Sasaki & Veijer finish revealing pre-season test in Portimao in P4 and P12
Ayumu Sasaki and world championship rookie Collin Veijer of the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team had a successful final test at Portimao, the famous rollercoaster-circuit in the Algarve. Sasaki proved himself to be a serious contender in the 2023 season thanks to his fourth overall position, while Veijer finished as a strong twelfth on his debut, which was postponed due to injury.
Although the weather conditions were not ideal on the first two days of testing, it finally cleared up on Sunday for the last three remaining practice sessions, allowing the 22-year-old Japanese rider, Ayumu Sasaki, to focus entirely on working out a strong race pace as well as a fast qualifying lap. The experienced Moto3 rider feels strong and ready to start the 2023 season in a few days. The Japanese rider is considered a serious contender not only because of his strong test performance, but also because he finished fourth in last year's World Championship. Before the race comes down to the wire for the first time next Sunday, his gap of just 0.191s to the fastest in the test, Ricardo Rossi, makes him extremely positive.
Collin Veijer was also pleased: the 18-year-old finally got the green light from his doctors after the Dutchman injured his finger at the end of February and was only a spectator at the Jerez test. The ambitious rookie left no stone unturned and so he worked hard to make up for the missed training sessions together with his crew. There was a lot of testing and sorting out so that, with a gap of just 0.609s to the top and an impressive twelfth place overall, he too feels ready to tackle his first World Championship season in just a few days' time.
Can the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 riders once again convert their test findings into competitive times when the Grande Prémio Tissot de Portugal sets the ground for the first showdown from the 24th - 26th of March?
Results (combined)
1. Ricardo ROSSI/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'47.211
2. J.RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'47.262 (+0.051)
3. Daniel MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'47.318 13 1'48.096 12 (+0.107)
4. Ayumu SASAKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'47.402 (+0.191)
12. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'47.820 (+0.609)
