Loris Baz and Hector Barbera finished their Jerez test on Thursday evening, although they had the possibility of continuing it until Friday inclusive. Despite forecasts of rain, the sun shone on the Andalusian track during these first two days of testing, where several Ducati teams as well as Aprilia, Suzuki, KTM and Honda came to test their latest versions. But ultimately, it took a lot for the holders Avintia to only ride for two days since the rain arrived on Thursday evening, making Friday unproductive for the few remaining drivers.
Hector Barbera was the fastest (1'39.614) on the first day on his Ducati Desmosedici GP 2016 (see here), but he had to finish earlier than expected due to a mechanical problem. The Valencian thus experienced the frustration of not being able to try to improve his times with new tires, but his general feeling was very good. Furthermore, he hopes to receive more support from Ducati during the end-January tests in Malaysia, to speed up his process of adaptation to his new bike.
Loris Baz, for his part, achieved a really fast time on Thursday (see here) and concluded this test very happy, both with his Desmosedici GP15 and with his new team leader. The Frenchman found himself in very good harmony with his bike and found a smile again before taking his winter vacation. His time of 1'39.184 placed him 2nd in the MotoGP and represents a good progression compared to his qualification in 1'39.993 during the Grand Prix last April on his GP14.2.
Loris Baz: “I'm very happy because I haven't had such a good feeling with the bike for a long time. I think we had two very good days of work, and little by little I am regaining confidence with the bike, so this test was very positive. We've tried a lot of things and we're looking really fast, and today I did some really fast times, although it could be even better. But I'm happy because I'm enjoying riding my bike, and I can now push hard with confidence, while understanding what the bike and the tires are doing. It's been a very positive test and I'm going on winter vacation with a relaxed mind, because it's been a very difficult year, with a lot of doubts, so to end like this is fantastic! »
