Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team Ready for 2023 Moto2 Action Following Portimao Test

19-03-2023

Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team Ready for 2023 Moto2 Action Following Portimao Test

The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team put in the work at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve over the last three days. Manuel Gonzalez and Kohta Nozane used the Portimao Moto2 & Moto3 Official Test to prepare for the 2023 season, that starts next week at the same track. They finished in 12th and 27th place respectively in the combined Day-3 results.

The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team used the Portimao Moto2 & Moto3 Official Test to prepare for the upcoming 2023 Moto2 action. With the season due to start next weekend, also at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Manuel Gonzalez and Kohta Nozane made the most of their time on track to get their base set-up ready. They finished in 12th and 27th place in the combined Day-3 classification.

Gonzalez needed little time to get back into the swing of things and completed the first day with a best lap of 1’43.319s, which earned him ninth in the Day-1 results. However, rain during the night and early morning dampened his testing plans for FP4 at the start of Day 2. A crash in FP5 cost the Spaniard further time, and it caused him to slip back to 24th in the combined Day-2 rankings. But fully fit to continue riding on Day 3, Manugasss made a strong comeback. On the sunny last day, the number-18 rider set a 1'42.780s in FP9 to wrap up in 12th place in the Day-3 combined timesheets.

The team was delighted with the progress made by new recruit Nozane. He comes from the WorldSBK championship (2021-2022) and therefore was already familiar with the Portimao circuit and its elevation changes. The Japanese rider also already had some Moto2 Wild Card experience (once in 2012 and three times in 2013), allowing the number-5 rider’s professionalism to shine through during the official test. Despite crashes on Day 2 and 3, he continued to put in meticulous work and improved by over 1s in the space of a weekend. He jumped from a best time of 1’45.659s on Day 1 to a 1’44.362s on Day 3, ranking 27th in the Day-3 timesheets.

Manuel Gonzalez - P12 1'42.780

Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team

"I finished this test feeling very confident, because the lap times were coming out really easily. I have a good pace. Of course, we need to find more speed to set even better lap times, but that's something we'll work on during the race weekend. For now, the work we did was perfect. We tried a lot of things with the brakes and suspension, and other things. I'm really happy with how it went. We tried this bike with the set-up we used last time out with the old bike, and it was very different with this new bike. I'm more confident and faster, so see you at the Portimao GP. I hope to fight for the podium."

Kohta Nonzane - P27 1'44.362

Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team

"I was able to make progress in today's session 2, but I had a small crash in session 3, so I'm still trying to understand it. But, overall, it's been a very good five days of testing, if you include the Jerez Private Test."

Gelete Nieto

Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team

"I’m happy with the work my team did during the winter. Manu reached a very good level. Of course, he has more experience than last year, but he also has more trust in himself and that’s very important.

"As for our new rider, it’s too early to make any predictions, but during the test he reached a good position. I like Kohta: he works very well, and he’s very professional. It’s clear he comes from a prestigious championship. He needs to ride as much as possible to gain confidence with the Moto2 bike. I’m sure we will do a good job with him this year."