August 2018 - Page 2 of 2

11 August, 2018

Reale Avintia Academy 77 – GP of Austria – Spielberg

The second day of free practice and qualification for the Austrian Grand PRix went quite well for Vicente Pérez and his Team Reale Avintia Academy 77. The rider from Valencia was 16th in the wet morning session with a best time of 1’45.381. Vicente also was very strong in the initial phases of qualifying, which started on a tarmac that was still damp and saw him in first position for a while. The track then dried up more and more and the team recommended for Pérez to go out with slick tyres for the last two exits. But Pérez preferred to continue with wet settings which lead to a mistake, when Pérez braked too hard on a dry spot and suffered a crash. With just a few minutes to go, the mechanics repaired his KTM in a race against the clock, but time ran out before Pérez could do another flying lap before the chequered flag came out.

In the race on Sunday, he will now start from the last place on the grid, but he remains confident about his chances to recover and to fight for world championship points.

“Quite like at Brno, we saw both sides of the coin. In the morning, everything went really well in the wet and the classification started well too, as long as the tarmac was still damp. I was first for a while and within the top five for a good part of the session. But when the team told me it was time to go out with slicks, I didn’t have the confidence and everything went wrong after that. I continued with rain tyres and crashed, losing all options to score a good practice result. I learned another lesson the hard way, but I’m still confident because I know I have the rhythm to catch up and return home with my first world championship points”.

10 August, 201810 August, 2018

MotoGP GP of Austria – Spielberg

In the first free practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix, Reale Avintia Racing rider Tito Rabat surprised once again and is, for the time being, classified for the Q2 top qualifying session. In dry conditions, the Spaniard clocked a lap time of 1’24.676 which put him in eighth position in the combined standings for the day, since the second session in the afternoon took place in the wet. Rabat was 14^th in the FP2, and his feeling with the Ducati Desmosedici keeps improving every time he goes out in the rain.

Team-mate Xavier Simeon also had a good opening day at Spielberg. The Belgian rider of Reale Avintia was 22^nd in the morning and achieved competitive lap times. In the wet afternoon session, he didn’t ride very much, but six laps were enough for him to clock the 12^th fastest time in the wet. Simeon was very surprised about the high level of grip in these conditions.

The FP3 will start at 9.55 h on Saturday, the FP4 at 13.30 h, followed by the qualification heats at 14.05 h

“It was a very positive day. We knew that it was going to rain in the afternoon, so we pushed in the FP1 and for the moment, we are in the Q2, which is our goal. It was a good strategy because there is a good chance that it will still be wet in FP3. I am happy with my rhythm this morning because we were able to continue in the same line as in Brno, where we were fast. In the afternoon we preferred to wait for a long time before going out in the wet, but then I did five good laps and I was surprised how fast I found my rhythm and how fast I got the right feeling. In the past, I have always been struggling in the wet, but with this motorcycle, my feeling in the wet improves from time to time. We are ready for whatever conditions we will face, but I hope it won’t rain tomorrow and for the rest of the weekend”.

“This morning, I found my rhythm immediately and things went much better than I expected. I felt very comfortable on the bike and I had a lot of confidence. But in the end, when I grabbed a new rear tyre, I was once again unable to get the maximum performance out of it and I couldn’t come up with the last bit of speed to break into the Top 15. But all in all, things went much better. In the afternoon, it was a nice surprise to discover how much grip this track has in the wet. Last year in Moto2, the track was really dangerous, but today it was fantastic. I only rode a few laps, but I enjoyed riding the bike in these conditions.”

10 August, 201810 August, 2018

Reale Avintia Academy 77 – GP of Austria – Spielberg

Vicente Pérez made an impressive debut at the first day of practice on the Red Bull-Ring at Spielberg. In his third race as a rider of Team Reale Avintia Academy 77, the 20-year-old from Valencia approached the unknown circuit in a calm way during the morning session and ended up in 24^th position, with a gap of 1.6 seconds to the fastest man on the track. But in the afternoon, he made a giant leap forward and he was several times within the top group of riders, even though several of his lap times were cancelled because he exceeded the track limits. For a brief moment, he was as high up as third in the classification, but then this lap was cancelled as well and he finished the day in 20^th place.

Nevertheless, rider and team were in good spirits after this assault on the front positions. They hope to be able to improve further on Saturday so they can fight for a good grid position for the 23-lap-race on Sunday.

“It was a super-positive day for me because I was pretty fast even though I was riding by myself most of the time. I even clocked the third-fastest time in the FP2 in the afternoon, but then this lap time was cancelled because I was skimming along outside the track limit just a little bit and in the end I was only 20^th. It was a shame, but I’m happy nevertheless because I did my times all by myself and I really think we can be competitive on this track. Step by step and with consistent work, we are getting closer to the top. I want to thank the team, my manager and everybody who supports me so I can continue to grow as a rider!”

