Aragon MotoGP Test
KTM
A busy day of testing for KTM riders Maverick Viñales, Enea Bastianini, Pedro Acosta, and Brad Binder on Monday, with test rider Pol Espargaro also on track.
There was plenty of work for the KTM riders to try out, including different aero packages and ergonomic configurations, as well as an updated engine configuration and work on the electronics.
The target for the KTM squad was to define the best aero package after gathering all the data collected by all riders on track on Monday, including Red Bull KTM Factory test rider Pol Espargaro, all of this under the supervision of Dani Pedrosa.
Vinales was already in 1’46.648 after just an hour on track, with Marc Marquez having set the first benchmark just 0.099 secs faster. A few laps later, the championship leader had clocked in a 1’45.749 as the temperatures continued to increase, while Viñales was working hard with many laps to improve the overall feeling of the KTM.
As the flag was out to mark the end of the morning session at 1300, the Spaniard slotted into second with a 1’46.058 with less than two minutes remaining. The work resumed around 1500 for Maverick who continued to get the laps in to gather as much info needed to be able to make the right decisions for the near future.
Fast all day, ‘Top Gun’ ended the Aragón Test on a high as he set the fastest lap of the day with a 1’45.694 in the final minutes. A new benchmark, followed closely by Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez.
Maverick Viñales
“Today was a very positive day for us, we worked very hard all together. We wanted to find some improvements on the bike’s turning, and we achieved the target, so it is a plus for the next races. We tried a new aero package, with which I felt good, so we need to understand if we will homologate it or not. That said, I also feel good with my standard one, so we will carefully check all the data to make that decision. It was very important for us to be at the level of the top guys, we have kept riding and kept improving with the bike, so I am very pleased with all the work achieved with the team today. Thank you to all!”
Pedro Acosta
“Happy. Without trying any time attack we were quite faster than in qualifying last weekend. We touched a lot of the aerodynamic areas that we thought could help but it can be quite hard to understand this in just one day or with a few laps. Let’s see if we can develop more this week and the test team can also help. We have to be happy because the bike made a step.”
Brad Binder
“Today we ran though many aero configurations and it took time to get a sense of them all. We had some solutions that helped turning, some for more grip…each item changed certain areas. There was a lot between all four of us and now the test teams will go through it and will try to build each rider a package. Such a busy day throwing many things onto the bike so now we need that full check for the best options.”
Enea Bastianini was counting on this Aragón test, with the Italian still struggling to get his way around the RC16. Some positives were seen this weekend, but Bastianini struggled with the limits of the package in the race, still bothered by vibrations at the front and the lack of handling in the corners entries. The main focus of the day for the number 23 were the aerodynamics and the electronics, two very important points for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider.
Alongside his KTM fellow teammates, he also supported the evaluation of different aero packages to participate in the data gathering which will support the choice of a new aero configuration. Bastianini will be looking forward to bringing all this extra and much-needed track time to the next round in Mugello.
Enea Bastianini
“We tried many different aero fairings, this was our focus of the morning to be honest. Some fairings have worked well, especially on the weak points of the bike like the change of directions and the corners entries. There were some negatives, but it is also good to see what’s not working to feed that back to KTM. Everything we tried in the afternoon in terms of bike set up was not really productive from my end. I also struggled a lot with the soft tire at the rear, and I don’t really understand how we were faster with a medium of 20 laps. Maverick was very fast today, and I know we can be competitive like him, but at the moment I can not push with new tires. Anyway, we are still searching for that little thing to click and for me to feel comfortable, let’s continue pushing and believing.”
Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager
“It has been a proper intensive test here in Aragon for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 guys! When we saw the list of items to try from the factory, we knew it would be a long one! One of the main targets was to check and back-check some aeros, as both our riders have different configurations. The good thing is that they both came back with the same feedback, which gives us a clearer idea on the direction to take for the next rounds. Maverick Viñales managed somehow to find the best configuration and managed to beat the official all-time lap record, which in a sense is not the most important, but it just shows how confident he is feeling on the bike at the moment, so we know he will arrive at Mugello in good shape. For Enea Bastianini, the target was also to find the best aero combination, which is target achieved. Also mainly, we wanted to help him with the issues he has had lately. Unfortunately, we still have not figured out how to help him, but one thing is sure, we will keep working hard. Having the same bike as Maverick, we firmly believe that he will be quicker once he gets his head around it properly. We will have one week to analyse all the work done today, and prepare for the next round in Italy to arrive in the best shape possible!”
Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“For sure a busy day and many things to try but our test team is also working this week in Barcelona so we were able to experiment and make some priorities but then also file some others for later work. Quite a lot of aero, different downforce packages with a view to the second homologation phase, and suspension and, so far, some promising things. We need to analyze before making decisions for the future and we’ll close some short-term solutions as soon as we can.”
Sebastian Risse – KTM Technical Director MotoGP
“The end of another intense test and after the Grand Prix here in Aragon it’s clear we wanted to make another step and get the bike better quite soon. We were working mainly on the aero side and also some chassis components. We really tried to get a broad picture of many items through all four MotoGP riders and we achieved it. We found some positives. Now we need to analyse the data and see how we can put it together in the fastest possible time frame.”
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing test team will be running more laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for two days in a private session this week while MotoGP will gather in the paddock of Mugello for the Grand Prix of Italy and round nine next week.
Aragon MotoGP Test Times
- Maverick Vinales – KTM 1m45.694 (PM)
- Marco Bezzecchi – Aprilia 1m45.700 (PM)
- Marc Marquez – Ducati 1m45.749 (AM)
- Fermin Aldeguer – Ducati 1m45.958 (PM)
- Pedro Acosta – KTM 1m46.029 (PM)
- Franco Morbidelli – Ducati 1m46.096 (AM)
- Fabio Quartararo – Yamaha 1m46.213 (AM)
- Alex Marquez – Ducati 1m46.274 (AM)
- Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati 1m46.391 (AM)
- Joan Mir – Honda 1m46.419 (AM)
- Fabio Di Giannantonio – Ducati 1m46.512 (PM)
- Raul Fernandez – Aprilia 1m46.597 (PM)
- Brad Binder – KTM 1m46.645 (PM)
- Jack Miller – Yamaha 1m46.661 (AM)
- Miguel Oliveira – Yamaha 1m46.680 (AM)
- Enea Bastianini – KTM 1m47.011 (AM)
- Johann Zarco – Honda 1m47.017 (PM)
- Alex Rins – Yamaha 1m47.366 (AM)
- Pol Espargaro – KTM 1m47.567 (AM)
- Lorenzo Savadori – Aprilia 1m47.780 (PM)
- Manuel Gonzalez – Aprilia 1m47.832 (PM)
- Somkiat Chantra – Honda 1m47.953 (PM)
