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He's not looking for personal performance, nor is he riding for himself. Lorenzo Savadori repeated this often during the various days of testing between Malaysia and Thailand, and this Wednesday was no different at the Buriram circuit. The accident that happened to Martin in Sepang certainly complicated Aprilia's work, and the Italian team's official test rider was called upon to make an extra effort.
"In general, I'm testing the material here that I wasn't able to examine during the Malaysian three-day event. Today, we focused on the electronics. This is a job that's anything but quick and easy because some things work, others less so. In other cases, there's a need to fix details. Like I said yesterday, though, the goal is to prepare the best possible bike for Jorge for when he returns, so he can be fast right away," he explained.
The work to be tackled is meticulous and repetitive, but it's apparently paying off. "We're looking for an alternative way to the basic set-up and the established strategy in terms of engine braking, wheelie control, or traction control," he explained. "I go out on the track with the new configuration and, when I come back to the garage, I say what my sensations are, while the engineers check the data. Together, we then try to figure out where to direct the work."
Compared to what we see, the RS-GP25 ridden by the Spanish rider will be more or less the same. "When it comes to the bike, including frame and swingarm, there won't be any difference. On the contrary, the set-up is subjective, so he'll take care of it. Overall, I think the foundation is good. Has he made any special requests? No, but we'll keep each other updated. It's clear that Aprilia aims to give him a competitive package," he pointed out.
The starting phase is one of the steps forward they've taken. "I can't say what changed, only that it's nothing one-hundred percent new, it's just corrected in some details. Of course, we can always do more," he admitted.
Asked to comment on the new Technical Director, Sterlacchini, he then added: "I'm getting along very well with Fabiano. We're going in the right direction. He has a lot of ideas, and we're trying them out."
Finally, about the upcoming GP, he said: "Historically, this isn't a suitable track for us, but Bezzecchi is proving to be very fast on new tires, as well as on worn ones, and that bodes well. It's a positive start," he concluded.
