Positive test session for Team HRC at a sunny Aragón

“On day one we started with our base set-up. We’re essentially looking for a standard base that can work well in different situations and doesn’t need to be massively modified each time. Among other things, we tested a new exhaust and had positive feedback there, and we know we’re quite strong in terms of race pace, but the important thing was to complete a lot of laps and collate as much data as possible. Day two was again very productive, and we tried to put together everything we’d worked on during day one, focusing on many small details, which can really make the difference. During the final stages of the afternoon, we concentrated on carrying out a time attack, an area in which we were keen to work, and I can say we’ve identified a good direction and now have a lot of useful data to use during next week’s test in Barcelona. That will be a key test in preparation for the round later this season, and these back-to-back tests will help us to be ready for Assen of course. Overall, this test has been very positive, not only in terms of lap times but also our general performance and progress.”

“I’m quite pleased with what we’ve got done here. It took me a few laps to regain my confidence yesterday, after what happened in Indonesia, but overall we’ve worked very well and demonstrated good pace. We’ve tested some bike updates and focused on trying to understand whether these can be effective in the races. And we’ll continue to work on the general setup again next week to really understand where we are. Towards the end of day two we completed a time attack and although I made a few mistakes, I was generally happy with that too, although I’m happier with our race pace. Step by step we’re getting there; honestly, I’ve mainly concentrated on getting comfortable again so that the feeling is there when we head to Assen. I feel like my old self again so that’s good. I think both me and Xavi are now close enough to many of our rivals to be competitive in the next rounds. And we now have another important test at Barcelona of course, where we’ll be focusing on race preparation, particularly considering that I was fast over the flying lap last year, scoring pole position, but then struggled in the races, so it will be interesting to see how we do next week.”