5 August, 2018

MotoGP – GP of the Czech Republic – Brno

The weekend of Tito Rabat in the Czech Republic started in a perfect way. On Saturday, he made the move to the Q2 directly and in the race on Sunday, he had the best start of the season so far and got away with the top group. The rider of Team Reale Avintia Racing clocked the fastest lap of the race on lap five and rode along comfortably with Honda factory rider Dani Pedrosa.

But on lap nine, bad luck struck once again. A technical problem left Rabat without any options, his bike simply stopped and there was no way to get it going again. Ducati immediately started a thorough analysis, trying to solve this problem for once and for all, because it was not the first race in which Rabat was left without reward due to a fault within the exhaust system. Nevertheless, Tito’s motivation remains high and he hopes for a great comeback from this disappointment with a strong result at Spielberg next week.

For team-mate Xavier Simeon, the race was a positive experience. The Belgian rider was able to put up a fight with Luthi, Abraham y Guintoli in the last group of riders. Only on the last laps of the race, the wear of his rear tyre had reached a point that made it impossible for himi to continue the battle until the chequered flag.

Team Reale Avintia Racing will now travel to Spielberg to contest the Austrian Grand Prix, where both Rabat and Simeon hope to finish higher up in the classification.

“This weekend was very positive until we ran into bad luck in the race. I had a phenomenal start and I think that I finally learned to start well with this motorcycle. And on the first laps, that are normally tough for me, I managed to hang on to the race leaders. But then, the bike simply stopped. We don’t know precisely what happened, but it’s a real shame because we could have scored a good result today. Even though, I repeat that I am satisfied, because I improved in areas in which I had struggled before. Now we go to Austria where I really want to show our progress in the race on Sunday.”

“I honestly think that this was a good race. I had a very good start, I recovered a number of positions on the first lap and I felt good on the bike. But five or six laps from the end, the rear tyre performance dropped and it was difficult to continue the battle with Abraham and Guintoli. Apart from that, the race went well and I saw things that will be useful in the next races to come. Now we go to Austria, a circuit that should be good for Ducati. Let’s wait and see”.

5 August, 20185 August, 2018

Moto3 GP of the Czech Republic – Brno

Vicente Pérez, who started the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic from the 24th place on the grid, cut the distance to the front runners considerably in the race. Even though he finished in 21st position, he had a clearly stronger pace, which boosts his and his team’s confidence for the future. The turnaround to the better came in the Sunday morning warm-up session, where Pérez found a key ingredient to the set-up of his bike. At the next race in Austria, the technicians will try to further explore this technical direction and fine-tune the new set-up.

The rider from Valencia and his Team Reale Avintia Academy77 gave 100 per cent in order to obtain the best possible result at Brno, which was a positive experience for the next round, the Grand Prix of Austria, which will be held from 10^th to 12^th of August at the Red Bull Ring of Spielberg.

“It wasn’t a bad race at all, as we finished less than 12 seconds behind the leading group of riders. I think we found something crucial in the warm-up session this morning and our only regret is that we didn’t go this way earlier, because with these changes, we were able to ride much faster. I improved my pace by eight tenths of a second in comparison to yesterday’s qualifying, which shows clearly that these modifications work well. I was able to hook on to the group in front of me and defend myself, but then I made a mistake and went straight. I caught up again and won the battle with the group in front of me, which felt really good. I am highly motivated now to race in Austria, because I’ve been told it is easy to be fast on that track”.

4 August, 20184 August, 2018

MotoGP GP de la Rep. Checa – Brno

Team Reale Avintia Racing and their Spanish rider Tito Rabat had a fantastic second day of practice at the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, with Rabat moving straight to the Q2 of the Top 12 riders and scoring a fourth row grid position for the race on Sunday.

After a strong Friday, Rabat confirmed his good feelings with his Ducati on Saturday morning and ended up in ninth position, which paved his way to the Q2 session. In FP4, he concentrated on the best possible race set-up and came to very good conclusions once again. In the Q2, he pulled all stops and improved his lap time significantly, but the others in the top group of MotoGP riders raised the bar as well and Rabat finally took eleventh place.

Teammate Xavier Simeon also improved his lap times in comparison to Friday, but it was not enough to improve his position in the time sheets. Even though his feeling with the bike and with the soft tyre option from Michelin was clearly better, he will have to start from the end of the grid. Nevertheless, Simeon is determined to put up a fight and to battle within a group from the first to the last lap.

