Riders got their first taste of the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg as a two-day private test began, just two days after the German GP. With only nine corners, the track looks simple at first glance but there’s still a lot to learn ahead of the NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich in August.
The track clearly suits Ducati riders as they filled eight spots inside the top ten at the end of the day. “First impression here has been really nice to be honest,” reflected Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) after ending the first day third fastest. “The track layout is nice, a lot of up and down and some blind corners. It’s really enjoyable and we’ll see where we can improve tomorrow.”
“I like the track, it really seems to suit our bike. There are a lot of straights and hard braking and the Ducati is working well here so far, ” said fellow Ducati rider Eugene Laverty (Pull & Bear Aspar Team).
“It’s a particular circuit because you stay really, really fast and spend a lot of time with full throttle. Compared to the normal circuit you have a lot less corners, there are nine. Usually we have 15! It’s not the best circuit for us personally as usually we suffer a bit with top speed,” reflected Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), who had ended the day as the fastest Yamaha in ninth.
Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar) echoed Rossi’s sentiment about top speeds “I like the layout a lot, it’s not a big one but I like the hard braking.”
“Every direction you look is like a postcard, but the only way it gets this green is with a lot of rain!” joked Casey Stoner upon his return to action. “There’s a few fun corners and the surface is great, a little slippery. In general it’s quite particular, a little strange for bikes…”
Go on board with Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) to get a brief taste of what the Spielberg circuit is like…
The first job for Tito Rabat today was to learn his way around the circuit here at Spielberg... pic.twitter.com/hAXE6SqpXS
— Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS (@TeamEG00MarcVDS) July 19, 2016