Jerez: QMMF Racing Team riders Julian Simon and Xavier Simeon started preparations for the new Moto2 Grand Prix season with a successful private testing session at Jerez track, the iconic track in Southern Spain.
Both riders used the first day to find back to their rhythm aboard a prototype racer after a winter break of almost three months. Simon’s task was a little easier, since the 28-year-old Spaniard has already one complete season with QMMF Racing Team and the Speed UP machine under his belt.
He pushed the bike to the limit and finding the best riding style was slightly more difficult for his 26-year-old Belgian team-mate, because Simeon joined QMMF Racing only after last year’s final race at Valencia and still needs to adapt to the Speed Up bike after having been on another brand previously.
On the second day, both riders found themselves among the top 10 riders with different teams running different engine specs. The real test will be on next week, when all Moto2 teams return to Jerez for the three-day IRTA test with the official single engine of the category.
“We had a good start into the new season. It’s always nice to return to the world championship and I was really looking forward to riding my Speed Up prototype again after a few months without having been on a bike,” said Julian Simon.
“In the beginning I struggled a bit, it seemed especially difficult to find the right set-up for the corner entries, while you are still on the brakes. But step by step, we solved our problems and on the second day, I had a better feeling, which is the most important thing in our preparations for the official IRTA test next week.”
“There are no major innovations on the bike, we just tried a set-up that was a little bit different to what we had in the race here last year and also different to what we used in November at the end of last season,” he added.
Xavier Simeon said that the first day was difficult as they did not ride so fast. “I was struggling to ride the bike the way it wants to be ridden. But on day two, we managed to go a lot faster, we were a lot better and during the whole afternoon, we had a good pace. My feeling was a lot better in comparison to yesterday. After three months without riding, it was not easy to find the right feeling for the Speed Up and it still felt new to me, even though we tried the bike in November,” he said.
“But in the end, we did a good job and I am happy to finish like this because the first test is always especially important. I wanted to finish with good sensations and we did it!”
“Now we will focus on improving further and on trying to be faster again at the next test, so we will be ready for the first race.” Simeon said.
“We did a better job in that way today and we will focus to ride that bike like it should be ridden. Simone Corsi was very fast with the Speed Up, so everybody can see that the bike is very competitive. But we also did good lap times today, so I am happy. I am good, the team is good, the atmosphere in the team is great, so at the moment everything is okay and I hope it will continue like this!,” he added.The Peninsula
