At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the Leopard Racing team have made their 2016 debut in the intermediate Moto2 class.
After winning the World Championship in the lightweight Moto3 category, for 2016 the Leopard Racing team has risen to the intermediate Moto2 class. A whole new project has been a challenge but ready the team is ready to face it with all the knowledge and professionalism they have available.
With the Kalex frame the teaam already has a solid base, built upon even more so by a pair of strong young riders: Danny Kent and Miguel Oliveira. The young men, now teammates, were rivals at the end of last season until the last race as they competed for the title in the Moto3 World Championship.
For the Brit, with the World Champion now secured, it is a return to the category, but now Kent is determined not to play a role as an extra and already has a great feeling with the bike.
"It was good to get back in the saddle after two months, those of December and January, in which he could not run," Kent explained.
"This first step is important because it is a completely new experience, both for the team and for the bike. More than the times we have focused on the feeling of the bike and its set-up. They were two positive days, I found my pace slowly, but a shame about the poor conditions: with dirty track yesterday and today's strong wind. We will try to improve from next test."
In two days of testing at Montmelo, Miguel Oliveira was able to become familiar with the new Kalex, still wrapped in bare carbon fiber hulls.
The 21-year old Portuguese rider appeared at ease riding the Moto2 machine, focusing on his own style and at first adjustments, appreciating in particular the handling and power, completely different aspects to the motorcycle that he raced in the cadet category until last November.
"We focused on my riding style, to try to understand better what is the reaction of the bike to the changes we propose," Oliveira said.
"We are working on entry and output curve, Moto2 changes a lot compared to the Moto3: it is heavier on the brakes, more challenging to be run. We just have to make so many kilometers to collect information. But in the end it's more fun: this bike is faster, has more acceleration, moves more, but really nice slide it out of the corners," he concluded.
Main Photo: Danny Kent in action
