Work to be done for Bendsneyder and Raffin

It was hard to be happy with 21st (Bo Bendsneyder) and 23rd (Jesko Raffin) place, but the first day of the Moto2 test in Qatar had yielded a lot of useful information for NTS RW Racing GP. With the new chassis on a new circuit, with a totally different character, there was a lot of work to be done for Bendsneyder and Raffin.
After one day it is too early to draw conclusions to the positions and times. The Moto2 field was very close on the Losail International Circuit under a strong wind. At the end of the third session there was less than a second between number 1 and number 18. Bendsneyder, with his 2.00.399, was only three-tenths behind number 14. Raffin, who was unable to test optimally in Jerez last week and therefore had an extra catch up to make, was not satisfied with 2.00.945.

Bo Bendsneyder #64: “We know it will not be easy here and we are certainly not yet where we want to be, but we have a plan and a test program and we stick to it. We had to start from scratch and have made good progress. In the last session we mainly focused on the rear to get the front better and that helped. I was able to improve my time considerably and the pace was also better. I was able to ride my fastest time a few times in a row. Now we have to see if we can make the next step tomorrow.”

Jesko Raffin #2: “After my crashes in Jerez, I had to start more or less from zero here in Qatar. We started quite well. The feeling was good, I felt what was happening and what was changing. We have tried many new things and changes. Some positive, others less. Today’s goal was to regain feeling and confidence and try a lot of different things, so we can be satisfied with that. With the times and the position not yet, but we will continue tomorrow, now that we know what we have and after analysing the data.”