Category: MotoGP

MotoGP GP of Thailand – Chang International Circuit

The riders of Team Reale Avintia Racing had a difficult start of the weekend at Buriram, with Xavier Simeon and Jordi Torres settling for 23^rd and 24^th place in the first free practice sessions of the Thai Grand Prix.

For Xavier Simeon, who rides the Ducati GP17 of his injured teammate Tito Rabat for the third consecutive time, these first two sessions were not easy. Even though his feeling with the bike improved in FP2, his progress was stopped when he suffered a crash. He only could improve by three tenths of a second when he tried to push for a hot lap with new tyres. Nevertheless, the Belgian rider remains positive and hopes to climb up in the time sheets on Saturday.

Jordi Torres accumulated solid track knowledge in four seasons of World Superbike racing at the Chang International Circuit, but with the MotoGP bike, many things were completely different and new again. The Spanish rider finished the day right behind his teammate, but was happy with what he learned on the first day. Bit by bit, he feels better with the bike and the tyres, so he shares Simeon’s confidence of doing better on Saturday.

FP3 will start at 4.55 h, followed by FP4 at 8.30 h and the qualifying sessions at 9.10 h Spanish time.

“I struggled a bit in the morning, but in the afternoon, I felt very good on the bike and I was hopeful to improve considerably. Unfortunately, I had a crash at the end of the session due to some oil on the track and I was forced to finish with my second bike. I couldn’t get the best out of it and improve my lap time the way I expected and therefore I’m a bit disappointed. Once again, I couldn’t improve enough in comparison to the others with a new tyre. I am really working hard on improving this aspect, but so far we haven’t found the solution. Apart from this, it was a positive day, as I had good feelings with the bike.”

“Even though it doesn’t show in the time sheets, I am happy with our progress. We had a super-productive day and I managed to get a lot more accustomed to the bike and the tyres. This morning, I allowed myself to ride the way I felt most comfortable, whereas in the afternoon, I tried to change my riding style in a way that suits the bike and the tyres. I changed my position on the bike a lot and as a consequence, I improved on the corner exits. But more than anything, I started to understand the behaviour of the front tyre and I began to feel when it starts to move. I treated this with lots of respect at the beginning, but in the end I started to like it. Tonight, I will think a lot about all the new information that I collected and tomorrow, I hope to get a bit closer to the others.”

MotoGP GP of Thailand – Chang International Circuit

Reale Avintia Racing rider Tito Raba was released from the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona last week and will continue his rehabilitation program at home in Valencia. Rabat, who fractured his femur, tibia and fibula a month ago at the Silverstone circuit, will not travel to Thailand and instead needs a few more weeks of patience before getting back on his Ducati GP17.
His team-mate Xavier Simeon is going to ride Rabat’s bike once again and is determined to make another step at the first ever MotoGP race in Thailand. The Belgian rider arrives at the Chang International Circuit highly motivated, as he knows the track from the winter test and as he has the experience of two races with the GP17 under his belt. He hopes to be able to fight for points this weekend.
Following his promising debut in the premier class at the last race at MotorLand Aragón, Jordi Torres flies to Thailand with confidence. Torres knows the bike, the tyres, the equipment and he also knows the circuit very well, from the races in the World Superbike championship in the last four season. Even though the Ducati Superbike is radically different from the Desmosedici GP16 of Reale Avintia Racing, the experience on this track will certainly help to master the challenges of next weekend.
The weather forecast is good, with sun and high temperatures throughout the weekend. The MotoGP action will start on Friday at 9:55 local time (4:45 Spanish time).

“I am going to Thailand with a lot of confidence, because we tested there in the pre-season and this means that we will start the weekend with some experience. The lack of track experience was the cause of most of our problems this year, because it stopped us from getting on the pace quickly and getting the references with the MotoGP machine. I will ride Tito’s bike again and therefore, I have very high expectations. I hope to score points for the first time this season.”

