De Angelis Back on Track
Thursday, 11 February 2016 17:50 GMT
Recovering rider from San Marino gets first real test before Phillip Island
Alex De Angelis was able to get back on track for the first time today at MotorLand, testing aboard his new Aprilia RSV4 RF this afternoon. The ex-MotoGP rider, who suffered a terrible crash during the Motegi weekend of the 2015 MotoGP campaign, was able to try out the new WorldSBK bike and test himself and his physical condition.
Weather conditions at the Spanish circuit were difficult in the morning as moisture hindered progress, before the rain cleared for the afternoon and De Angelis took advantage of the drying track to try out the Pirelli wet tyres, never having ridden on them before and happy with the feeling on the Aprilia.
As the track got drier, the Grand Prix winner managed another 10 laps on slicks and registered his best lap of the session on his last. Given the weather conditions, the IodaRacing rider left the test satisfied and eager to push himself further when WorldSBK begins in Phillip Island.
“Aprilia gave me a chance to test here and I said yes straightaway,” said De Angelis. “For me it was important to get out on track after four months away. I can’t say much about how I find myself physically because I’ve only done 30 laps in a couple of days, and I couldn’t really test myself to the limit. I just wanted to stop myself feeling rusty.
"At the end of today I at least managed to use the slicks, and I did ten laps consecutively. I go into Australia feeling calm; like I can complete a normal race weekend. Riding shouldn’t be a problem, we’ll have to see how my arm issues affect my performance and if I can be competitive from start to finish."
Moving on to tyres, the Aprilia rider said, “My feedback is very positive. It’s a tyre that moves around a bit more than the MotoGP tyres and so it makes you feel comfortable straightaway because it helps you understand the limit of the bike more. As I said, I’ll head into Australia feeling calm after this test, the only thing I would have liked is to have been able to test more and get back to the top of my game and back to being competitive. We know that for us the Phillip Island races will be more like a test, where I’ll go to a track I know and with a good few kilometres there under my belt. I think then I’ll really be able to push."
De Angelis will be back on track once again at the Phillip Island test before racing gets underway in Round 1.
