The Mapfre Aspar competitors ended the last day of Jerez testing with conflicting results. Technical issues were a concern for Julián Simón, who seeked answers in both wet and dry conditions, the Spaniard spent the majority of the session in and out of his squad’s box searching for improvements.

“The truth is that today has been an unfortunate one, as I have only completed three full laps in normal conditions,” says Simón. “When I went out on the track I noticed that the bike wasn’t working well – the engine didn’t respond correctly to the power delivery. I tried to solve it, by going in and out of the box, but we weren’t able to find a solution.”

“It’s a pity because we have practically lost two days. I think we are working very well in all ways, and it’s a matter of having a complete day to finalise the tuning of the RSV,” states Simón, who raced 22 laps and claimed a best time of 1’59.733.

Turning to the other side of the garage, Mike di Meglio had to wait for the wet conditions to clear before commencing at 3pm. The Frenchman raced his RSV with fresh wet settings, and in contrast to his colleague, finished the day quite satisfied with the results.

“I am adapting to the 4-stroke bike and am very happy. Today I felt very comfortable riding in the rain. Every time I went out on the track I had a good feeling, and I found that the RSV has good grip in the wet,” explains Di Meglio.

“At first this new category posed me some questions, but my understanding with the RSV is progressing. On this final day we haven’t proved anything specific, simply some chassis solutions for riding in the wet. I think that without becoming obsessed with times we are doing a good job. Experience is being gained and we are enhancing what we have already found,” states Di Meglio, his best time was 1’56.575 from 26 laps.