Avintia Racing riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz concluded Jerez test ahead of schedule. Despite rain forecasts, the sun has shone on the Andalusian track in the first two days of testing, where several Ducati teams, plus Aprilia, Suzuki, KTM and Honda have come to Jerez to complete a three-day test, the last of 2016 season.
Héctor Barberá was the fastest yesterday on his Ducati Desmosedici GP 2016, but today he finished earlier than expected due to a mechanical problem. The Valencian has been left with the desire to improve his times with new tires, but overall, his feeling have been very good, and when he returns to action at the end of January in Malaysia, he hopes to have more support from Ducati keep going forward with his adaptation process to his new bike.
Loris Baz did a really fast lap today and he finished this test very happy, both with his bike and his new crew chief. The Frenchman got grips really well with the Desmosedici GP15, and following a difficult season aheads the winter break with a smile on his face.
“I am very happy because I have not had such good feelings with the bike for a long time. I think we have done two very good days of work, little by little I am getting confidence with the bike and this test has been very positive. We have tried a lot of things and we have a really fast pace, and today I did a very fast lap, although it could be better. But I’m happy because enjoyed riding my bike, now I can push hard with confidence and I understand what the bike and the tyres do. It has been a very positive test and I go with a relaxed brain to the winter break, because it has been a very difficult year, with a lot of doubts, so ending like this is fantastic.”
“I finished the last test of the year with a bittersweet taste. On the one hand, we could confirm the great potential of this bike and we have also tried several new Michelin front tyres that I really liked. But I am not happy enough, because in Valencia we had an issue with the gear box, and here happened again. I was forced to stop at three and I have not been able to do many laps today; I’ve spent all morning testing tyres, and when it was time to put fresh rubber for the time attack we had this problem. I wont have the second bike until the first test next year, and therefore, we were forced to finish the test ahead of schedule. I hope that in Malaysia everything works properly, because in the two races I did with the Ducati Team we did not have any issues, but we have had them in the last two test. I trust Ducati and I’m sure they will help us to get the full potential of my GP16”.
