Qatar – QP1 MotoGP – McWilliams 19th in the Doha desert

Jeremy McWilliams concluded the first official test session on the Losail track in Doha in 19th position with a time of 2'05”969.
In the first motorcycle event in the Middle East, the Qatar circuit saw the debut of MotoGP riders on its 5,4 km of asphalt. Characterized by wide escape routes, but also by extreme climatic conditions with an air temperature close to 40 degrees and that of the asphalt which puts a strain on the performance of the tyres, Jeremy McWilliams and the MS Aprilia Racing started from scratch looking for settings for RSCube number 99.

In the first free practice session the Northern Irish driver concentrated on learning the track, also trying to test the grip characteristics of the Losail asphalt. Compared to the morning, during the first round of official testing he saw an increase in the grip level of the circuit which allowed him to force the pace slightly.

“The circuit is very technical – said Jeremy – and is characterized by many changes of direction, and in this situation I am finding some difficulties in the load changes. For now the bike is vaguely unbalanced towards the rear, which is why during the session we changed the calibration of the shock absorber spring and this brought some benefits. I'm sure that tomorrow we can improve even more, it certainly shouldn't rain!! We also encountered some difficulties in choosing the front tire. The hard compound is certainly the favorite but even with this type of rubber it slips a lot. Then, during the lap with long-term tyres, I made a mistake in T3 and T4 which made me lose a lot of time."

The heat doesn't seem to worry McWilliams too much who states: “I thought it would be worse, I will certainly think differently on Saturday after the 27 laps of the race. I think it will be worse next week in Malaysia where the humidity is higher and where breathing under the helmet is certainly more difficult.”

Jeremy McWilliams is the only rider to take the MS Aprilia Racing RSCube on track. His teammate, Shane Byrne, is in fact at Dr. Costa's facilities to reduce the injuries to his left wrist suffered in the Brno tests.

Racing Aprilia