The excitement and the revs are building to the start of the new MotoGP season and for CFMOTO’s debut on the world championship stage. 2022 will be the longest Grand Prix campaign on record but CFMOTO will be in the mix of intense and entertaining Moto3 action. Moto3 will be the first race of the Grand Prix of Qatar schedule at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday with Free Practice and Qualification taking place on Friday and Saturday.
The German-based CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP team recently completed testing sessions in southern Europe. The final outing took place around the sweeping Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal: the scene of round five of the calendar on April 24th.
Spanish stars Carlos Tatay and Xavi Artigas immediately got down to work; Tatay, in particular, looked very fast and ended the test 11th quickest, only seven hundredths of a second away from the top spot. Artigas was not far away either.
Moto3 is traditionally split by hundreds and even thousandths of a second. Slipstreaming, good starts and race craft are key and the support structure around the riders and the CFMOTO machinery will be another essential asset in the team’s pursuit of success this year. CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP have taken strong steps in this aspect of their preparation and the appointment of former world champion Thomas Lüthi – who retired from Grand Prix at the end of 2021 – is a fresh component.
“The preparations for the season have been completed, and all in all everything has gone very positively,” the Swiss commented. “We were able to ride a lot and test a wide variety of settings. That’s important, because the team set-up is new. Each of the riders has a new crew chief and mechanics – so it takes quite a bit of time. The pace of Carlos and Xavier is really good and we were able to get closer to our limit from session to session. I’m looking forward to the next week to finally start and getting into real racing.”
The team wrapped their tasks in Portugal and immediately packed the freight for Qatar. The floodlit Losail circuit has been a regular site for MotoGP since the venue was created in 2004 at a cost of almost 60 million dollars. From 2007 it has traditionally opened the championship. The pandemic forced MotoGP to begin in Spain in the summer of 2020 but last year Qatar hosted back-to-back events for rounds 1 and 2. Now there is a degree of normality about the Grand Prix. The Losail International Circuit stretches almost 5.5km with 16 corners and has a largely flat and fast trajectory. The main straight reaches over 1km in length and sends the screaming motorcycles into the night air and towards the tight Turn 1. The track can be slick and dusty if the climate is windy, and the evening sessions can involve damp and moist conditions that play havoc with grip and tyre choice.
Losail may lack the picturesque landscape of Mugello in Italy or the Red Bull Ring of Austria or the atmosphere of the Circuit de Jerez in Spain or the bustling crowds of the TT Circuit Assen in Holland but the speed, colours and shine of racing motorcycles under those bright lights means the championship whizzes into action in spectacular fashion. Don’t miss out!
MotoGP moves rapidly around the globe once the chequered flag falls in the Middle East this Sunday. The series travels to Indonesia and a first attempt at the brand-new Pertamina Mandalika Circuit followed by a long trip to Argentina, then the USA before landing in Europe with visits to Portugal and Spain. Predicting Moto3 races is a tough job at the best of times but CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP are aiming to be in the heart of the dispute for podium trophies and maybe more as the season progresses.
Carlos Tatay: “It’s been a really good pre-season, not only in Portimao – also in Valencia and Jerez. It’s fun to work with the team, everything is going very professionally and we are improving from session to session. It gives me a good feeling, I understand the CFMOTO bike better and better – and now I’m looking forward to the first race in Qatar.”
Xavi Artigas: “The feeling on the bike is getting better, the team is working hard and I’m happy with the tests. Of course I want to improve my pace, that’s why I have to adapt my riding style even more.”
Zhen Su, CFMOTO Racing Development Manager: “It’s very exciting for us that 2022 MotoGP is about to start and, for the first time, we can give all motorcycle racing fans in China and the CFMOTO riders and followers a strong and fast team and riders to support. We can see and feel that MotoGP is growing here and it’s very positive that we can be a part of the show! We look to be already on the pace, even though we know that Moto3 can be a crazy and fascinating championship. Qatar is an important moment for us. We hope a long and memorable story for CFMOTO gets underway at Losail.”
For more information, please visit https://global.cfmoto.com
Email: media@cfmoto.com
Media Contact
Company Name: CFMOTO
Contact Person: Qixing Lu, Global PR Manager
Email: Send Email
Phone: +86 17767101771
Country: Qatar
Website: https://global.cfmoto.com
