Positive Spielberg test for Morbidelli and Márquez

Franco Morbidelli and Álex Márquez gave the Spielberg circuit in Austria their seal of approval, after concluding a successful two-day test at the track this afternoon.

Spielberg will host the first race of the second half of the season in just a few weeks time and both Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders are looking forward to returning, after racking up more than 300 laps between them over the course of the two days.

The main goal for Morbidelli and Márquez was learning their way around the 4.318km circuit, which appears on the MotoGP calendar for the first time this season. However the two teammates also found time to refine the set up of their Kalex Moto2 machines to better suit the characteristics of the track, which features seven right and three left corners and constant changes of elevation.

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS will return to Austria in August to get the second half of the 2016 underway.

Franco Morbidelli: 185 Laps – 1’30.1

“This test has been another positive one for us because we were able to try a lot of different things on the bike, many of which brought improvements, so I’m happy with that. The Spielberg track is really nice and great fun to ride, so I’m looking forward to our return to get the second half of the season underway next month.”

Álex Márquez: 186 Laps – 1’30.3

“I’m happy to be here in Spielberg and, after two days of testing, I can say that I like this track a lot; it’s very interesting. We still need to find some improvement in the lap time when we return here for the race, but I’m confident that we know how to do this. Now it’s time to relax a little and recharge the batteries before coming back to Austria to start the second half of the season, hopefully with a good result.”

Naoya Kaneko: Chief Engineer – Álex Márquez

“We were a little apprehensive ahead of this test because the weather forecast didn’t look promising, but finally we’ve had good conditions up until three o’clock on both days, so it’s been a very productive test. We managed to complete our planned test program so we now have a good base set up for this track, but we also have a clear understanding of where we need to improve further when we return in August for the race.”

More, from a press release issued by RBA Racing Team:

RBA Racing Team finishes two days of testing at the Spielberg circuit

27.07.2016

Spielberg, Austria

RBA Racing Team took part in two days of private testing at the A1 Ring, Spielberg.

The riders of the team had the chance to get to know the Austrian track before the World Championship round on 12-13-14 August, taking full advantage of the opportunity in order to get ready for the Grand Prix. The good weather lasted till the afternoon of the second day: the weather change meant that it was also possible to have an initial try on wet tarmac.

Rodrigo and his crew worked to prepare a base set-up ahead of the GP, in order to have a starting point since the FP1 on Friday. The second day was important to improve some modifications and to set a better pace.

Just like his teammate, Guevara worked to ensure as much data as possible for the race in August. Apart from checking the performance of the KTM on the tyres that are available, the Spaniard completed long runs and took advantage of the rain to improve the wet setting.

#19 Gabriel Rodrigo:

“We had two days of test in Austria in order to get to know the track, and both were positive: it was few riders out on track here before the Grand Prix. This is a peculiar circuit, with lots of straights and braking points, where it’s important the balance of the bike. Yesterday we focused on completing many laps and we had to face some small issues. Today things went well: after learning the track, we made a big step forwards, thanks to some changes to the clutch and to improve the stability of the bike. I’m happy and looking forwards to the race.”

#58 Juanfran Guevara:

”During these two days of test we put together lots of information. It’s a completely new track for us: there aren’t many turns, the straights are long and mostly strong braking points. The top speed and acceleration are very important here, you have to stay focused to open the gas soon in the corner and to maintain a good stability when braking. Yesterday was a positive day, we completed plenty of laps and we tried the tyre compounds that are available. We had a good base for the set-up of the bike and, despite a crash at the end of the afternoon, we got some useful data. Today we started off with yesterday’s setting, trying to work on the same line. We struggled because of some chatter and we focused to find its source, to fix it quickly in case it was back during the Grand Prix. At the end of the day we also got out when it was raining, to improve the wet setting that we prepared at Sachsenring and to learn the track also with these conditions.”