At PrüstelGP, everything is done to start the new season. On Friday, February 23rd, the Saxony-based racing team held their 2018 launch at the Sachsenring.
Managing Director Florian Prüstel, Sports Director Dirk Reißmann, as well as the two Moto3™ riders Marco Bezzecchi and Jakub Kornfeil, answered questions from journalists and reported in detail on their preparations for the new season. The event was moderated by Stefan Nebel, who presented the newly developed “PrüstelGP Academy” next to the presentation of the MotoGP™ team. The Academy supports sustainable young talents in Germany and prepares them for the way onto the world stage. In 2018, three German junior riders will be supervised, including #94 Marvin Siebdrath in the European Talent Cup (ETC), #09 Freddie Heinrich in the RFME Spanish Moto4 Championship and #28 Lennox Lehmann in the ADAC Junior Cup.
After the team presentation, Jakub Kornfeil and Marco Bezzecchi revealed the new design of their KTM bikes.
Behind the team are exhausting and exciting days and weeks. After the new team structure was set up in February, the first tests took place on the Spanish Grand Prix circuits of Valencia and Jerez. After the presentation the team goes back to Spain and Jerez from the 6th to 8th March, the final test ahead of the season opener in Qatar.
"Overall, I’m satisfied with the tests,” says veteran Czech rider Kornfeil. “I have coped well with the KTM, but there is still a lot of work ahead. My goal was not to lose more than a second to the top. So we did. Now we have to continue to work on the tuning of the machine to my riding style. I hope that we will take an important step further in the tests in Jerez."
"I felt good on the KTM right from the beginning and I knew that I could ride in the top,” adds Bezzecchi. “Thanks to my mechanics, who do everything they can to tailor the machine for me. I can not wait for it to start!"
Florian Prüstel, the Managing Director, also added a few words ahead of the season opener.
"We can start right now. We have been doing our homework in the last few weeks. The team has been working better every day, familiarizing themselves with the new KTM bikes. The results of the tests make us confident. Marco Bezzecchi rode constantly very fast lap times. After this preseason we want to reach points with Jakub and Marco at the World Championship."
First stop Jerez for testing, next stop Qatar for racing.