“After the great experience of Aragon, where I had to absorb a lot of information over the weekend to adapt to my riding style to the MotoGP category, it s fantastic to have another chance and to get back on the bike in Thailand. I know the circuit very well, because we have been racing there in the last four years of the World Superbike championship. It’s a track that I like and I where I had good races. We will have to make the best of FP1 on Friday to catch up with the others and to keep improving. I must get down to the maximum lean angle and learn how to pick up the bike on the corners exits as quickly as possible. There are many things that I figured out in my head and now it’s time to apply this knowledge to the bike. Let’s see if I can ride more smoothly and if I can score a decent result on Sunday”.

MotoGP GP of Aragón – MotorLand Aragón

Reale Avintia Racing riders Xavier Simeon and Jordi Torres battled with the heat over the 19 laps of the Aragón Grand Prix to finish in 19^th and 20^th position.

To complete the full race distance aboard the Ducati GP17 of his injured team-mate Tito Rabat was a valuable experience for the Belgian rider, who was forced to retire from the previous Grand Prix at Misano due to a crash, but who learned a lot during the race now at Aragón.

On the other side of the garage, Jordi Torres was al smiles after his first experience in the blue ribbon class of motorcycle racing. It wasn’t an easy task to learn so many things in such a short time and with the pressure of a race weekend, but Torre, one of the darlings of the Spanish crowd, improved session by session and finished they race less than a second behind his team-mate. To sum it up, he did a great job.

Should Tito Rabat not get the green light from the medical team of MotoGP to take part at the next round in Thailand, Simeon will have a third opportunity with the Ducati GP17 and Torres will take the vacant seat in the team one more time.

The Grand Prix of Thailand will take place at the Chang International Circuit from 5^th to 7^th of October.

“This weekend was much more difficult than I expected, as I really thought I’d be able to finish higher up in the classification. But we had a lot of traction problems over the whole weekend. In the race, the last laps were especially difficult. Even though the bike turns very well, I couldn’t get the power down in the moment of opening the throttle. The only positive thing is the additional experience with this bike. Now we have to concentrate on the next race in Thailand where I expect to make another step forward.”

“To complete my first Grand Prix in the MotoGP class was a very emotional experience. A dream came true and I enjoyed every moment of it. It helped me to understand tyre wear, how the bike changes over the distance and how you have to adapt your riding style to the decreasing fuel load. But to be honest, not a lot of this sank in and every time I saw myself getting closer to the front, I made more mistakes. I tried to stay cool during the race and to concentrate on my riding position, but I’m still too rigid on the bike. I would have liked to stay with another rider in the race, but nevertheless, I am very happy. Now we’ll have to wait and see if Tito will fly to Thailand or not. I am prepared for whatever is needed.”

MotoGP GP of Aragón – MotorLand Aragón

The riders of Team Reale Avintia Racing, Xavier Simeon and Jordi Torres, were not very happy with their qualifying results for the Grand Prix of Aragón on Sunday.

The Belgian rider, who is contesting his second race on the bike of injured Tito Rabat, couldn’t improve his lap time as he had expected, due to dense traffic on the track during his last time attack in Q1. He will now start from the 22^nd position of the grid. Upbeat about his race rhythm, Simeon believes he will be fast enough to ride and battle within another group of riders.

Teammate and rookie Jordi Torres also had a difficult second day of practice. After a crash in FP3 during the morning session, the rider from Rubí lost some of his confidence in the front end and in the front fork set-up of his bike. But the rider from Rubí made the best out of the day and improved his Friday time significantly. There is no hidden agenda for the race, simply to put up a fight.

Warm-Up will start at 9.40 on Sunday and both Xavier Simeon and Jordi Torres are determined to put up a fight and get as many issues sorted as possible before the race starts at 14.00 h local time!”

“Honestly, I am disappointed because when we mounted the last rear tyre in qualifying, I ran into a lot of traffic and couldn’t get the result we were expecting. I am angry, because I expected a much bigger improvement with the new rear tyre and I felt really comfortable on the bike, so it’s a real shame. Now it will be even more important to get a good start, so I can get the maximum out of the race. It will be long, tough and very hot, but I am confident to be able to maintain my rhythm which should allow me to gain positions and fight for a good result.”

