FIRST STAGE OF 2020 MOTOGP WORK COMPLETED AT VALENCIA

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 immediately got to grips with their testing programme at Valencia and in the wake of the nineteenth and final round of MotoGP this week. Ideas, components and theories for 2020 and a forthcoming fourth year of Grand Prix racing were evaluated in two days of sunshine and pleasant autumnal conditions.

Pol Espargaro sprung from KTM’s best season yet in the premier class of the FIM World Championship to make progress with the latest version of the RC16 chassis and tested two new packages through the course of more than 100 laps (8th fastest on day two with a small crash). New teammate Brad Binder entered the garage and begun his process of familiarisation with the demands of MotoGP machinery. The South African was 22nd fastest.

Test rider Dani Pedrosa (14th) circulated at a very respectable pace, often less than two seconds from the quickest lap, and worked on an even more advanced incarnation of the KTM race bike. Countryman and Red Bull KTM Tech3 rookie Iker Lecuona (15th) was also eye-catching with his speed and, like Binder, spent most of his track time learning the idiosyncrasies of MotoGP.

Both Red Bull KTM teams will gather together again next week at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain for the second and final test outing of 2019.