel and then actually rolled a few times. I'm not saying I was knocked out, but I got up feeling dizzy. But now I'm fine. After two hours I felt good again. Nevertheless, the team immediately decided that it was wiser for me to rest and be fit again tomorrow. So far we have worked well on our test plan. It wasn't so tragic that we missed two hours. Anyway, we still have two days of testing ahead of us " to analyse Bradl.
Bradl: " Tomorrow is another day "
On his work, he comments: “ we used the medium tires again today. We didn't use the soft version, which is good for fast lap times. It wasn't the time either. Of course, our colleagues are a bit faster this evening. But when I look at the times, I'm not very worried. I expect to be fine tomorrow. We'll see what comes out then. I have to see if I can get a good impression of the bike and the tires again. Tomorrow we will see if I can make the top 10 again. Tomorrow is another day ».
Stefan bradl was also satisfied with the progress made by Pol Espargaro, who finished 5th, just 0,7 seconds behind Jack Miller. " Pol was doing well. The way the Honda works in Qatar now makes it successful ", points out the 31-year-old Bavarian who thus recalls the hell experienced by the Repsol troops in 2020 with Marc Marquez in Losail.
Bradl finished : " the lap time of 1'53,1 that Miller has now set is pretty darn fast. This is two tenths less than the lap record. Doing a fast lap is one thing, but riding at a steady pace over the entire Grand Prix distance is another matter entirely.. I guess the wheat will be separated from the chaff in the race, as always ". Certainly, but will he do it or will he have to watch Marc Marquez participate ?
MotoGP Test Qatar 2 J1: times
Credit ranking: MotoGP.com