“It was a difficult day. In a nutshell, we were in delay for the whole day and it was my fault. This morning in FP3, I made a mistake downshifting and I came off the bike. It was a stupid crash, but big enough to throw out our plans for the whole day. We had best intentions to apply a bit more pressure, but this delay made us more careful instead. In FP4, we rode many laps in order to improve my feelings with the bike and to change my seating position. In Q1, I pushed harder and tried to lean over more than all the others, and I can say that I never ever in my life went with more lean angle. Riding like that, the bike behaved differently and we made a lot of progress. It’s a pity that we didn’t make this move in the morning. But nevertheless, I am highly motivated and we’ll now see what we can achieve in the race.

MotoGP GP of Aragón – MotorLand Aragón

The riders of team Reale Avintia Racing had a good first day at the Grand Prix of Aragón, with Xavier Simeon improving aboard the Ducati GP17 of injured team-mate Tito Rabat and with newcomer Jordi Torres finishing only a little more than a second behind the second-last rider.

Since the weekend has only just begun, both Simeon and Torres are convinced they can improve further. The Belgian rider will focus on the set-up of hisbike in order to be more consistent, whereas the Spanish rider from Rubí will work on adapting his aggressive riding style to suit and get the maximum out of his Ducati.

FP3 will take place at 9:55 h on Saturday morning, whereas the qualifying runs for the starting grid will start at 14:10 h.

“It was a very positive day despite a technical problem with one of the bikes. This aside, I am very happy with the first day because it didn’t go bad at all. My lap time was decent even though I still have to improve my rhythm and consistency a lot. This bike wears the rear tyre out quite quickly and we have to work on this aspect. I hope to make another step forward tomorrow. I will try to give it all in Q1 in order to be as close to the front as possible on the starting grid.”

“I honestly thought it would be much more difficult to ride in this category and on this bike than it really was. I also want to say that the team made it very easy for me to get used to the bike step by step. They gradually gave me more engine power, taking the traction control back bit by bit, which made the bike always a bit more difficult to tame, but also more enjoyable for me. It was an exciting day with high expectations from many sides, but I was not satisfied. I am the first one to put pressure on myself. There is no doubt that we should have done lap times around 1’50.6 or 1’50.7 and the fact that we didn’t achieve this is my fault. I am still unable to string a good lap without any small mistakes together, I still need to be more precise and consistent. I also didn’t want to take any risks because it wasn’t the day to do that. To get to the point where we are now was relatively easy, but to improve further will be tough. It’s not so much a question of bravery or riding style than to figure out how to do cover the straights in the shortest possible. Every time I want to accelerate earlier or brake later, I make mistakes. But this night, I will re-think everything and tomorrow, I hope to get a bit closer.”

MotoGP GP of Aragon – MotorLand Aragon

Jordi Torres will join the Reale Avintia Racing team this weekend at the Aragon Grand Prix. The Catalan rider will jump on Xavier Simeon’s GP16, while the Belgian rider will enjoy his second race on injured Tito Rabat’s Ducati.
Torres is not a newcomer in the MotoGP paddock, as he raced in the Moto2 class from 2010 to 2014 with some success. He has several podiums in the intermediate class and he won the race in Sachsenring 2013. Two years later he decided to try in the World Superbike Championship and in his first season he was always in the top five and finished in the podium in several races. He got his first victory in the last race of the season in Qatar. He currently competes with MV Agusta in his fourth WSBK season.
On Friday in Aragon, it will be the first time that Torres gets on a MotoGP bike, and this is challenge he is ready to face this weekend and he is looking forward to start.
Jordi Torrres will race for Reale Avintia team in MotorLand and, in the races that the doctors from Hospital Unversitari Dexeus, consider for Rabat to recover 100% from the unfortunate injury in his right leg.

