The curtain fell at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia shortly after lunchtime today for Hafizh Syahrin and Miguel Oliveira, when both tried the KTM RC16 for the first time during the first day of the official IRTA test in preparation of the 2019 MotoGP season.

Syahrin started to get a first feeling aboard his new machine, lapping the Spanish track 20 times, before the rain was back in the afternoon, which halted the action on track. On the other side, Oliveira, who is one of the rookies in the premier class, likewise gradually got used to his new working tool. With 33 laps, his first day at MotoGP school was cut short as well. Both, Syahrin and Oliveira can’t wait for Wednesday to continue their adaption.

Syahrin

Hafizh Syahrin - Position: 24th – Time: 1’34.233 – Laps: 20

“I’m very happy to be in the KTM garage and part of this family. We were not able to do many laps today, because this morning the track was still wet and many riders were waiting. I did 20 laps and we planned to continue, but the rain suddenly came nearly two hours before the official end of the test, so we had no chance to do more laps on a dry track. At the moment, I have the feeling the bike is quite good in handling and more powerful, but obviously we need to change some things to adapt to my riding. Anyway, I’m very happy to be riding the RC16 and can’t wait to keep on working with it.”
 
Miguel Oliveira - Position: 25th – Time: 1’35.118 – Laps: 33

“I’m really happy to officially sit on the MotoGP bike for the first time. Everything feels obviously quite strange. We spent our runs on trying to get a sensation for the commands like the throttle, brake, gearing, also rear brake while trying to get an overall feeling for the bike, plus trying to understand a little bit how the electronic works. We were just getting the laps in, so I am happy for that. Obviously we were pretty slow, but I’m sure I’m getting my time to understand and make solid steps.”