MotoGP Test Qatar – Losail International Circuit
The second day of testing at the Losail International Circuit has been quite good for Reale Avintia Racing riders, Tito Rabat and Xavier Simeon. The action has been delayed after some drops of rain started falling across the circuit. But although the track was not wet, this prevented the riders to get on track. But the sun shined again and Rabat and Simeon were been able to continue with their work program in Qatar.
The Spaniard improved his fast lap of the first day in almost half a second. He also managed to be faster in race settings showing a strong pace. But Tito is never satisfied and in the final hour he went out again, but this time without winglets and he crashed out like yesterday in turn 6.
Xavi Simeon did a big step today. The Belgian ‘rookie’ was a second faster than yesterday, but the most important thing is that he was able to improve a lot his riding style, and now he can get more corner speed and take better advantage of the power of his Ducati Desmosedici engine. Simeon also did a small race simulation and the rhythm has been more than acceptable. He also improved with soft tyres, but it is still the area where he loses more compared to his rivals.
“I’m happy because today once again we improved our race pace and every time I have better feeling with the bike. In the end perhaps we went in the wrong direction, because we decided to try the bike without winglets and I crashed again. But overall the day was good and in with race settings we are quite fast and the tyre life is quite good. For tomorrow the goal is to improve the fastest lap a bit, if we manage to do that I’ll be happy. We have some ideas of where we can improve and we’ll see how it goes. Tomorrow will be an important day because it will be the last test day before the season finally starts here in Qatar”.
“Today was much more positive and I’ve been able to improve my lap times quite a lot. I found myself much better and more confident with the front tyre. To be honest the tyres never gave me bad feelings, but I have to understand well where I can push more. I improved a lot in braking and also the entry into the corner, which allowed me to be more consistent and have better pace, because with that I gained a corner and I can lift the bike before to get stronger. I’ve also done a race simulation and the pace has not been bad. It is clear that we have much to improve, but I am happy to be the first. Tomorrow we must continue on the same line”.
