Bendsneyder confirms good form on first day of Qatar Test

On the first day of the Moto2 test in Qatar, Bo Bendsneyder picked up the tread where he left it in Jerez last week. The Dutchman confirmed his good form with a best time of 2.00.684, good for thirteenth in the ranking of the three combined sessions.

Bendsneyder was the only NTS RW Racing GP rider on the track of the Losail International Circuit. Team mate Steven Odendaal has to miss the test in Qatar because of the injury to his foot, on which he will have surgery on Monday. His replacement Jesko Raffin arrived in Doha today and will step on the NTS tomorrow.

Also see Odendaal misses test and GP Qatar, Raffin replaces him

Bendsneyder had a good feeling from the start of the first of the three sessions. Despite the strong wind, he could improve in every session and close the gap to the top. In the third session he set his fastest time, good for eleventh in the session, on a tire that already had twenty laps on the counter.

Bo Bendsneyder: “Because of the strong wind it was a bit difficult sometimes, but those conditions apply to everyone. We have tried some new things, especially at the front, and with that we have been able to make a good step in the end. We are not yet focusing on a fast lap – that will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow – but now we have mainly concentrated on race pace. Being able to set these kind of lap times already, is proof that the basis is good, because it has been more or less the same since we first tested in Valencia.”