A grey day in Jerez, full of intermittent showers and gusty winds, kicked off the first of three days of testing in Southern Spain. The Moto3 riders had moved on from Valencia to Jerez for this latest test, which runs through to Thursday. The wet track allowed plenty of special adjustments for the conditions, in terms of riding and setup. The best time went to Danny Webb, followed by Brad Binder and Jack Miller. The track was open from 10am until 6pm, and the majority of riders defied the conditions to use almost all of the allotted time.
Just as in Valencia, MAPFRE Aspar rider Jonas Folger was one of the men to beat in Moto3, taking the sixth best time of the day. The German had planned a day of small adjustments, focusing on the rear of his machine in a search for traction. On the penultimate of his 53 laps he took his best time of the day, a 1’57.904.
Teammate Eric Granado rode a Moto3 bike in the wet for the first time today. The Brazilian also felt good, concluding twelfth and making the most of every minute out on track.
6th Jonas Folger 1.57.904 (53 laps): “The weather was pretty bad today. It spent the whole day raining and then stopping. Nevertheless, we were able to work on many things. Basically, we started with a base wet weather setting and focused on improving rear feeling. We took small steps forward during the day and were able to make a big leap forward in the final run. The improvement came after modifying the suspension firmness on the rear and changing the riding position. I felt a lot more grip at the end of the day, which allowed me to ride quicker and more confidently. I am very happy, and I think that we have found a solution in the wet that can be very useful in the future.”
12th Eric Granado 1.59.098 (49 laps): “Today was a different day to all of my previous ones on a Moto3 bike. I rode in the wet with this bike for the first time. We had waited before going out this morning, but then we saw people riding without any problems and that there was little risk, so we got to work. We used last year’s bike and really didn’t focus on anything in particular, instead looking to get a feel for the wet track. This was a good day for me, because I gained a lot of confidence in these conditions. I am happy with learning a lot without taking any risks.”
Mapfre Aspar Moto3 Press Release
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