Loris Baz has just completed his second day of testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. This session was much more hectic than the first for Loris since he fell heavily at the end of the straight at nearly 290 km/h this morning. Fortunately, the Frenchman escaped unscathed.
Loris crashed just under two hours after the pitlane opened. The reasons for this fall are still unexplained, “This morning, at the start of the session, we left with the tire from the day before,” explains Loris, “We had a problem with it, and so I returned. We put on a new tire to set a time: I gradually picked up the pace, I improved lap after lap. The tire exploded on the straight just as I had just completed my best lap. Initially, I thought it was an engine problem, because there were signs that led me to think so, including a strange noise. But we analyzed the bike well and everything was in place. Personally, I think more of a problem with the tire. I had a big fall, but I got through it well. Let's say it's my lucky day. »
Despite this fall at high speed, the Frenchman escaped unscathed, “I'm a little bruised, that's logical, with some aches, but overall everything is fine. »
Before this fall, the Haut-Savoyard had already improved his time from the day before to go below the 2'03 mark in 2'02'611. The Avintia Racing team immediately rushed to repair the Ducati GP14.2. The French rider was able to return to the track in the afternoon for a few additional laps and regain confidence on the bike. “We were able to ride for an hour at the end of the session with still some problems on the bike,” he explains. “Following my fall, we were no longer allowed to ride with the soft tire. We drove with a hard tire. I was able to achieve the same time as yesterday even though I didn't like the electronics and the fork. We are in the right direction and I think that tomorrow we will be able to work well. »
This first test of the year at Sepang will end tomorrow. Loris hopes to optimize this last day, “The objective is to find grip at the rear, because the bike slips a lot and that's what I suffer from when it comes to good times. We will also work on electronics. Finally, depending on how much time remains, we will try to do a race simulation. This is a very important point in particular for analyzing the consumption of the motorcycle. »
The Avintia Racing team will meet at 10 a.m. (local time) to attend the closing of this first winter test in Sepang.
Ranking of the second day:
1. Danilo Petrucci 2:00.095
2. Jorge Lorenzo 2:00.155
3. Hector Barbera 2:00.387
4. Marc Marquez 2:00.843
5. Cal Crutchlow 2:00.899
6. Valentino Rossi 2:01.021
7. Scott Redding 2:01.049
8. Andrea Iannone 2:01.052
9. Casey Stoner 2:01.103
10.Bradley Smith 2:01.107
19. Loris Baz 2:02.611
2. Jorge Lorenzo 2:00.155
3. Hector Barbera 2:00.387
4. Marc Marquez 2:00.843
5. Cal Crutchlow 2:00.899
6. Valentino Rossi 2:01.021
7. Scott Redding 2:01.049
8. Andrea Iannone 2:01.052
9. Casey Stoner 2:01.103
10.Bradley Smith 2:01.107
19. Loris Baz 2:02.611
Reference time:
Pole position: 1'59.053 (Pedrosa, 2015)
Best lap: 2'00.606 (Lorenzo, 2015)
Best time (Day 1): 2'00.684 (Lorenzo)
Pole position: 1'59.053 (Pedrosa, 2015)
Best lap: 2'00.606 (Lorenzo, 2015)
Best time (Day 1): 2'00.684 (Lorenzo)
