The only Ducati team that released information on their day of testing at the Circuito de Jerez, Spain the day after the fourth round of the MotoGP season was Aspar Team MotoGP. Avintia Ducati were not present at the test. Aspar Team MotoGP riders Yonny Hernandez and Eugene Laverty were present and completed 168 laps between them.
Laverty remains on form for the race
Laverty had another fantastic performance during the fourth race of the season as he managed to finish in ninth place overall but also as the second fastest independent rider as he continues to improve in the premier class. Laverty was at the test to determine a better riding position and to also work on the setup of the front end of the bike.
Having completed eighty-five laps, Laverty struggled to pick up the pace he was riding at during the race. His fastest lap on test day was 1:41.462 which was 0.3 seconds slower than his fastest lap during the race; this lap time came in the earlier stages of the day during the test.
Laverty spoke of how the day was an ”important opportunity” for what was the team’s “first real test” and explained that this is because their “season only started in Qatar at round one”.
Michelin supplied new front tyre options for riders to test
Tyre manufacturers Michelin, who have supplied the MotoGP class since the beginning of this season, provided three new front tyre options for riders to test at Jerez. Laverty said, “The Michelins are constantly evolving”, he said the team have “tried a few things to get a better feeling for the front” and that after testing the many variations the team are “starting to get through their programme now”.
Laverty also spoke of how they “needed to make some minor changes to the chassis geometry settings and evaluate the results” after a fantastic race and result and after managing to complete eighty-five laps on test day, what he felt is now “the ideal time to test these kind of things”.
Significant improvements for Hernandez
Laverty’s teammate Yonny Hernandez finished in fifteenth on race day but by the end of the day of testing at Jerez he improved by three places. He was able to reduce his time his fastest race lap time by 1.295 seconds to finish with his quickest time of 1:40.351. Hernandez’s main priorities were to maintain a better feeling with the bike and to test the new tyres.
Hernandez felt that it was a “positive test” overall because he was able to improve his pace compared to race day. He said that the improved lap times “came on the hard rear tyre”. Having tried some of the new Michelin front options he “liked them” and said “the tyres are clearly making positive improvements”.
He confirmed that they have “found an improvement that we will work from ahead of the next race in France”. The fifth round of the MotoGP is due to take place on May 8th at Le Mans, France.