QUIET OPTIMISM AFTER THE INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE BIKES

The Blusens BQR riders have made progress in the initial testing

Today the Blusens BQR team concluded the first training session of the preseason; three days of hard slog on the Jerez circuit, which have served to draw the initial conclusions regarding the chances of the four riders in the World Championships. An analysis which, according to the team's General Manager, Ricard Jové, “leaves us quite satisfied with the adaptation and improvement made by the 250cc riders, but also aware that in the 125 cc category there is still a good deal of margin for improvement. In any case, we’ve only just started.”

In the 250 cc category, both Eegene Laverty and Russel Gómez made steady progress over the three days of work. The Irishman, Lavery, described his initial contact with the Aprilia he is going to ride this season as positive. “Thursday really was a tough day. Fortunately, over the last two days things have gone better, and we've made a good deal of improvement. I’m beginning to note some of the differences between last year’s Honda and the new Aprilia: the bike’s easy to handle, and less aggressive than I imagined. The engine’s got more potential, too,” affirmed the Blusens BQR rider. Laverty also stressed the good work of his technicians and mechanics, with whom has built up a good rapport.

His team mate, Russel Gómez, had to wait for the last day of training to start to feel at home on his bike. The rider from Barcelona admitted that "we had a lot of mechanical and tuning problems on Thursday and Friday, and we just couldn’t get any level of consistency. It went better today, and I felt quite good on the bike, although I'm still just starting to get used to the two-stroke engine."

In the 125 cc category, the Blusens BQR teams’ work is a bit further along the line, since their riders, Redding and Vázquez, are both familiar with the category, the bikes and the technical team. The British rider, Scott Redding, lived up to expectations during the first practice session and rode fairly fast. “Today I felt I was improving and it was a good day; so much so that I posted a personal best for this circuit. I came up against a lot of fast riders out there on the track, and I've seen that I can be up there with them."

In his first testing session, the other 125 cc rider, Efrén Vázquez, showed signs of the health problems he has been suffering with over recent weeks, and which have affected his performance. “On Thursday I felt very weak, and we had tuning problems, too. Yesterday, everything was going better but then I came off, and didn't get to ride much at all. I enjoyed it a bit more today, though, but I'm still a long way off top form," mused the rider from Bilbao.

Now the BQR Blusens team is to continue its pre-season work with three days of training behind closed doors on the Ricardo Tormo circuit. The riders will be on the Valencian track from Tuesday to Thursday.