During his first tests with the RC16 last November at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Pol Espargaro finished in an honorable seventeenth position, surrounded by Michele Pirro, Tito Rabat and Loris Baz. He was 1.8 behind the best time of Maverick Vinales, from whom he just finished 1.9 in Malaysia.
The gap therefore remained more or less stable, in fact hiding the real progress because the Sepang circuit is much longer than that of Valencia. Like the other teams present in Malaysia, Team KTM had a lot to try, but the condition of the track surface and the excess humidity limited its riding possibilities.
Taking into account the three days of testing carried out by test rider Mika Kallio the previous week, the KTM team was still able to sort through the choices proposed and confirm certain major directions.
According to Espargaro Pol, who are " I think we had a good test, and that's the most important thing. We have improved a lot since the beginning. The team is working well and we are going in the right direction, so I am quite happy.
“Phillip Island will be a new circuit for us, because it’s the first time KTM will be there. Mika has already done a very good job on the tracks where the team has already ridden. Phillip Island is a challenging and beautiful track, so it will be interesting to see what we can do there. »
For the Technical Director Sebastian Risse, « Our first objective for these six days was to check the equipment because everything is new for this year. Our second goal was to find a solution to the problems that pilots reported to us late last year. We developed different ideas over the winter and proved them right. First there was the testing with Mika and he was very happy, then we tested more things with the GP drivers and they were also very happy with our direction, especially regarding the chassis , and also electronics. Ultimately we had to get the drivers back on track after the winter break, because the season starts now, so we need laps. We all have to learn and the team has to work together. Now we will see what will happen in the next steps. »
Photos © Gold and Goose for KTM Sportmotorcycle GmbH
