Doha: QMMF Racing Team is optimistic of a good show at the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit after promising results in the final three-day pre-season testing.
QMMF Racing Team riders Julian Simon and Xavier Simeon ended an intense three-day-test in Doha with impressive results against their names. 28-year-old Spaniard Simon managed to improve steadily and closed in on the top riders of the category with a lap time of 2.00,573 minutes, just 1.1 seconds behind the fastest rider on the 5.380 kilometer track.
26-year-old Belgian team-mate Simeon was not far behind, with a lap time of 2.01,112 minutes and a gap to the top of 1. 7 seconds, which placed the newcomer of QMMF Racing in the middle of the hard-fought Moto2 field.
But the best lap times only tell one side of the story: Whereas both riders worked hard to get the maximum out of their Speed Up bikes with the full grip of new tyres and the softer tyre option, the feeling and consistency with used tyres was so good that both Simon and Simeon left the last pre-season test optimistic about their chances in the race next Sunday.
“The official tests here in Qatar started well for us, I had a good feeling with the bike straight away. It was strange that I could do better lap times with the hard tyre than with the softer compound, because with the additional grip of the soft tyre, the bike started to push the front at the corner entries, whereas I was able to ride in a more fluid way with the harder option. I was quicker, but also more consistent with this harder tyre. But all in all, we went well and we managed to go as fast as last year, which is good considering it was only the first day,” Simon said.
“On day two, we managed to improve our lap times quite considerably, by about one second, which is really good. It was a nice surprise that I was able to go fast with the soft tyre as well, which hadn’t been the case on day one. All in all, we found a good base with the set-up, but the bike was still moving a lot, so in the last session, we made some modifications to see if we could improve the bike further. This wasn’t the case, but at least we knew which way to go with the set-up,” he added.
“On the third and final day, I tried to do many consecutive laps, but we also worked on a single fast lap for qualifying. We managed to improve our lap time again and got within striking distance of the top ten of the category. There is still a lot of work to do as far as one single fast lap is concerned, but our race pace is good. I hope we can continue on our way up, because I want to be fully prepared for the home race of my team and to be able to fight for a strong result for our main sponsor and for the fans here in Qatar,” Simon said.
Simeon said they struggled in the initial stages of the testing but gained control over the bikes after getting use to the conditions and the vehicles.
“When we came here, we struggled a little bit with the front feeling, but at the end of the first day, we tried something different and it was a little bit better, especially with old tyres. With new tyres though, I couldn’t go faster. The same happened to us at the last test in Jerez, and I don’t know why. This was the question throughout the three days of testing here and we have to continue work on this, because if you can’t get the maximum out of a new tyre in qualifying, you are in trouble,” Simeon said.
“On the second day, we fully concentrated on our race pace, but we didn’t improve the way I was hoping for. I didn’t have a bad feeling with the bike, but in the corner entries, I struggled a lot to put the bike in the right position and to open the throttle quickly, which is the point where I lost the most time.
“On the third day, we made a big step in the right direction and we improved with the settings for the front, but all in all, there is still a lot of work left to do. The general feeling with the bike is good, we are strong as far as race pace and consistency goes, but I still need to deepen my understanding of the bike in all details. In the practice sessions for the Grand Prix next week, we have many more set-up changes planned and I hope they will help me to make the next step and get fully competitive,” he added.
The Qatar MotoGP will be held on March 20.
The Peninsula
