MotoGP: Testers Talk About Upcoming Two-Day Tests – Roadracing World Magazine

Press conference to kick off the Portimão test

Lorenzo, Pirro, Guintoli, Pedrosa, Bradl and Savadori speak to the media ahead of the first MotoGP ™ foretaste of the Portuguese venue

Tuesday, October 06, 2020

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve will host the 2020 FIM MotoGP ™ World Championship season finale. To collect some data and get a little experience with the new track ahead of its debut, a two day test of the venue will be held on Wednesday Thursday.

The factories are represented at the test by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), Michele Pirro (Ducati), Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki), Dani Pedrosa (KTM), Stefan Bradl (Honda) and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) and on Wednesday several current MotoGP ™ – Drivers will also be on road machines to familiarize themselves with the venue. Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider Aleix Espargaro and teammate Bradley Smith will also test on Wednesday.

Drivers on road machines on day 1:

Joan Mir and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar)

Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)

Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci (Ducati team)

Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing)

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu)

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3)

Brad Binder and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)

Johann Zarco and Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing)

Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)

Before we hit the track, however, a press conference kicked in as the test drivers sat down to answer some media questions. Here are a few highlights, from the respective venue to the incredibly close battle for the 2020 crown and more:

Jörg Lorenzo: “I’m really excited to be coming back to ride the Yamaha M1 because it has been nine months, almost a year without driving and I’ve never been without driving for so long, so it will certainly be quite difficult to get used to these speeds and bikes! But we have two days on a new route, which is also important because it is not only new, but especially with the ups and downs here, it will be important not to make any stupid mistakes at the beginning, to drive kilometers and try to to give maximum information about Yamaha for the official riders.

“If I understand correctly, we will be on the same bike as Sepang, we couldn’t bring the new bike with us, so we will mainly use this test to get the best gearbox for the official riders and to test the tires, to understand under these conditions with this asphalt, which are best for time attack and race distance. This is the main goal, and probably also to play around with the setup a bit. I’ll have the 2019 bike and the setup is a little different so that’s a little less important than the gearbox and tires.

“It’s a very tough championship, very even, now Joan Mir and Fabio have made a small gap to the others, but until the last race there were 4 drivers, 6 or 7 with real options to fight for the title. Now it looks like Fabio and Joan will be the strongest. It’s interesting because there are still a few races left and I really enjoy watching the races on TV! “

Michele Pirro: “I’m curious to try the track on a MotoGP motorcycle, because before that I was on a 600 Supersport machine ten years ago. It’s a nice track, but I don’t know about MotoGP. I’m curious because MotoGP is very fast. And anyway, that circuit is up and down. Tomorrow and Thursday I am excited to give the official drivers a good basis for the race with gearboxes, tires and new asphalt … and to try out the motorcycle here!

“It depends on the prospect, for Bagania the tire helps a lot. The opposite is the case with Dovi. That is the problem at the moment, this new Michelin tire is difficult to understand especially for Dovi as Dovi is very quick when braking, at the moment it is impossible to use this weapon to go fast. Pecco had a very difficult time last year because the tire didn’t help with braking but right now Pecco is using the bike very well like Jack and Dovi is fighting but the championship is not over yet and we keep working on going fast drive every race and it is still possible to fight for the championship. “

Sylvain Guintoli: “It’s a great track here, I’ve been here a few times with WorldSBK and it’s one of the best tracks, really very nice. I’m looking forward to experiencing the new track surface because that was the only problem before, it was pretty bumpy. Hopefully it’s better now so it’s a great track and I think it will be a good track for us with the flowing line. I think the riders will have a lot of fun here, it’s like a roller coaster ride. It’s really nice to drive, lots of blind spots, fast, very interesting route; very technical.

“It’s difficult to predict MotoGP this year! It’s been amazing so far and the Suzuki are doing great! Alex was unfortunately badly injured and was very brave at the beginning of the season but it took some time to get going and Joan is now a real force in the championship. It’s going really well with us. It would be great to get a win, but I think it’s coming soon. So it’s a very exciting time because it’s so close, everyone can have a chance and I think it’s going to be an exciting end to the season.

“I think the Suzuki is a very, very good bike this year. It was good, but this year we took another step forward with the new chassis and engine so that the bike is now very good on many different tracks – even in Austria, which should be the worst track on paper it very well there; really well done. With the flowing line to 100% we have a small deficit in engine power, so we have a small disadvantage especially in high gears and we understand that, but the bike has qualities that can shine, and the new tire also seems very good this year to harmonize with our bike. All of that together and Alex and Joan are very strong drivers too, it’s really exciting for us. The bike looks good and not just in pictures! It’s really fast on the track. “

Dani Pedrosa: “It’s my first time here, of course tomorrow the key is to learn the track, get a little feel in the corners and learn the blind spots of this track because there are a lot of differences in altitude, in many places you will be cornering don’t see so learn how to approach them and where to brake etc. you need a few laps. At the same time we will try the tires and we will have different tires, today and the race in November will have different conditions, but we will have to try different tires. Check out the speeds to sort the gears up and get the feel on the first day … and roll back from there for the second day!

“I think KTM is very happy with the progress made last year, it was really positive to see this step. The key, I think, is a more balanced package on the bike, a little more confidence with the bike for the riders and also the championship is… one race you can be at the top and the next one fights, this also affects the results for everyone . So far it’s been good for KTM, this step from last year, and I see that the championship may now be more stable towards the end, so let’s see how it will look in the end …

“In every race we see a lot of changes in the performance of the riders and bikes. I think from now on it will be a little more stable, especially the guys who see their chance to finish well. Perhaps we can guess the results a little more from now on. So far it has been so unpredictable that it’s hard to say! “

Stefan Bradl: “2020 is busy so far! After a little operation, I’m fine again, I’m back on a good level and I feel good and ready for this test! But I think I won’t be able to do two full days because I have to travel to France and get there on time for FP1.

“I think it will be like the others to adapt – to get first impressions tomorrow, basic things first and we will need a lot for the gearbox, the electronics and the tires, there will be nothing to test even if we do wanted to use it. But the attempt – as the others said – to get the first information step by step, that’s true. The Honda isn’t the easiest bike to ride right now, and all manufacturers are competitive and even hundredths of a second can make a world of difference. We’re not ready yet where little things can make a big difference. “

Lorenzo Savadori: “This bike has improved a lot, it’s an improvement on the old one, but we have to cover more kilometers. The bike is completely different and a very good step forward.

“Aleix is ​​a very fast rider and knows very well what we need on the bike and Aprilia works hard every day to help him and Bradley. We have started to improve the level of the bike step by step, but we still need a little more time.

“I rode here with WorldSBK two years ago, I really like the track and can’t wait to try it out on a MotoGP bike. I think the bike has a good engine and is good in the middle of the corner. I think Aprilia took a good step and we have to try to make the best of it. “

Stay tuned for the next two days when MotoGP ™ hits Portugal for the first time since 2012.