Even if the conditions are never the same (motorcycles, track grip, temperature, wind, etc.), starting the Australian weekend with a little refresher is not necessarily useless...
In this case, a look back at the three days of testing that the MotoGP carried out in February at Phillip Island, where, beyond the first hierarchy established by the simple time sheet, it was interesting to observe race simulations to get an idea of each person's potential.
To do this, we consulted the analysis sheets and selected the longest runs, cutting them as soon as an “abnormal” timer interrupted the simulation. An exception was made for Valentino Rossi who did not do any long runs but who obviously cannot be forgotten.
A simple glance shows that Marc Marquez was the fastest in this exercise, even allowing himself to go under 1'29 on his last lap. His pace was better than that of the fastest man in these trials, Maverick Vinales, the latter however proving slightly less regular on the handlebars of his Yamaha. Regarding the latter, note that he, in fact, did two race simulations but that we had only selected the second, the fastest.
To this duo, it was appropriate to add Cal Crutchlow, winner here in 2016, who also declared like his two colleagues that he still had something under his belt.
Finally, Jonas Folger, the Rookie of Team Monster Yamaha Tech3, was not only fourth on the timesheet, but also appeared in this position during his race simulation. Too bad he won't be there this weekend...
Dani Pedrosa, not physically in the best shape, had completed an eight-lap run which placed him in fifth position, a good half-second behind the leading quartet. He had driven at the same tempo as Andrea Iannone, the latter having however been much more perseverant.
Andrea Dovizioso et John Zarco had roughly the same times in 1'30.5, the Frenchman pushing his effort for 20 laps as usual.
Alex Rins was slightly slower than Johann Zarco, just like Jack Miller.
Valentino Rossi, not satisfied, had not done a real race simulation and nevertheless conceded a good second and a half to the best. Conversely, Alvaro Bautista had proven to be the most diligent in this exercise, lining up no less than 24 laps.
Jorge Lorenzo appeared both quite irregular and with a slowing racing pace.
These observations can be compared to what we will observe from Friday on the Australian circuit...
Results of the third day:
| Pos | Pile | Team | Chrono | Difference | Tours | |
| 1 | VIÑALES, Maverick | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:28.549 | 13 / 101 | ||
| 2 | MARCHEZ, Marc | Repsol Honda Team | 1:28.843 | 0.294 | 14 / 96 | |
| 3 | PEDROSA, Dani | Repsol Honda Team | 1:29.033 | 0.484 | 61 / 65 | |
| 4 | Folger, Jonas | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:29.042 | 0.493 | 12 / 63 | |
| 5 | CRUTCHLOW, Cal | Honda LCR | 1:29.101 | 0.552 | 72 / 85 | |
| 6 | Rins, Alex | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:29.103 | 0.554 | 60 / 66 | |
| 7 | DOVIZIOSO, Andrew | Ducati Team | 1:29.248 | 0.699 | 9 / 73
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| 8 | LORENZO, Jorge | Ducati Team | 1:29.342 | 0.793 | 61 / 75 | |
| 9 | MILLER, Jack | Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1:29.358 | 0.809 | 18 / 93 | |
| 10 | Espargaro, Aleix | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:29.361 | 0.812 | 61 / 65 | |
| 11 | Rossi, Valentine | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:29.470 | 0.921 | 13 / 52 | |
| 12 | IANNON, Andrew | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:29.547 | 0.998 | 63 / 77 | |
| 13 | PETRUCCI, Danilo | Octo Pramac Racing | 1:29.615 | 1.066 | 50 / 57 | |
| 14 | ZARCO, Johann | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:29.670 | 1.121 | 10 / 87 | |
| 15 | BARBERA, Hector | Royal Esponsorama Racing | 1:29.791 | 1.242 | 82 / 83 | |
| 16 | ESPARGARÓ, Pol | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:29.857 | 1.308 | 62 / 62 | |
| 17 | BAZ, Loris | Royal Esponsorama Racing | 1:29.977 | 1.428 | 64 / 71 | |
| 18 | SMITH, Bradley | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:29.978 | 1.429 | 73 / 73 | |
| 19 | BAUTISTA, Alvaro | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | 1:29.984 | 1.435 | 7 / 74 | |
| 20 | REDDING, Scott | Octo Pramac Racing | 1:30.005 | 1.456 | 47 / 74 | |
| 21 | LOWES, Sam | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:30.200 | 1.651 | 29 / 57 | |
| 22 | ABRAHAM, Karel | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | 1:30.452 | 1.903 | 24 / 61 |
Reference times:
Test record: 1'27.899 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) on October 5, 2013
Lap record: 1'28.108 by Marc Marquez (Honda) on October 6, 2013
Best top speed: 348,0 km/h by Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) in 2015 (FP3)
Learn more at https://www.paddock-gp.com/test-phillip-island-2017-simulations-de-course/#q4vu6BwtJPWoqU7w.99
