Important MotoGP private test at Aragon

Posted on Sep 28, 2017 by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Red Bull KTM MotoGP Factory Racing team completed a two day test yesterday at the Aragon Grand Prix track as the squads prepare not only for the remaining 2017 races but the development of the 2018 KTM RC16 MotoGP motorcycle. Bradley Smith, Pol Espargaro, the team’s test rider Mike Kallio and German Superbike rider Markus Reiterberger were the riders.

The weather was fair to give 25 degree air and 30 degree track temperature with no rain, so no track time was lost with this nor crashes. The main focus of the test was to further develop the MotoGP machine with chassis and suspension parts plus some aerodynamic updates. Indeed, the entire KTM Grand Prix effort was present at Aragon with the Moto2 and Moto3 test teams on track too during the two days as they also look forward to 2018.

Bradley Smith (Factory Rider MotoGP):
“Here at Aragon we had a very busy test with many things to get through for the remaining races and the future of the bike into 2018. We focussed on turning and to get the best from a new tyre and with that we've made some positive steps. Two days doing more laps was hugely valuable and I feel that we’ve made a step in the right direction here so let’s see what we can do when we go to these last four races where we know three of the circuits.”

Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP):
“In total we had a really positive test here. Two long days with many laps trying many configurations on the one hand to finish the season in a good way, and on the other to prepare for next year for which we need to take some important decisions and this was the test at which to do that. We’re happy about that and we’ve found some steps that we can already use over these remaining four Grands Prix this year as well as to prove these settings on other tracks as although the conditions were good here, every track is different so we will see how it transfers. At the moment we are happy and very positive with this test: now we move on to the overseas races.”

The MotoGP Championship now moves forward to the Asian trio of races before concluding the season in Valencia on November 12.