After a long winter break, the time has finally come for the riders to get back to the business of racing, and it’s Losail International Circuit that plays host to the opening round of the championship.
Jorge Navarro, who seems to be in a good shape ahead of the first race of the year after topping the Moto2 pre-season testing last week, wants to challenge for the title. “For sure last year was a good season for me, but this year the target is to make a step forward; to be fighting for the victory at every race and at the end be a title contender. The preseason was very good for us, we did a good job. We improved our weak points and maybe improved the strong points. We’re ready to start racing,” the 24-year-old Spaniard said.
Navarro was then asked if he’d been focusing on the start of the race – somewhere he admitted he needed to improve – and confirmed that, but said there was a more pressing issue for him and his Speed Up team.
“In this area for sure we’ve worked but the biggest area was in aero because we always lacked top speed and to fight in the races it’s difficult when you don’t have that. Everyone is aggressive at the start and if you can’t arrive at the braking point close to the rider in front of you it’s hard to overtake. This was our weakest point, I had to wait to make safe moves and always I arrived at the fight for victory too late. This year, with the new aero we have, it’ll be easy to overtake and therefore we won’t be in a rush for all of the race,” he said
Meanwhile, it’s been anything but a quiet winter for Jorge Martin, who had to overcome knee surgery and further foot injuries alongside a switch from KTM to Kalex. Now Martin, who finished second in testing, wants to put bad times behind him with a good start to season in Qatar.
“The end of last season was so good, I was quite competitive. Then we changed the bike again. It was so difficult to at the beginning to understand the new bike, and I also had surgery three months ago, then I broke my foot again. So it was a hard pre-season, but anyway, in Jerez I improved by best time, then again in Qatar. I’m still struggling to find a good feeling with the front, but I think it’s the same for everybody. Just trying to work hard and to understand every step or every move we make. Hopefully this weekend we will find the way to fight for the victory,” Martin said.
Meanwhile, the fastest rider in Moto3 pre-season testing, Filip Salac wants co build on the momentum in the opening race. “It’s a really nice feeling to end preseason like this. I want to say thanks for the opportunity to move from KTM to Honda too, I’ve adapted well. It was a big step at first, it’s a totally different bike and it was hard. At the Jerez test I did a good lap after changing. My strategy was doing the laps by myself, then I ended the Qatar Test first and I think we’re ready for the first race,” he said.
Salac revealed his aim was fight for the podium in every race. “Last year my goal was to get some points and this year I want to get podiums, not just one. I have a good team, for me the best in Moto3, I have a good teammate so I think if we help each other it’ll be a good year for both of us,” said the Czech Republic rider.
Ai Ogura, meanwhile, was another who seems to have made a key step so far in 2020. The Japanese rider was equally positive and upbeat looking at the year ahead. “I’m very happy to finish in the top three during testing in Jerez and Qatar. I didn’t expect to finish there so I am really happy. During the test we made some changes and I’m adjusting really well so I’m really happy about that. Normally we struggle in these high speed circuits but we could keep the speed so yeah, we are really happy. I think we are ready,” Ogura said.
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