As already written in our mid-day update, the entire field, with the exception of the Aspar MotoGP team riders, remained on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit this Monday for a day of testing.
On the program, new Michelin tires (1 front and 3 rear) equipped with a different carcass, but also new parts for Honda (frame and more direct exhaust) some of which had already been tried by Dani Pedrosa this weekend, as well as one chassis comparison for Suzuki.
At Yamaha, we are still working on the torque sensor (Rossi tried it again this weekend) but a new chassis was also available today, as well as a new fork.
Cal Crutchlow was the fastest in this test. Despite his best result of the season acquired yesterday, the British driver complained yesterday in the press that the electronic improvements made to the Repsol team's Hondas had not yet arrived at LCR; today, this is visibly the case and he estimates the gain at around ten seconds over the duration of a race. With 1'43.963 achieved this afternoon compared to 1'44.366 in qualifying, the calculation seems completely correct!
Behind, we find a Jorge Lorenzo 2 tenths slower than in qualifying but satisfied with his new chassis which he will use at Assen.
Maverick Vinales toured in the same times as last Saturday, but in very few turns and above all with a new chassis it should, him too, use in the Netherlands.
Si Dani Pedrosa used the new Honda chassis well yesterday race, Marc Marquez rejected it today, as well as the more direct exhaust. The #93 also fell Without gravity.
Marc Marquez: “J’ai essayé beaucoup de choses aujourd’hui, comprenant un châssis et des réglages électroniques, et, globalement, nous avons fait un petit pas en avant. Vous recueillez toujours beaucoup d’informations durant un test, qui peuvent vous aider à progresser dans le futur. Avec ce que l’on a appris aujourd’hui, Honda sera en mesure de faire son analyse et de l’appliquer au nouveau châssis. Celui que j’ai essayé aujourd’hui était meilleur dans certaines parties de la piste, mais ne s’accordait pas complètement à mon style dans d’autres, et nous devons donc continuer à travailler. Deux courses se présentent à nous sur des pistes où je me suis toujours senti à l’aise, donc je suis optimiste avec ça en tête. Il y a aussi deux semaines entre chacune d’entre elles, ce qui nous laisse le temps de chercher d’autres améliorations.”
Note the late arrival of the winner from the day before...
Valentino Rossi, also famous for sleeping on the morning of practice, obviously didn't really push the time, with a time one second slower than in qualifying despite 42 laps completed.
The MovistarYamaha team remaining on site tomorrow
for, this time, totally private testing, we can assume that today he preferred to work in depth.
Valentino Rossi: “C’était un bon test. Nous nous sommes concentrés sur les pneus et nous avons trouvé quelque chose de bien, donc les pneus arrière fonctionnent mieux qu’hier. Mais maintenant, nous avons une plus grande tâche puisque nous devons essayer les nouvelles choses que Yamaha a apportées ici, ce qui sera très intéressant pour le reste de la saison. J’ai essayé le nouveau châssis et ma première impression était bonne, et on continuera demain avec le reste.”
Bradley Smith was the most diligent with no less than 83 laps, i.e. a distance equivalent to more than 3 Grands Prix!
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap | Leads. Gap | Laps | |||
| 1 | CRUTCHLOW, Cal | Honda LCR | 1:43.963 | 72 / 73 | ||||
| 2 | LORENZO, Jorge | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:44.202 | 0.239 | 26 / 49 | |||
| 3 | VIÑALES, Maverick | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:44.310 | 0.347 | 9 / 65 | |||
| 4 | IANNON, Andrew | Ducati Team | 1:44.390 | 0.427 | 26 / 36 | |||
| 5 | Espargaro, Aleix | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:44.717 | 0.754 | 31 / 64 | |||
| 6 | BARBERA, Hector | Avintia Racing | 1:44.889 | 0.926 | 33 / 75 | |||
| 7 | DOVIZIOSO, Andrew | Ducati Team | 1:44.968 | 1.005 | 54 / 55 | |||
| 8 | MARCHEZ, Marc | Repsol Honda Team | 1:45.029 | 1.066 | 42 / 77 | |||
| 9 | REDDING, Scott | Octo Bow Yakhnich | 1:45.328 | 1.365 | 58 / 60 | |||
| 10 | PEDROSA, Dani | Repsol Honda Team | 1:45.379 | 1.416 | 21 / 39 | |||
| 11 | Rossi, Valentine | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:45.454 | 1.491 | 23 / 42 | |||
| 12 | SMITH, Bradley | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:45.670 | 1.707 | 44 / 83 | |||
| 13 | ESPARGARÓ, Pol | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:45.835 | 1.872 | 3 / 48 | |||
| 14 | BAUTISTA, Alvaro | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:46.338 | 2.375 | 28 / 72 | |||
| 15 | PETRUCCI, Danilo | Octo Bow Yakhnich | 1:46.515 | 2.552 | 26 / 67 | |||
| 16 | BRADL, Stefan | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:46.524 | 2.561 | 44 / 82 | |||
| 17 | MILLER, Jack | EG 0.0 Marc VDS | 1:47.005 | 3.042 | 14 / 48 | |||
| 18 | RABAT, Tito | EG 0.0 Marc VDS | 1:47.481 | 3.518 | 3 / 16 |
Photo credit: MotoGP.com
