Moto2 and Moto3 tests in Valencia J2: “El Diablo” Quartararo 0.7 from the lap record

Miguel Oliveira and Fabio Quartararo, teammates in 2016 at Leopard Racing (the first in Moto2 and the second in Moto3) are now opponents. Despite a year of experience in the intermediate category, the Portuguese who now rides a WP-KTM only managed to beat his young opponent from Nice by two tenths. Bo Bendsneyder completed the Austrian smile by taking the best time in Moto3 with his KTM.

In Moto2, if Wednesday was not easy due to a fairly strong wind, Thursday was clearly more favorable. Miguel Oliveira was half a second off the lap record Tom Luthi, although it is always necessary to keep a small margin of appreciation because the engines used were not the official blocks. These, provided by ExternPro, will only be available to teams from the official tests on February 18 and 19. This is not of capital importance because serious teams run with compliant engines. “ We did a good job and tried many things, estimated Oliveira. We focused on improving the rear of the bike, not chasing the best lap time, but rather working on worn tires ". For his team manager Aki Ajo, who are " It was really a shame that Brad Binder Couldn't be here due to his hand injury as he had two operations. The goal for him is to return in time for the Jerez test. Once again, Miguel Oliveira demonstrated his professionalism, gathering a lot of useful data during these two days in Valencia with the new KTM Moto2 ».

The correct confirmation came from Fabio Quartararo on his Kalex from the Paginas Amarillas HP 40 team. He was only two tenths behind Oliveira and clearly ahead of his new teammate Edgar Pons. Marcel Schrötter completed the trifecta for the Dynavolt Intact GP team with his new Suter which he placed in third position.

Unofficial timeline:

Miguel Oliveira (KTM), 1:35,887
Fabio Quartararo (Kalex), 1:36,057
Marcel Schrötter (Suter), 1:36,260
Edgar Pons (Kalex), 1:36,563
Ricky Cardus (KTM), 1:36,969

Reference times:

Test record: 1'34.879 by Johann Zarco (Kalex) in 2016

Lap record: 1'35.312 by Tom Lüthi (Suter) in 2014

Moto3: Bo Bendsneyder keeps the advantage

Already best time the day before, the Dutchman from the Red Bull KTM team Ajo confirmed his domination on the second day. According to him, " The test went well. We had already tried the new bike last year, so we were prepared. The feeling is very good with this bike. The chassis allows for a more flexible driving style and I think it suits my way of riding. I really like. We tried a lot of things today and at the end of the day we had a few issues that we were able to resolve. We had good times, so I'm happy ».

The second time went to the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Monlau (Honda) team with Aron canet, yet the victim of a difficult start to the day: “ Unfortunately, on my third lap, while braking into turn 10, I lost the front and crashed. This reduced my confidence and slowed me down in the following laps, but I gradually regained my feeling. This allowed us to work intensively with the new fairings and see how the 2017 Honda had been improved aerodynamically. Generally speaking, the conclusions after riding the 2017 Honda are good. We were fast and I think we took a step forward, so we are very happy with the bike”

The physical form of Niccolo Antonelli was not, as we somewhat feared, optimal. “ The test was good, but in the end we weren't able to make a fast timehe explained. The positive side is that we have been able to try a lot of things, and it will work very well for us. I worked hard, but it's still not enough, because my shoulder is not 100%. We will see how it evolves before the start of the season ". According to his team manager Aki Ajo, “ We started testing with the new riders and the new bike in November, so we weren't starting from scratch. On the second day, there was much less wind. I'm very happy with how we started 2017. We did a lot of kilometers and got a lot of useful information for the next test in Jerez ».

At Marinelli Rivacold (Honda), Roman Fenati discreet on the first day, moved up to third position while his teammate Jules Danilo was 0.7 behind him. George Martin placed a Honda from the Del Conca Gresini team in fourth position, but his teammate Fabio di Giannantonio had the misfortune to fall during a high side and fractured the right clavicle. An operation is planned. According to the Gresini team driver, “ I did a high side probably because of the cold tires. I have a broken collarbone. It’s a shame that this is the case, but morale remains high. Now I just have to think about getting back into shape as quickly as possible. »

Unofficial timeline: