Author of eight pole positions last year (plus one where he was penalized at Mugello), Jorge Martin did not really surprise by achieving the best time of the first day of testing at the Jerez circuit in 1'46.857, compared to the 1'46.004 which earned him the lead on the starting grid during the Spanish Grand Prix in 2017.
Martin's team, Team Del Conca Gresini Moto3, was very satisfied that Jorge and his teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio were finally able to complete around forty laps each, after the Valencia test session which was severely disrupted by bad weather.
According to Jorge Martin, “I didn't get to do as many laps as I would have liked, but I'm happy with how it went on Monday. We are still working on the engine braking – like in Valencia – which is the area of the bike that does not yet completely convince me when braking. Unfortunately, there was a lot of wind which didn't allow us to be consistent in terms of lap times, but I'm sure things will get better afterwards because the weather is supposed to be nice. »
His teammate Fabio DiGiannantonio was seventh fastest with his Honda NSF250RW from Fausto Gresini's team. For the Italian, “ We rode well this Monday. We worked a lot on the configuration of the bike and especially on the rear because it was sliding a lot. We are improving and the most positive aspect is that we set a decent time, even though we weren't looking for one, and even without using a soft tire. We have a lot of ideas and I hope we can put them into practice. »
Two other Hondas were ranked behind that of leader Jorge Martin, driven by Tony Arbolino for the Marinelli Snipers Team and Niccolo Antonelli for the SIC58 Squadra Corse.
The first KTM was in fourth position, driven by Albert Arenas. She was only 0.119 behind Jorge Martin's Honda, which was a good sign for the renewed competitiveness of the Austrian machines against the Japanese motorcycles. For Albert Arenas, who now defends the colors of the Ángel Nieto Team Moto3, “I'm happy with the end of the day and the time we achieved. At the start of the day I didn't feel very comfortable with the bike, the sensations were different from those in Valencia. We worked to make me feel more comfortable on the bike, so I could use it the way I wanted. We found a good setup step by step, and at the end of the day I was able to push for a good fast lap. We will continue to work to get more grip at the rear and be more in tune with the hard tire. »
Another Honda rider finished in fifth position, in this case Aron Canet in whom many see one of the favorites for the title. For the rider of Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 “ We tried to have the same feeling during the pre-season as in 2017, which allowed us to find a very useful basic configuration for the whole season. That's why our idea for this test is to work in the same way, but with the Honda NSF250 2018. The day was satisfactory. I have a good pace turning alone, with new and used tires. However, we didn't have the best conditions on the track. I hope they will be better tomorrow and we can ride even faster. »
Results of the first day:
1. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1'46.857
2. Tony Arbolino (Honda) +0.066
3. Niccolò Antonelli (Honda) +0.106
4. Albert Arenas (KTM) +0.119
5. Aron Canet (Honda) +0.154
6. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) +0.178
7. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) +0.315
8. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) +0.353
9. Enea Bastianini (Honda) +0.433
10. Philipp Ottl (KTM) +0.489
11. Alonso Lopez (Honda) +0.484
12. Andrea Migno (KTM) +0.613
13. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) +0.679
14. John McPhee (KTM) +0.686
15. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) +0.740
16. Makar Yurchenko (KTM) +0.807
17. Dennis Foggia (KTM) +1.003
18. Darryn Binder (KTM) +1.030
19. Livio Loi (KTM) +1.211
20. Kaito Toba (Honda) +1.225
21. Marcos Ramirez (KTM) +1.260
22. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) +1.265
23. Kazuki Masaki (KTM) +1.379
24. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) +1.497
25. Nicolò Bulega (KTM) +1.541
26. Jaume Masia (KTM) +1.557
Photos © Team Del Conca Gresini Moto3 and Ángel Nieto Team Moto3
