Ángel Nieto Team Moto2 - Jerez Test

2018-11-23 19:27
ÁNGEL NIETO TEAM RETURNS TO INTERMEDIATE CATEGORY AT JEREZ
Jake Dixon and Xavi Cardelús make debut with Spanish team as Moto2 enters new era with Triumph 765cc engines
Just days after the end of the 2018 season the riders were back on track at the Jerez – Ángel Nieto circuit today as a new era got underway for the Moto2 class, which has remained unchanged since it debuted in 2010. There may be a new engine supplier in Triumph, and new capacity of 765cc engines, but the names at the top of the timesheets were certainly familiar, with Lorenzo Baldasarri and Luca Marini – fifth and seventh overall in 2018 – setting the pace on the opening day. Brad Binder, who was third in this year’s championship, was eighth fastest today, half a second off the top, with the likes of Sam Lowes, Augusto Fernández, Remi Gardner, Marcel Schrötter and Moto2 rookie Nicolo Bulega all in the mix. Spanish pair Álex Márquez and Jorge Navarro completed the top ten on a day that saw Moto3 World Champion Jorge Martín, making his debut in Moto2, forced out of the remainder of the test after crashing and breaking his right foot.

The Ángel Nieto Team returned to the intermediate category of the World Championship today at Jerez, the circuit that also carries the name of the 12+1 World Champion. Making their debuts for the team on the KTM chassis were Jake Dixon and Xavi Cardelús, the British rider getting his first outing with a new team and bike, after finishing runner-up in the British Superbike Championship in 2018, and lapping just two seconds off the fastest time. Andorran rider Cardelús kicked off this new era with the Ángel Nieto Team with more than fifty laps of the Jerez – Ángel Nieto circuit as he steadily adapted to the KTM.


25th Jake Dixon 1’44.401: “It has been a good first day, which we spent learning the bike and how everything works, from the team to the tyres, which is all new to me. I had a good feeling from the first run and I was able to enjoy myself on the KTM. I am looking forward to the next two days of testing here at Jerez and to continuing to learn with the team before the first race.”

30th Xavi Cardelús 1’45.686: “I am pleasantly surprised by the new bike because it is pretty powerful and more adjustable in terms of the maps, the power and the engine braking. I am happy with the team at the end of this first day, they have helped me in everything I have needed. We needed to make some adjustments to the fuel tank so that I could get comfortable and straight away I noticed the difference on track. I am happy but it is a little bit of a bittersweet feeling because I know I could have gone even faster if we had found a solution to the fuel tank issue earlier. Anyway, we have two more days here to give our best.”

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