QMMF Racing Team’s Julian Simon in action during a testing session in Valencia.
Agencies/Valencia
With two successful testing sessions following the last Grand Prix at Valencia, QMMF Racing Team concluded the 2015 season on a high note.
Two days of riding at Jerez followed by another two days at Valencia were especially valuable for Belgian rider Xavier Simeon, who signed a two-year-contract with the team and who took advantage of ideal autumn conditions on both the tracks to adjust to the Speed Up bike.
The 26-year-old from Brussels fully concentrated on riding without too many set-up changes and surprised the team with the eighth fastest time, less than nine tenths of a second behind world champion Johann Zarco, who set the fastest time in Valencia.
“I felt good on the Speed Up straight away. I also did good lap times almost immediately, which is always better than starting slow and having to work your way up,” said Simeon, whose fastest time was 1:35.359. “These tests were an important first step for me, because I wanted to understand how the bike and how the team works. Everything went well, they understand what I like and I am happy with the crew and their work. When testing resumes in February, I want to get into serious set-up work, because the bike was nearly the same at Jerez and Valencia, since I just wanted to concentrate on riding. I also want to take advantage of the two long winter months without any tests and train a lot in order to confront next season in the best possible shape.”
Whereas Simeon just wanted to find the right feeling for his new bike, teammate Julian Simon got straight into the technical preparations for the next season and made important back-to-back comparisons of the standard Speed Up bike and a different chassis version.
After evaluating a variety of different set-up solutions on both tracks, he was sixth fastest, just six tenths of a second behind Zarco, and left the Valencia circuit confident in regards to the challenges ahead.
“In the end, I had a very good rhythm, especially during the last part of the day with cooler temperatures. I improved even more on soft tyres, but to find out that we were almost as fast with the harder option and still had the consistency that we need, was especially pleasing,” said Simon, who posted a time of 1:35.121. “I am very happy with the work of the team and with what we achieved during these tests. The most important thing for me is not our lap time – it is the fact that I was able to conclude the year with a good feeling and good ideas for the new season.”
The lap times and positions of both QMMF riders were especially impressive considering the fact that they tested with Dunlop’s harder Grand Prix tyres, the same ones they had used at the last race in Valencia, whereas many other riders went out with a very soft tyre that Dunlop used in the Spanish Championship CEV.
