BLUSENS BQR CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS

Its riders have improved on their performance during the testing at Valencia

The Blusens BQR is gradually working its way through the pre-season, with the aim of reaching the start of the 2008 World Championships (GP Qatar, 9 March) in top condition. After last week’s testing in Jerez, the Catalan team has just finished another three-day stint of intense work on the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia. The most salient conclusion to be drawn from this second round of testing, as Ricard Jové, the General Manager pointed out, is that “all four riders in the team are coming on well” and “ the entire team is making a commendable effort”.

So the performance of his charges has left Jové satisfied, and he describes this second encounter with the bikes as highly positive. “We've made significant progress in terms of what we achieved at Jerez, especially in the 125 cc class. Over the three days, Efrén did really good job with the tuning, while Redding had a few more problems picking up race tempo, but on the other hand, he notched up a couple of really fast laps,” explained the BQR General Manager.

The head of the Catalan racing team is delighted with the fact that this good performance took place in a full-blown test session: “practically the whole World Championship starting grid was here in Valencia, and our riders have pitted themselves against all their rivals." Something which also happened in the 250 cc category, where, nonetheless, the main stumbling block is still the adaptation of their two riders. “At this stage of the season - bearing in mind that we’re competing with mechanical inferiority - the times are somewhat less important. I’m quite happy with the constant improvement Laverty and Russel have made."

When it comes to assessing the performance over the three-day training stint, both 125 cc riders concur in classifying it as "passable". The British rider, Scott Redding, confessed that “it took me a while to ride how I wanted to and get into the groove, though at the end, I was going fairly fast. I think I can push myself even harder.” Equally ambitious was Efrén Vázquez, who, unlike his team-mate, admitted that "we kept up a good tempo throughout all the sessions, but I'm going away somewhat disappointed that I didn’t improve even further on my fastest lap.” In any case, both Redding and Vázquez improved their personal bests on the Valencian circuit.

The Irishman, Eugene Laverty, emphasised the speed with which he has adapted to the new Aprilia. “I'm picking up just how the bike handles more and more, and I’m adapting it to my style of riding. We made progress above all with the chassis, and I've managed to improve on my personal best," explained Laverty. Russel Gómez, his team mate, is still coming to terms with his move to the 2-stroke bikes and "after a couple of difficult days, today I started to come good. It’s just a shame that halfway through the session I came off, and that spoilt my rhythm.”

Over the next fortnight, Blusens BQR will be carrying on with the task of improving and tuning the bikes at their headquarters in Cardedeu (Barcelona), while the riders will continue with the physical training regime prepared for them by their trainers. The IRTA Tests are scheduled to take place at Jerez on 19 February.