Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) was the rider to beat on the opening two days in Andalucia, but the Spaniard’s 1:40.7 lap time was beaten on the final day as most riders set personal best laps. Aldeguer’s was the quickest of the lot, but it was tight – Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) was just 0.044s adrift in P2, with Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) 0.078s away in third. Aldeguer and Roberts did crash on the final day, but that didn’t do much to halt their progress with the top three all setting their best laps in the closing session. In total, seven riders lapped under Canet’s 1:40.640 all-time intermediate class lap record around the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, as the field got to grips with their new machines and Pirelli’s tyres – a huge change for 2024 in Moto2™ and Moto3™. 2023’s runner-up Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) led the way for some of the final day, but it’s P4 at the close of play for the Italian. P5 on the combined timesheets went the way of Canet, with the fastest quintet just 0.134s apart as Moto2™ looks set to be fiercely competitive again. No surprises there! Elsewhere, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Deniz Öncü ended the three-day outing as the quickest rookie, the Turk set a 1:41.161 on Friday to sit an impressive 0.8s away from Aldeguer. Bo Bendsneyder ended day 3 as 14th quickest.
Bo Bendsneyder, with his experience in the category, has finished the official test focused on the first race of the season with a good feeling about the new Pirelli tyres. With relentless work Bendsneyder has laid the foundations for the season despite suffering a hard crash during the first day of testing, which caused slight discomfort to the rider during the course of the tests.
Bo Bendsneyder #64
“It was a very positive test, in Portimao we couldn’t do many laps because of the bad weather so it was like our first test. Unfortunately this test was a bit influenced by a big crash I had on the seventh lap of the first day. It was a very fast crash, luckily the bike didn’t suffer too much damage but in the gravel I hit myself in several places and it was a bit painful to ride for the rest of the day, but we still managed to do some good laps. I’m getting to grips with the Pirelli, setting my fastest lap ever at Jerez and the pace was good. We couldn’t finish with all the materials we had to test, but we are on a good path for Qatar. I really like the Pirelli tyres because they give me a lot of confidence. I want to thank the guys for the great job they have done these days. We are ready for Qatar!”
Results Day 3
Source: motogp.com, stopandgo.es
