The clouds parted over the Jerez circuit on Tuesday and gave the team chance to run the RSV4 in the dry.

Riders Eugene Laverty & Lorenzo Savadori continued development work on their bikes, and will look to capitalise on their final day of running on Wednesday.

Eugene Laverty:

“it was a nice surprise to get some almost-dry laps in today after we knew rain was forecast. I was able to get about 40 laps done which was great, and it gave me chance to push the bike more and see what it can do, and how we can develop it.

For sure the bike feels better since the last time I rode it, and Aprilia have done a lot of work on it to improve it. A big aim has been to work the wet tyres and get used to them, and I’ve been able to do some good runs today.

I’ve ticked off most of the targets I wanted to achieve at the test already which is good, but it would be nice to get some sunshine tomorrow. I feel really comfortable on the bike, and we have some new engine and chassis parts to try out before we head home."
 


Lorenzo Savadori:

“It was another good day for me today, and the weather was better which helped us. I was able to do some more set-up work on the bike and to test some new things, and it has been enjoyable for me to work with my new team.

Like we have said before, we are not after a really quick lap time and it is more important for us all to work together and to be in a good position for next year.

We have only one more day of testing, so tonight I will make a plan with my crew chief for what we need to achieve before the end of tomorrow.  The bike is already in a good position and the feeling is good, so I hope we can improve it some more.”
 
Mick Shanley, Team Manager:

“Thankfully we had better weather for our second day of testing, and we were able to gather some good data on the bike. It also gave Eugene and Lorenzo chance to move on to the slick tyres, and that was really useful for us.

Everything is looking good so far, and as a new team it feels like we’ve been working together with Aprilia for years after only two days. We’re not here chasing lap times and it’s been as much a test for running the team as it is the bike.

We have a few more things to test on both bikes tomorrow before we pack up for winter, and it will be important for us to maximise our running on the final day.”