Moto2 Team Report
With the Japanese Grand Prix postponed following the eruption of the volcano beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, the Marc VDS Racing Team head for Jerez and the second round of the Moto2 World Championship determined to kickstart their season with two good results in Spain.
Hector Faubel and Scott Redding both head to Spain in a confident mood, after a successful two-day test at the Mugello circuit in Italy immediately after the Grand Prix of Qatar.
For Faubel, the Mugello test provided the perfect opportunity to continue his familiarisation with the team’s Suter MMX Moto2 machine, after riding it for the first time during opening practice in Qatar. The 26-year-old Spaniard made few changes to the bike, preferring instead to rack up the kilometres to gain a better feeling for the chassis ahead of racing in front of his home crowd this weekend in Jerez.
While his teammate focussed on familiarising himself with the Suter MMX machine, Scott Redding concentrated on set-up and evaluating development parts during the two-days at Mugello. The 17-year-old Briton was bitterly disappointed with his performance in Qatar but after two successful days in Italy, heads to Jerez confident of a better result this weekend.
Hector Faubel (Bike #55) says: "We did a two-day test in Mugello immediately after Qatar, which was important for me to get more experience of the bike. It also gave me a chance to work again with my crew and to improve the communications between us. It is a pity we didn’t race in Japan before heading for Jerez, as the additional kilometres on the race engine would have been good for me also. I like Jerez, it is a truly beautiful circuit and racing in front of my home crowd adds to my motivation to do well in this race. I’m still on a steep learning curve, but I am always positive and my own personal goal is to finish in the top ten, but I know this will be hard to achieve. We saw in Qatar just how competitive this championship was and it will be no different in Jerez, where everyone else has had the benefit of testing at the circuit pre-season. I will be pushing hard for a good result, as always."
Scott Redding (Bike #45) says: "After the disappointment of Qatar I’m looking forward to getting to Jerez, especially after the successful test we had there back in March. We know it’s possible to get the bike working well around Jerez, as long as the track conditions aren’t too different to those we had during the test. I would say I’m fairly confident going into the second race of the season. A top ten finish is a realistic goal, but we should really be able to get into the top five if everything goes according to plan. However, as we saw in Qatar, things don’t always go according to plan. Hopefully we’ll have better luck in Jerez and we’ll get the chance to show our true potential in the race."
Michael Bartholemy (Team Manager) says: "We head for Jerez determined to improve greatly on our results in Qatar. Scott was fourth fastest overall during the final pre-season test in Jerez, so we fully expect him to be running at the front of the field from the start of the weekend. We don’t have to tell Scott what’s expected of him – he puts more pressure on himself to succeed than we ever could – but he also needs to enjoy riding the bike, as that’s where the speed comes from and that’s what was missing from Saturday onwards in Qatar. Hector has benefitted from another two days on the bike in Mugello and I know he’s keen to put in a good performance in front of the Spanish crowd. If he can finish the race in the points then I’ll be happy, but he seems confident he can break into the top ten, which would be an excellent result for both him and for the team."
