125cc : Jerez MotoGP official testWinter testing have largely been hit by bad weather so far, impeding the 125 and 250cc field to properly work on their bikes set-up.
Just like the 250cc riders at the beginning of the week, the 125cc riders lost their second day
of testing, on Thursday, on the Circuito de Jerez, because of the rain.
Faced with a wet track, a number of them decided to pack up early and get ready for next week's last test in Qatar where they hope to encounter more favorable conditions.
Meanwhile, some of them elected to run notwithstanding the weather, taking the opportunity to fine-tune their bikes' wet settings. This was the case of Spaniard Sergio Gadea who set the fastest time of the day in front of Repsol Honda's Bradley Smith and Humangest Honda's Mike di Meglio.
“Rain came to interrupt our work but we opted to lap on the wet track to see how the bike works in these conditions”, explained Gadea. “I found myself very comfortable and my lap times were good. The engine is smoother when opening the gas, which gives me more confidence.”
Fourth fastest was Gadea's Bancaja Aspar team-mate Héctor Faubel while Cortese rounded off the top five.
Official test Jerez – 125cc – Day 2 – Official times :
1.-Sergio Gadea (Aprilia) 1.59.565 (32t)
2.-B.Smith (Honda) 2.00.574 (36t)
3.-M. Di Meglio (Honda) 2.00.862 (37t)
4.-H. Faubel (Aprilia) 2.01.00 (14t)
5.
-S. Cortese (Aprilia) 2.01.100 (37t)
6.-R. Krummenacher (KTM) 2.01.432 (43t)
7.-L. Zanetti (Aprilia) 2.01.720 (20t)
8.-T. Koyama (KTM) 2.01.793 (48t)
9.-J. Olive (Aprilia) 2.02.144 (34t)
10.-J. Litjens (Honda) 2.02.153 (24t)….
The MotoGP riders will now be testing at Jerez for three days. Their final preparations for the 2007 MotoGP World Championship will come to an end on Sunday with the now traditional timed session.
Sandrine BOUCHARD © CAPSIS International
