After a learning year in the middleweight class for Jorge Navarro, Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 prepares for an important new year of racing with higher expectations and goals.
2017 was an up-and-down year for Navarro, with great performances like in Montmeló. Sachsenring and Aragón; he also endured difficult moments such as the injury suffered at Phillip Island, which kept Navarro away from racing for a whole month during the final leg of the season.
This is all part of a learning curve that will enable Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 to step up in 2018, a year that has started in an encouraging way after two positive tests at Valencia and Jerez de la Frontera, the latter of which will also host the final pre-season IRTA test in a week’s time.
JORGE NAVARRO:
“I think the season has started in a positive way. We weren’t looking for the absolute performance but instead for the right feeling with the bike – without taking too many unnecessary risks. Our second Moto2 season comes with higher and more ambitious goals: we will need to be among the top 7-8 on the grid and if we manage to be consistent I’m sure the results will come sooner rather than later. The team has grown and so did I, and we learned from our mistakes from last year. I feel very comfortable with the team both on the technical and human sides and I think this will only help our cause. First and foremost, I would like to thank the managing side of the squad – Fausto and Carlo – but also all the sponsors that make all of this possible. I will give my 110% as always to allow team and bike to be in the positions they deserve to be. We now have to focus on the IRTA test, where we will surely push a bit harder before what will be an exciting season!”
FAUSTO GRESINI:
“This is going to be Navarro’s second season in the series, so the goal is to build on the results from last year, where we suffered a bit too much in the final part. We want to be among the fastest and I’m sure we can be consistently within the top-10 this season. Jorge has the age and the experience to get this type of results. He’s still not 100% fit, but we hope he’ll get better before Qatar. One year of experience with the Federal Oil Team Gresini and with the Kalex machine will pay dividends I’m sure, so I’m confident we will get some good results. I would also like to thank Federal Oil for being a parter of Gresini Racing for such a long time; there’s also a wider group of Indonesian companies that have adhered to this project with great passion and enthusiasm – something that makes me proud. I hope we won’t disappoint and that we’ll get the results we’re expecting.”
