Jerez – The SIC Racing Team will today conclude their first Moto3 test at the Circuito de Jerez, Spain. Marking the start of their Moto3 campaign, the three-day test has provided the newly formed team with the perfect opportunity to collect valuable data, whilst developing their knowledge of the 2014 KTM RC250 GP Moto3 bike.
Despite the mixed weather conditions, Team Manager Johan Stigefelt is happy with the progress made by the team and riders Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Jakub Kornfeil.
Making the most of the difficult conditions Kornfeil used his time on track to gain experience with his new crew and with his knowledge of the KTM, provide feedback on set up, whilst teammate Khairuddin worked on familiarising himself with the bike.
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“The weather hasn’t been great in Jerez, but for us at this test it has been more important to work with the riders and with KTM on the new bike. I think we have done a very good job.
We have seen what we have to work on with the bike and have learned quite a lot already.
I feel we are ready for next year and for the test that we are going to have at Sepang, which will be very important and good for us.
“Overall I’m happy; I like the riders and they are getting on well. I see also that the guys in the team are getting used to the KTM already and Moto3, which is a bit different from Moto2 of course. We have come a long way and our objective and target for Sepang will be to work on the new 2015 bike. It is a bit different from this years bike and we know that it will be a lot of work next year, but we know what to do and I can see the potential in both riders and the package that we will have.”
#63 Zulfahmi Khairuddin
“I rode the bike for the first time on Wednesday and it was working really well and I felt really good with it. The turning on the bike is very good compared to my previous bike.
“The team have worked very well and it’s been good to get a lot of support also from the KTM guys who have been with us throughout the test. The weather has not been so good, but it is still important to test in both wet and dry conditions, which we have done.
“Everything is new for the team and me so we must work a lot over the winter to be as prepared as possible, but overall we have had a good start here in Jerez. I think we have a good crew in the team and I believe we can do very well with the KTM bike.
“When I return home I will have a couple of weeks holiday to rest and reset, then I will start my new training. I will go to the gym a lot and train on my bicycle, like I always do over the winter. Then also we have Supermoto training and Pit Bike training, which we do at Sepang Circuit. Training is very important, so I will work hard at this during the break.
“I’m already looking forward to our next test in February because at the moment we haven’t been able to do so many laps in Jerez because of the weather. Everything looks good now, so hopefully in Malaysia it will be a really positive test for us.”
#84 Jakub Kornfeil
“Yesterday it was very difficult with the mixed conditions because it was neither dry or wet from the beginning of the day. It started wet then the track began to dry out, but as soon as a dry line appeared, heavy rain began and it carried on like this throughout the day, which made things a little bit complicated.
For sure we need more track time in consistent conditions to set up the bike, but we were still able to make 40 laps on Thursday, which was good.
“We were not looking for the lap time yesterday because it was impossible to have a completely dry session. I was always coming in after 5 laps so that the mechanics could check the bike and I could give them the information.
If I wanted to improve somewhere, the team improved the bike and I could feel it, so the changes they made were very good and I am happy about this. If I wanted for example, to brake harder in the front, they made it and then on the track I could feel it, so this is very good.
“We are not looking to be the fastest here, it is the end of the season so we are not pushing hard.
For this test it has been more important to use our time on track to understand the KTM more, just ride, get the experience and collect some data so that the guys can work on this over the next two months.
We think we are not far away and I was even the fastest on Thursday in the mixed conditions, so we are happy and feeling positive.
“Overall I’m very happy with the guys in the team, they are very nice to me and they are really working professionals, so I feel quite good with this and I’m looking forward to our next test.”
