The first official test of the 2017 preseason concluded this Friday at Jerez. Over the course of three days, Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Miguel Oliveira was able to try all kinds of setups for his new KTM Moto2 bike. On the third day, Oliveira was just 17 thousandths of a second off his best time of the week – a lap that allowed him to finish third on the final timesheets.
Just as happened on Thursday, it was in the first session that most riders set their best times. Oliveira’s 1:42.333 lap put him back amongst the Top 3, and he decided not to go out in the final session. With all the work planned for this week completed satisfactorily, and following 6 days of testing at Jerez in the last two weeks, the Red Bull KTM Ajo team will travel to a different circuit on Wednesday. Testing in Qatar will be the second and final official test of the 2017 preseason.
Results – Combined Standings Days 1-2-3
1. Alex Marquez (Kalex) 1:41.989
2. Franco Morbidelli (Kalex) 1:42.103 +0.114
3. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:42.316 +0.327
4. Dominique Aegerter (Kalex) 1:42.336 +0.347
5. Jorge Navarro (Kalex) 1:42.376 +0.387
Aki Ajo – Team Manager: "This was the first official test for the new KTM Moto2 project with the whole grid on track. It has been very interesting, but at the moment we are not too concerned with comparing ourselves with others because we have just started this project and we have a lot to work on. We have to focus on ourselves and not on others. I am very happy with how everything is going and how we are taking important steps forward every day."
#44 Miguel Oliveira: "I felt very good on the bike today. After what we had done on the first few days of testing, I wanted to repeat or even improve my lap time. Although we ended up only very close to that, the day ended up being very positive. This can serve as a first impression of how the season will be, with all the riders on track. Now we will go to Qatar with clear ideas, to take on a new circuit where we will have to adapt and solve the problems that we will find as fast as possible in order to be up at the front."
