It is a fresh start for the season and I am feeling confident and ready for the challenges ahead of this year’s SuperBike Championship in Qatar.
Building from last year’s experience in the UAE Championship, we have learned what we should improve on and what points we can strengthen.
Last season, there was an electrical issue that stopped me from completing the final lap in Qatar, but now these issues are behind us and we are determined to start and finish strongly.
– MotoGP: Marquez leads from the front in Aus practice
– F1 analysis: Third place shows Perez's growing Force
Those technical issues are now solved, and we worked together as a team to ensure these problems do not happen again this time around.
The bike has been worked on vigorously. We focused mostly on the engine and the technical team improved its mechanical ability, managing to make the bike more powerful to endure the heat. Improving the bike is vital as the competition this year will prove to be a tough one. I expect the other riders to have fully-tuned bikes and be well-prepared for the championship.
But we are ready too.
I am feeling good physically and mentally too and feel I am strong enough to face the challenges coming my way.
With technical preparation complete, practice will commence on Friday and it shall be an adequate warm-up for the team. It gives us the opportunity to showcase our ability and performance, while putting the bike to the test.
The championship then begins in earnest on Saturday and personally I’m eager to begin with a positive result. Our aim is to win the championship and with all the preparation we’ve done and how the technical aspects have been tuned, we just need a little bit of luck on our side.