Search for the right direction on first day
On the first day of the Grand Prix of Austria it was a bit of a search for Bo Bendsneyder and Dominique Aegerter. Finding the right way, with the NTS frame and new front tire working well on the Red Bull Ring, is a challenge for both NTS RW Racing GP and both riders.
What works and what doesn’t, what adjustments are improvements, what the rider can do with the settings and how he feels with the bike, is a matter of trying out on every circuit. With many variable factors – frame, tires, track character, tarmac condition, weather conditions, riding style of the riders – that is always a challenge. Sometimes things go well right away, sometimes more time is needed to find the right direction.
On the first day in Austria, Bo Bendsneyder and his crew had a little more trouble with that than Dominique Aegerter and his team. The differences are very small, but Aegerter finished above Bendsneyder in both free practices. The Swiss finished the first day at the Red Bull Ring in 22nd place with 1.30.318, set in FP2. The Dutchman finished in 26th with the 1.30.461 he rode in FP1.
Bo Bendsneyder: “It was a difficult first day. This morning the bike did not feel very well. We thought we knew what was going on, but the changes didn’t work out as we hoped. The feeling was even less in the afternoon. The strong points of the morning were also the negatives and those negatives have not improved. Let’s hope that we can take the step tomorrow and that things will go better then.”
Dominique Aegerter: “Let me start by thanking NTS RW Racing GP for the confidence and the fact that I can replace Jesko Raffin also in Austria. The Red Bull Ring is a completely different track from the one in Brno, so it was interesting for me to see how the NTS works here. I am quite satisfied with the result. The base is good, we are a bit closer to the top than in Brno. I hope the weather stays stable. Some rain is expected. That would make things a lot more complicated.”