2012 Jerez Moto2 And Moto3 Test Day 3 Press Releases

Press releases after the final day of testing from the Moto2 and Moto3 teams:

Further improvements for Repsol riders on final day at Jerez test

Second winter test for Repsol Moto3 riders ends positively for Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira and Álex Márquez

The Circuito de Jerez was once again the place to be in Moto3 on Saturday, as the lower cylinder class riders undertook the final day of their second test of the year. Repsol riders Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira and Álex Márquez continued their adaptation to their 2012 bikes, with Viñales always amongst the fastest of the meeting.

With the World Championship curtain raiser less than two months away in Qatar, the focus has turned to fast times for the Moto3 competitors. Four-time race winner in 2011 Viñales has quickly established himself as one of the men to beat. With a best time of 1'47.5 to his name, Maverick continued to fine-tune the setup of his FTR chassis over the course of 48 laps.

Under the best conditions of the three days - sunny with track temperatures of 34ºC - the Repsol riders had their most productive day on the asphalt. Oliveira and Márquez continued to discover more about their bikes and picked up valuable information for their World Championship debuts this year. The Portuguese rider completed 46 laps with the best time a 1'48.6, whilst Álex Márquez undertook an additional ten laps - the fastest a 1'49.6.

Maverick Viñales - 1:47.5, 48 laps, 212 km.

"We have drawn very positive conclusions from these three days of testing, mostly because we have worked hard and have gone in the right direction. The important thing is that we have improved our chassis setup a lot and also made steps forward with the engine. The latter aspect is what we should most be looking at improving, but we are on the right path. I think that we have been putting down some decent lap times here.

We are less than a second off the 125cc lap record, which means that we've had some good times and that we can aim to go even faster next time out. The competition is tough and there is always someone riding fast here, so I hope that we can keep up with the KTMs. Now we have a few weeks in which we will not be riding, so it will be a time for working on fitness in order to return strong to Jerez and test what remains to be improved before Qatar".

Miguel Oliveira - 1:48.9, 46 laps, 203 km.

"We have concluded a hard three days of testing at Jerez, in which we have gathered a lot of information and put many miles on the clock. We continued to push all day today, looking to get the most out of our current machinery and eventually equalling our times from yesterday.

We are satisfied, but there is still a lot to do. I want to thank the team for their hard work here and I am looking forward to the next test and trying out the new developments that will arrive for it".

Álex Márquez - 1:49.6, 56 laps, 248 km.

"I am very happy with this second official test of the season. I got stronger as the days went on and felt very comfortable on the bike. I wasn't expecting to get as good a time as I did in the end. I was riding as quickly this morning as my quickest time from yesterday, which is always a good feeling.

Now I will focus on the CEV tests, but these laps alongside the World Championship riders are going to be very useful for me in the future".

Max Neukirchner getting to grips with his Kalex Moto2 bike

The second official IRTA test, which was taking place from 16th to 18th of February in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia/Spain, went so-so for Max Neukirchner and the Kiefer Racing Team. The good point was to collect a lot of important information with the Kalex chassis within the three days of testing and for Neukirchner to get to grips with his bike. The not so good point was that the last of the three days was shortened by an incident with one of the Moto3 riders on track.

The slower Moto3 rider got into the way of Neukirchner in his sixth round out and caused him a high-speed crash in which he luckily walked away uninsured. But the destroyed bike left a huge piece of work for the Kiefer Racing Team, which kept them busy for the rest of the day.

Neukirchner is disappointed on how the last day of testing went, especially after it started quite well as he was able to improve his lap time by half a second during the first five laps out. He would have been happy to use the day on its full as the conditions were close to perfect. Nevertheless the incident was unavoidable.

Despite the short third test day the 28-years-old learnt a lot about his new equipment on which he was running close to 100 laps and he knows now how to adapt his riding style to the Moto2 class and the Kalex. Neukirchner leaves Spain tomorrow to go back to Germany with a lot of knowledge and information to continue his preparation for the upcoming season.

REDDING TOPS THE TIMESHEETS AGAIN IN JEREZ

Jerez, Spain - 18 Feb 2012: The Marc VDS Racing Team today successfully completed three days of testing at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain, with Scott Redding finishing at the top of the timesheet once again with a time of 1'42.2s.

Mika Kallio posted a time of 1'42.8s on the final day of testing at Jerez, to finish seventh fastest and just 0.6s adrift of his Marc VDS teammate.

Redding and his crew worked to further refine the set-up on their Kalex Moto2 machine during the opening day of testing, with the work paying dividends on day two, as the 19-year-old British rider bettered by half a second the outright lap record set by Stefan Bradl during qualifying for the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix.

Redding had a minor crash at the right-hand turn five towards the end of the third and final day after losing the front while pushing for another fast lap, but declared himself happy with both his pace and consistency during the three days at Jerez.

Kallio and his crew spent the three days at Jerez working to improve the Finnish rider's feeling with the Kalex Moto2 machine they'll campaign this season. Their hard work paid off today, with Kallio posting his best lap of the test during a race simulation run in which every lap was within a few tenths of his fastest time.

The Marc VDS Racing Team will return to Jerez in one month's time for the third and final official pre-season test.

Scott Redding #45: Best Lap - 1'42.2

"It was difficult to get a feel for the level of grip on day one, and it wasn't much better on day two and three to be honest. But I was able to get plenty of laps in, 236 in total, and I'm pretty pleased with the fact that I was consistently quick on the last two days. The bike continues to improve and we're certainly getting a lot more from the tyres than we did last season, so it's all good. Now we've got a break of more than a month before we return to Jerez for the last test. That's going to drag a bit!"

Mika Kallio #36: Best Lap - 1'42.8

"Everything has gone really well here, and we can be satisfied with the work we've done. I have a really good feeling with the bike and we're at a good level now with the lap times. We've tried many things on the bike, altering the balance and changing suspension settings, and we've improved a lot. I enjoy riding the Kalex and that's important too. During today's race simulation I was able to lap very consistently and I actually set my fastest time of the three days during this long run, which I'm happy about. Overall it's been another good test."

Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager

'Today marks the end of another successful three-day test for the Marc VDS Racing Team, with both riders achieving their aims and Scott once again topping the timesheet. More important than fast lap times is the fact that both riders are able to lap consistently within two or three tenths of their fastest lap, which is something we were missing last season. The tyre situation is also much improved compared to last year, with both riders able to maintain their lap times right to the end of their race simulation runs. It's early days yet, with the first race still over six weeks away, but we are definitely heading in the right direction."