BLUSENS BQR CONCLUDE THE IRTA TESTS

The work in Jerez went completely according to plan

The three official training days held at the Jerez circuit lived up to the expectations of the Blusens BQR team. In this, the penultimate test before the start of the World Championships, the riders performed to the level that was expected of them beforehand. In the 250cc class, Eugene Laverty and Russel Gómez continued to make progress familiarising themselves with the new Aprilia and the new category. With respect to the 125 cc class, Efrén Vázquez and Scott Redding showed that they are capable of being up there fighting for the points in every race.

The Blusens BQR team managers described these penultimate tests of the preseason as “generally positive”. From within the Catalan racing team they point out that “we are still testing, so you've got to put the significance of specific times and results into perspective: it is better to come into the first race having made good, steady progress with the bikes than to do so with a really good one-off time.”
The British rider, Scott Redding, finished these training sessions in 11th position (1’48”691) and is happy with the work carried out: “We were always up there in the top 10 or thereabouts, which would guarantee us fighting for the points in each Grand Prix. The only thing I'm not happy about is not having shaved a bit more off my time, due to the strong wind that picked this afternoon.”

His 125 cc companion, the Bilbao-born rider, Efrén Vázquez, stressed that “we’ve put a lot of effort in and well, with the aim of reaping the benefits at the start of the World Championships. We've opted to develop the bike intensely, without being obsessed with the results in the short-term. The different modifications and tests that carried out will bear fruit in the short term.” Efrén finished the training session in 18th place (1’49”044), and during the initial two days he was up in the first five places.
Analysing his performance in the 250cc class, Eugene Laverty explained that this IRTA test “has enabled me to get totally adapted to the new Aprilia. From now on, I know that each time I get on the bike it will be to improve my times.” The Irish rider finished in 18th place with a time of 1’46”089, but points out that “if the last session hadn’t been interrupted, I would have been able to knock half a second of that time. Even so, I still achieved my best result on the circuit, and had a chance to see how the bike responds in the wet. I’m going away quite happy.”
Lastly, after getting off his bike, Russel Gómez (19º, 1’46”432) said that “they have been three quite productive days, in which we've ridden and made a good deal of progress tuning the bike. I’m feeling increasingly happy and I'm getting closer to notching up more satisfactory times and positions for this time of the season."

Next week, the Catalan team, run by Raúl Romero, will face their last real challenge of the pre-season when they travel to the Losail Circuit in Qatar, where the 2008 World Championship will finally get under way on 9 March.