“I am very happy because we went directly to Q2 today and this is an amazing achievement. I rode a great lap in qualifying, but the guys in front also pushed very hard. Now we will have to wait and see what tomorrow brings. It will be a very tough race, in which you have to be fully concentrated because the smallest details can be crucial. The key will be to manage tyre wear with throttle control. Physically, we are all very strong, so the heat won’t be a problem. But you have to be smooth with the throttle and you also have to avoid sliding under brakes. This is the only way to keep the tyres in good condition until the end and to score a strong result”.

“Things went well this morning and I had a better feeling with the bike. We made a big step forward and I was confident about a good qualification. With the first tyre I didn’t have as much grip as I had in the morning, but when I went out with the second one, the good feeling with the bike returned. I was about to put in my fast lap when Pol Espargaró squeezed past. We slowed each other down and lost this lap. It’s a shame because I could have been closer to the front. Tomorrow I’ll grit my teeth in the race. 21 laps will be tough, but I hope to do well”.

4 August, 20184 August, 2018

Moto3 GP of the Czech Republic – Brno

The Saturday practice and qualifying for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic was a tough learning experience for Vicente Pérez, because things didn’t work out the way the rider and his team Reale Avintia Academy 77 were hoping, and Pérez had to settle for the 24th position on the starting grid. Nevertheless, rider and team keep holding their heads high and are confident that they have the pace to fight for an acceptable result in the race on Sunday. The rider from Valencia will start from the eighth row on the grid, with the aim to battle within a group of similarly fast riders, get more experience in Grand Prix racing and reach the chequered flag in the 18-lap-race, which will start at 11 a.m.

“Today was a difficult day, the last free practice session as much as the qualifying. I tried everything but it didn’t work out. It was no problem on the team’s side, I simply tried to give a 100 per cent without getting results. I still have to improve in the second and the third sector. The race is tomorrow and we are not defeated yet. I have to get through the first laps, which will have a frantic rhythm, and if I can do that I’ll be fine for the rest of the race as well.”

3 August, 2018

Reale Avintia Academy 77 – GP of the Czech Republic – Brno

The first day of practice for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic went quite well for Vicente Pérez and his team Reale Avintia Academy 77. On his first ever session on the Brno track, the young rider from Valencia was very fast and reached 13^th place, with a lap time of 2’10.585, just 1.3 seconds behind the fastest rider.

Vicente and his team had a lot of confidence for the second free practice session in the afternoon, but nothing they tried worked as expected and their lap times were quite a bit slower than in FP1.

For Saturday, Vicente and his team set their goal to break into the Top 15 again. They will also work on race pace, with the goal of shining on Sunday and battling for some World Championship points.

“Today was a mix of good and bad. In FP1, we were pretty strong, but in FP2 with more heat in the afternoon, we tried different things that didn’t work as we had expected. But we have more ideas about how to improve tomorrow and we will push as hard as we can, because this track suits my riding style and I am convinced of our chances to do well here at Brno.”

3 August, 20183 August, 2018

MotoGP GP of the Czech Republic – Brno

Reale Avintia Racing rider Tito Rabat returned from the short summer break of MotoGP racing highly motivated and started the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic with a bang. In the first free practice session on Friday morning, Tito climbed into the Top 10 and was only six tenths of a second behind the fastest rider on the track. In the afternoon, with track temperatures in excess of 50 degree, he was also fast and consistent over the whole 45 minutes. Rabat concentrated on working with the hard rear tyre compound, but took to the track with the softer option from Michelin for his last run and scored the eighth fastest time of the day. For Saturday, his aim is to make a direct move to the Q2 qualifying session of the fastest riders, in order to secure the best possible place on the starting grid for the race.

Team-mate Xavier Simeon also had a productive day, even though this didn’t reflect in his position in the time sheets yet. The Belgian rider had a very consistent rhythm and, most importantly, felt comfortable with his bike. Tomorrow, he expects to make another step in the right direction.

“I really wanted to get on my MotoGP bike again, because even though I was riding bikes in the past two weeks, nothing compares to this feeling. We put in a solid day of work with the bike and we were very competitive in both sessions. But we have to keep our heads down, it’s just Friday and we have to keep improving. Michelin did a great job for this race, because the tyres worked really well. Now I need a good night’s sleep, so I can give my maximum in FP3, maybe make the move directly to QP2 and give everything in qualifying.”

“It was a very positive first day for me, much more positive than at the last two races. From morning to afternoon, we made a good step forward, I felt much, much better on the bike and I had the right feedback. This gives me confidence that we can improve further tomorrow. I wasn’t able to string a faultless fast lap together, which means that there is still room for improvement. I had a consistent rhythm and I hope that I can make another big step when it counts in qualifying”.