Cold temperatures delayed the start of the Moto2™ and Moto3™ at Valencia on the first day of testing at the circuit.

A chilly morning on the first of the three day test at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia saw none of the more than 60 Moto2 and Moto3 riders present venturing out to the track before 11:00am due to low track temperatures. Shortly before 10:00am the ambient temperature read just above freezing, rising to around ten degrees Celsius (50 F) an hour and a half later.


The first rider to venture out was Italtrans Racing Team rider Claudio Corti shortly after eleven, followed by Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team) about 11:30 out to test the team’s new Kalex machinery.

Once the track temperature was high enough to minimize the risks of crashing, many of the 65 pilots decided to circulate, though with caution and without trying to lay down fast lap times.

The difficult conditions led to crashes from Alex De Angelis, Xavier Simeon, Max Neukirchner, Alex Marquez and Nakagami, fortunately with no consequences for any of the riders.

The news of the morning was the announcement of the agreement between Maverik Viñales and Repsol, which will see the 2011 Rookie of the Year entering the new Moto3 class defending the Repsol colors of the Spanish energy company, while competing for the Avintia Racing team.

Following the announcement, Viñales commented,

"I am very excited to defend the colors of Repsol this season, because Repsol has a great history of winning in the World Championship. Many riders have done very well under Repsol and now I'll be part of this group. Currently, the top three riders sponsored by Repsol, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, are World Champions, and that is certainly our goal now for the 2012.”

"Now we are focusing on the of test at Valencia. We have have received many improvements to our bike that we have to now thoroughly test. "

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