Pull&Bear Aspar riders end preseason in top form

After three days of testing in Qatar the next time the MotoGP riders see each other on track will be at the same venue for the first Grand Prix of the season, which kicks off with the opening free practice session on Thursday 23^rd March. Today no fewer than ten riders managed to break through the 1'55 barrier and as many as thirteen were inside a second of pacesetter Maverick Viñales, who also finished on top of the Malaysia and Australia tests and heads into the season as a clear title contender. Viñales (1'54.330) topped a trio of different factories in the top three positions, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati and Dani Pedrosa. Jorge Lorenzo was a tenth off the pace of new team-mate Dovizioso, with the top Independent rider from the test again coming in the shape of Pull&Bear Aspar rider Álvaro Bautista, repeating his feat from the Sepang test in early February. Scott Redding, Jonas Folger, Cal Crutchlow, Johann Zarco and Marc Márquez complete the top ten at the final test of preseason.
Both Pull&Bear Aspar riders ended their preseason preparations in good form, with Bautista in fifth and his new team-mate Karel Abraham in thirteenth. The Spaniard suffered a crash halfway through the session that thankfully didn't injure him or prevent him from completing his testing programme, which ended with a race simulation that included his best lap of the three days (1'54.714). Abraham finished just a second off the top thanks to a best effort of 1'55.333 out of 39 laps tonight. The Czech rider was battling the effects of a cold, but he was still able to ride a tenth quicker than yesterday to conclude a satisfactory preseason that has seen him consistently in contention for top ten positions.

5^th Álvaro Bautista 1:54.714 (65 laps): “I've ended tonight feeling very happy. After improving my feeling with the bike  yesterday we have found something else that gave us a little extra confidence and pace tonight. I lost a little time with the crash but we still had enough to complete our programme for this test. At the end we did a race simulation, which went well, and I felt very comfortable on the bike. My best lap over the three days came during the simulation, which is important and good for confidence. I am feeling more and more confident with our race potential and with the bike, I am very happy with how the team is working and the support we are getting from Ducati. Hopefully we can have the same feeling in a couple of weeks at the race.”
13^th Karel Abraham 1:55.333 (39 laps): “Physically it's been a really bad day for me because I seem to have picked up a cold or something so I have a sore throat and I cannot breathe through my nose. All day today I was frustrated, I was not in a good mood, but we tried to work. We did a couple of things with the electronics that seemed to work out but I wasn't myself on the track. Finally we put a soft tyre in and I managed to get behind Andrea Dovizioso to make a 1'55.333. I wanted to go a little bit faster but it's a good lap time. We can be happy with our day in general."