Red Bull KTM Ajo undertake first test of the year in Almeria
08/02/2013Title-winning Moto3 team start preseason in Spain with Luis Salom, remedy Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Arthur Sissis as riders.
Red Bull KTM Ajo began preseason this week in Almeria. The three riders chosen by the team for the 2013 campaign -Spaniard Luis Salom, Malaysian Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Australian Arthur Sissis- finished their three days of testing on the new KTM today.
After a winter break of over two months, Salom, Khairuddin and Sissis had an intense trio of days in the first runout on their KTM bikes. Making the most of the fine weather in Andalusia, the riders gained confidence and regained a feel for the machinery. Without the pressure of timing, the Red Bull KTM Ajo team had a positive test focused on familiarisation and setup, undertaking over 100 laps each.
Salom, Khairuddin and Sissis will continue testing next week in an official Moto3 test in Valencia, at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, from 12-14th of February.
Luis Salom
”We’ve had three very good days of testing in Almeria, where we have ridden this year’s bike for the first time. Our feeling is positive, and day by day both I and the team will get more experience in order to understand the machine better. For a first test, we are happy with the times. We had the chance to try various things and I want to thank the team for their work. The next tests will be in Valencia and we will continue to try setups there in order to gradually improve performance.”
Arthur Sissis
”It’s been good to get on the bike again after the winter break. These three days have been very important for learning the bike for this year. We tried a lot of new things. In the end we found a good setup, but this was our first time riding here and it took a while to get used to the track. I think that we have the bike prepared enough for Valencia and I hope that we can go faster there.”
Zulfahmi Khairuddin
“These have been three very good days for us. We began work with the new bike and learnt a few things. We have also seen what works best. In any case, we still have a lot of things to try and I also have to work on improving my riding. I think it is positive that we came here to do a test and that we have been able to put in some laps. I can’t wait for Valencia next week.”