Three days of intense work (the second of which was almost completely lost to rain) from the entire Avintia Blusens team at the Jerez Test wrapped up on Sunday, and the crew worked tirelessly to be able to head to Qatar in good shape for the first Grand Prix of the season.
Both Iván Silva and Yonny Hernández put in solid shifts as the team looked to sort out the problems the pair had been having with their FTR machines in turns since pre-season, with slow corners especially problematic. Both riders and their crews dedicated a lot of time to this area, also focusing heavily on electronics.
The results were positive and Avintia Blusens cut the gap to the MotoGP™ machines in terms of time, when compared to previous Tests. Iván Silva ended the Test 3.666s off Casey Stoner's time, and just eight-tenths off the second CRT. Aside from De Puniet, the remainder of the CRT bikes are within a second of one another, which pre-empts an exciting season in which the Avintia Blusens riders can battle with their fellow CRT rivals.
Raúl Romero (Team Manager):
"I'm delighted with this result. We've taken another step forward and have also shown we're at a good level in relation to the other CRT bikes. There's room to improve and that motivates us. We also have to take into account that some of the others have been working for a long time while we are just starting out. Every time we go out on track we're improving lots. On Sunday Iván lowered his times and Yonny worked a lot on the electronics and with the second bike in order to have it ready for Qatar. We haven't had any major problems or crashes. I'm proud of the whole team and what they have achieved in order to be able to get the job done."
Iván Silva:
"We've done a great job here. The result is positive and, with a couple of little things left which we still haven't had time to try out, I'm sure we could have gotten below 1'42". We'll get there though. Right now I'm learning the bike and every alteration is one which will benefit us going forwards. I've worked a lot with the issues we were having with the front and we've improved, but we've also lost a little bit of rear grip. We have to take into consideration that we are building a bike from scratch, and that involves a lot of work. We have a good rhythm and, with the level playing field that is CRT, that could be very telling in the races."
Yonny Hernández:
"I got under 1'43" even though there's still a lot left to improve on. We've been working with the second bike a lot which took up plenty of time, but we have a solid direction for Qatar. A great job has been done with the electronics and bit by bit we are getting more competitive. I'm excited because there is a great equality amongst the CRT machines, and we still have a lot left to improve on. De Puniet got away a little bit, but we'll get there!"
source: MotoGP Official
