At KTM, we train newbies the hard way. Take the case of Iker Lecuona, who made his MotoGP debut at last year's Valencia Grand Prix. The driver, barely 20 years old, has youth with him, but in the furnace of Sepang and on a demanding RC16, it melted like snow in the sun. It must also be said that the Tech3 driver spent not three, but five days on the track in Malaysia. Last Sunday, he was obviously exhausted...
Iker Lecuona will remember this return to school Malaysia. His first as a MotoGP rider in a new year. Because the Red Bull KTM rider Tech3 was physically exhausted after these extensive pre-season tests on the international circuit of Sepang and he had to settle for 24th place on the combined timesheet.
Iker Lecuona completed only 23 laps on the final day of the MotoGP IRTA test on Sunday at Sepang He had already interrupted his performance at 16:00 p.m. on Saturday. The 20-year-old Spaniard has completed five days of testing so far, and his strength and ideas seemed exhausted.
lecuona achieved a personal best lap in 1'59,898 minutes and was 1,549 seconds behind the best time of fabio quartararo equipped with Yamaha. “ My goal was to improve further on Sunday, but I wasn't able to do as I had originally imagined, although I did achieve a time of 1'59 », admitted the lecuona. " I've tried new tire compounds, but haven't found a way to go significantly faster yet. »
« Honestly, I have to admit that I am physically exhausted after so many days on the trail. And I also have to admit that I'm not entirely happy with how the testing went. I will continue to learn in Qatar, the basis of the bike is very good and I like it. I just need to learn more about the KTM and try to understand the whole thing better. »
Next meeting on the Losail route in Qatar, the 22 February. Then it will be the first Grand Prix of the season on March 8, on the same site.
Iker Lecuona, Sepang MotoGP test, February 2020
MotoGP Test Sepang J3: times
Credit motogp.com