“First of all I want thank the team for this opportunity. Right now I am excited but also terrified, but it is always a challenge to be able to try a MotoGP bike for the first time. It will be a unique experience that one day I will be able to tell my grandchildren. Now seriously, I really want to try the bike and see how I evolve. I know that the championship has a very high level and in a race weekend it is very difficult to assimilate all the things you need to be fast, but I will try to learn as much as possible and take advantage of my experience. I think it’s something positive, I know the team very well and I will try to put everything, and we will see what comes out during the weekend. It’s more difficult than the people think, but I’m going with a positive attitude and looking forward to get the best out of this opportunity. I also want to thank my manager for his work and MV Agusta for giving me permission to be in Aragon. At the moment it is one race, but it could be two. Above all I want to wish Tito a speedy recovery because he does not deserve that bad accident, but I know he will come back quickly, because he is a fighter”.

MotoGP GP of San Marino – Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli

The Grand Prix of San Marino was not easy for Team Reale Avintia Racing as Xavier Simeon’s hopes of fighting for points and scoring a strong result evaporated at the beginning of the fourth lap when he lost the front of his Ducati GP17 and crashed. As the Belgian rider says, it was a pity, because the previous work of the weekend had been very positive and his pace and race set-up were more than acceptable.
New team-mate and MotoGP rookie Christoph Ponsson finished his first Grand Prix, in a weekend that was also difficult for him due to the criticism of numerous publications and riders pilots. The most important thing for him today was to gain experience and finish the race, which he achieved.
The next round of the championship will take place within two weeks at the MotorLand Aragón Circuit and will be the third home race for Team Reale Avintia Racing.

“It was a shame to crash in the race and without a doubt, this is not what I expected. The first thing that went wrong was the start and that’s what ultimately caused this crash, because I tried to recover and go with the group that was in front of me. But apart from this, I had fun and I learned a lot this weekend riding the GP17, although, of course, you can’t jump on a different bike and do miracles. I think I’ve done good lap times during practice, compared to last year. And I’ve also reconfirmed that the level of this category is very high even with a better bike. I hope to be able to take advantage of all I’ve learned this weekend when we get to Aragon, where I want to be stronger from Friday and make a good weekend”.

“It’s been a long race. I expected it that way and I faced the race as a 27-lap practice session. It helped me to understand many things about the front tire and I have also experienced how the behaviour of the bike as the fuel load gets less towards the middle of the race. I also learned the difference between a new and a worn tire, because it changes the way you have to ride during the race. My last lap was only half a second slower than my best one in qualifying and this was also positive. I think we haven’t made any mistakes. I learned a lot and I did not crash because I did not want to lose track time. It was difficult to take everything in in such a short time, but the experience was worth it. I hope I can do better in Aragon”.

MotoGP GP of San Marino – Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli

Reale Avintia Racing team rider Xavier Simeon will start the Grand Prix of San Marino on Sunday from 22^nd place of the grid. Despite suffering a small crash during the qualifying session, Simeon is quite satisfied with the progress made. On his second day on the Ducati GP17, the Belgian rider enjoyed his ride and concentrated on the race set-up. Tomorrow he hopes to be able to be fighting within the top 15.
Losing FP3 due to the damp conditions of the track was a problem for Christophe Ponsson on Saturday morning. The French rider needs time on the bike to continue learning and improving. But due to the rain overnight, the circuit was not dry enough to go out with Michelin slick tires, but also was not wet enough for rain settings. In FP4, he was able to do many consecutive laps and in qualifying he improved his best time from yesterday by a full second.
In the race on Sunday, he hopes to improve lap after lap and, above all, to enjoy his first Grand Prix in MotoGP.

“It has been a positive day despite the crash at the end of the session. It was a shame because I did not manage to get the best out of the bike. However, I was able to start again with the second bike and the lap time was not bad in the end. Today we tried some different settings on the bike and I was able to improve a bit, but in such a short time it is difficult to get used to everything. But it’s important that I enjoy riding and I’m happy. Tomorrow I hope to be consistent and get the best out of me and the bike to make a good race”.

