RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP begins European tour with classic Jerez as first stop

This weekend, the fourth Grand Prix of 2024 will be held at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto in southern Spain. It is a very familiar track to almost everyone in the MotoGP paddock, so it will be a challenge to make a difference.

The 4.42-kilometre Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto has been a fixture on the Grand Prix calendar since 1987. With slow and fast left and right turns, mixed with two straights and some hard braking, the southern Spanish circuit has pretty much everything. The way the field is positioned in Jerez often also gives a good picture for the rest of the season.

Not only the circuit itself but also the surroundings of Andalusia make it one of the favourites not only for riders and teams but also for large numbers of fans, from both Spain and abroad.

After a difficult Grand Prix weekend in the United States, it will be important for Barry Baltus and Zonta van den Goorbergh to get close to the top ten in the Moto2 class again. Given the vast experience that almost all the riders and teams have at Jerez, this will certainly not be easy but the riders and the Dutch Grand Prix team have shown on several occasions that it is possible.

Barry Baltus: “The raceweekend in Jerez is always a special one for me. It’s where we had our pre-season test and where, like almost everyone, I have ridden a lot. That means everyone will be fast so we’ll have to start well from the beginning of the weekend. I like the track a lot so we’ll have to see what is possible. After the weekend in Austin we have to start from zero again but I am looking forward to get going on Friday.”

Zonta van den Goorbergh: “We return to Europe again for the European part of the season. We go to Jerez which is a circuit that everyone knows well, at the beginning of the year we had a test there. That went well then so with that feeling we will also start on Friday. It’s a new race weekend and it offers new opportunities to show ourselves.”

Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager: “We are already gearing up for the fourth Grand Prix of the season in Jerez, a circuit we all know very well and therefore familiar territory for us. The winter test there went very well, both riders were fast then. In the last couple of races we had a very tough time, especially during the race, which is something we didn’t really foresee. We have been busy analysing those races and hope we can find something so that we are stronger at the start here. Either way, I am positively looking forward to what is to come this weekend.”

The weekend starts with free practice on Friday morning after which the first official practice session will be held in the afternoon. Then the second official practice will take place on Saturday morning after which it will be clear which riders will have to participate in Q1 or Q2. Qualifying starts in the afternoon at 13:45 with the 21-lap race starting at 12:15 on Sunday afternoon.