Red Bull KTM Ajo prepare in the wet

19/03/2013

Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin carry out wet weather work in Jerez.

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The rain at Jerez was unable to completely halt the progress of the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders in the final preseason test. Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin skipped the early session at the Spanish track, but in the afternoon they were out for two wet sessions –from which they drew positive conclusions.

The Circuito de Jerez welcomed the Red Bull KTM Ajo trio with torrential rain, obliging Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin to stay in the garage during the first session. Conditions were unrideable and only six Moto3 participants attempted to put in laps.

In the afternoon the rain eased off for the Moto3-only session. Arthur Sissis went out early on his KTM, and quarter of an hour in he was followed by Zulfahmi Khairuddin. Luis Salom decided to wait until midway through the session to begin his day. Sissis was the most comfortable in the run, riding amongst the fastest on track.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo trio were back out for the final two hours. Despite winds of 31km/h at the start, Salom, Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin took their best times of the day. They were, respectively, third with a 1’57.963, fourth with a 1’58.796 and seventh in 1’59.796.

Fine weather is forecast for Wednesday’s third day of the final Moto3 preseason test.

Results
1. Jack Miller (FTR-Honda) 1:57.627
2. John McPhee (FTR-Honda) 1:57.801 +0.174
3. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:57.963 +0.336
4. Álex Rins (KTM) 1:58.765 +1.138
5. Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:58.796 +1.169
11. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:59.615 + 1.988

Luis Salom >> Audio
“Today we had rain again, but in the end we did a good job. The truth is that I had a fever yesterday and I had a bad night last night. Despite this and having to ride on a wet track, everything went well. In the morning we did not think we would go out all day, but in the end I could ride round a little. I’m happy, because we improved session by session. In the end we were third fastest and close to the top. We are doing a very good job as a team.”

Arthur Sissis >> Audio
“I had a good feeling from the start, I think on my second lap I put in a really good time. Throughout the day I have been improving and we have made a step forward, trying different configurations. Some have given us better results than others, but we have made significant improvements. At the end of the day it was hard, because it was very windy and the asphalt was drying out. In short, it was a day of difficult weather conditions, but I’m very happy with the work carried out.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin >> Audio // Audio (Malaysian)
“Today’s weather was not very good. We had wet conditions all day and I rode with the wet tyres. Compared to the last test we did here, where it also rained -we found some improvements and the chassis worked really well. I hope that tomorrow we have dry conditions, because I’d like to do a long stint. I’d also like to work more on the bike in better conditions than today.”

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