“Today I felt much better on the bike. Our only handicap was the track was not in the best condition this morning and I could only do six laps. Without a doubt, this wasn’t good for me because those kilometres that I missed out on would have been crucial to improve my times in qualifying. I used FP4 to confirm yesterday’s work and continue with my adaptation to the bike. In qualifying I improved by one second. Every time I go out, I am more comfortable and feel more things on the bike. If I could have had more time this morning, the improvement would have been more noticeable. Tomorrow I hope to finish the race. Also, I’m sure I’ll improve my pace during the race”.

MotoGP GP of San Marino – Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli

The riders of Team Reale Avintia Racing had a positive first day of practice for the San Marino Grand Prix.

Xavi Simeon was impressed with the Ducati GP17 of his injured teammate Tito Rabat and ended the two Friday practice sessions very happy with the feeling for this bike, even though these good sensations don’t reflect in the classification yet. Simeon was 1.6 seconds behind the fastest guy on the track but is convinced that he can do another step tomorrow and that a starting position somewhere in the first five rows of the grid is within reach.

There was also excitement on the other side of the box which saw the MotoGP debut of Christophe Ponsson. Everything was new for Chris today and it made sense for the 22-year-old Frenchman to have a careful approach in the blue ribbon category of motorcycle racing. Rubén Xaus was by his side all day and provided him, alongside with the technical team, with the right advice at every moment, so he was able to progress significantly over the course of the day. Despite a lot of criticism about him learning to ride a MotoGP bike on an actual race weekend, the Frenchman achieved his first goal and finished the day within the 107 per cent time limit and passed the qualifying hurdle. In the same way as Simeon, Ponsson also expects to make another step on Saturday in order to be well prepared for the race on Sunday.

“I am very happy, because I felt really well on this bike. We didn’t touch anything on the base settings of Tito and I was comfortable from the first lap. I tried to ride as much as possible in order to get used to the bike and with every exit, we managed to improve our times. I finished 1.6 seconds behind the leader and it’s a long time ago that I was that close. The team is helping me a lot in order to do well. I believe tomorrow we can fight for a place within the top 15 in qualifying.”

“Today I had to learn many things in a short time, but I think we did a good job. What I find most difficult to get used to are neither the carbon brakes nor the engine power, but the stiffness of the bike. I rode many street bike derivatives in the past, which were softer and I’m struggling with this one because the chassis is so stiff that it transmits everything. I also never had a chance to compete on Michelin tires before, which made things even more complicated in the short time we’ve had. I need more kilometres in order to get used to the bike. The other riders or on the finish line of this season and are on an incredible level. The best thing for us is that I improved every time I went out on the track.”

Reale Avintia Racing is pleased to announce a two-year agreement reached with Karel Abraham that will see the 28 year-old Czech rider will compete in MotoGP World Championship with Ducati in 2019 and 2020.

Karel Abraham’s debut in the World Championship was in 2005 in 125cc and after two seasons he moved up to 250cc. In 2010, the same year the Moto2 class started as the new intermediate category, Abraham did a strong season and he ended the year with a podium finish in Japan and wining the race in Valencia.

His debut in MotoGP was in 2011 with Ducati and he completed five seasons before moving to World Superbike. Abraham came back to MotoGP in 2017 and he showed his skills at the Grand Prix of Argentina with front row start and top 10 result in the race.

Karel is a very experienced rider and capable of scoring points in every race. Next season he will race with Reale Avintia Racing team riding a Ducati GP18 and he expects to step forward and get closer to the front.

“I’m very happy to continue in Motogp next year and would like to thanks for this opportunity to Reale Avintia Racing Team. We signed in Silverstone because it was very important for me to finalise every detail of the contract in order to get competitive machinery. This worked out also thanks to a big help of Luigi Dall’Igna and Paolo Ciabatti from Ducati factory. The important part is, that it will be Ducati GP18 with the newest specification, which has a good results from this season. Thanks to that I believe, that we will be able to make some really good results and I am already very excited about the next season.”

“I’m very happy to see Karel Abraham joining our team. He is a hard worker, has won in Moto2, and has a lot of experience in MotoGP and with Ducati. I think that with better material and with the work of the whole team, next year Karel will be able to show its true potential. And I’m also happy to announce that we will continue with Ducati for two more seasons.”