De Puniet the fastest CRT rider in MotoGP on day 1 in Qatar

Yesterday we saw the MotoGP World Championship get underway again, with Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo grabbing the spotlight as the fastest riders. But it’s not only the factory teams that have made the news: the new CRT concept is getting stronger by the day, and Randy de Puniet once again showed he can fight with the non-CRT bikes, just like Aleix Espargaró.

The Frenchman was once again the fastest in this new class during yesterday’s first free practice sessions of the 2012 MotoGP season at the Losail circuit, a good start for the ART bikes that have dominated. De Puniet was 13th and Espargaró 16th on this first day of the 2012 season. The Power Electronics Aspar team continues to amaze and astonish with its ART. The work has paid off, and for now they have one of the jewels of the CRT category in their hands.

Although yesterday was a good day, both riders still have work to do with their respective machines, and the team too, since both riders have complained about the lack of grip. However, they hope the track will be in better condition today so they can keep working and bring their lap times down.

Today we have another great day in Qatar ahead. Don’t miss a second of the live coverage with @plusmoto.

Statements from 13th-place Randy De Puniet, 1:59.985 (15 laps):

We were the first CRT bike again, which I find very positive. On the other hand, I suffered quite a bit with the suspension. I suppose that’s normal since it was only the first session, and the track was dirty and very slippery. We tried a couple of modifications, but they didn’t give us the solution we were hoping for.

We also worked on the electronics and the gearbox. It’s the first day, and we’ve made a good start, although we haven’t found all the improvements we were looking for. We’ll definitely improve tomorrow, because we already have a clear idea of the direction we want to take to improve the suspension behavior.

Statements from 16th-place Aleix Espargaró, 2:00.720 (14 laps):

We’ve made a good start, although there wasn’t much grip, the bike behaved normally. Gradually the grip increased and we fitted the soft rear tyre; the same sliding problems we had at Jerez appeared.

The front of the bike also bounced quite a bit when opening the throttle. It’s the first session, so we’ll have to keep working to understand why. As for the engine, we thought we’d lose quite a bit compared to the factory bikes, and in top speed that hasn’t been the case, but in acceleration it has.

I think the differences with the riders in front can be reduced; we just have to keep working

Source | Power Electronics Aspar