Moto2 Valencia tests J2: Nakagami flies through the second day

Always very comfortable during private winter tests, the Japanese driver of the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia managed to beat Franco Morbidelli in Spain by eight hundredths. The two men were quite clearly ahead of Luca Marini, while the Suter and Mistral made progress on this second day compared to the day before.

It was a little too cold to ride on this Sunday morning, and the track needed time to dry, so testing started around 11am. Remy gardner was the first to set off. A big fan of French teams, the Australian, after racing for Alain Bronec's CIP on Mahindra in 2015, is now part of Team Tech 3. His hair is almost as long as Guy Coulon's.

These two days of testing were organized by Marc VDS Racing, which rented the Ricardo Tormo Circuit and then shared it for a fee with other interested teams. If one of the Marc VDS drivers Franco Morbidelli shone with the second beat, on the other hand the second Alex Marquez preferred to calmly resume its rhythm after the winter by not using a transponder. Takaaki Nakagami achieved the best time in 1'35.239, faster than the official lap record set in 1'35.312 by Tom Luthi (then on Suter) in 2014. During these tests, the engines were those that the teams chose and not the ExternPro blocks that they will have during the World Championship, which led to certain reservations. There was no technical control. Nakagami's session ended with a fall that was not serious for him, but harder for his machine as we can see in the video below.

If the Kalex dominated with Nakagami, Morbidelli et Marini, the Suters evolved well with the fourth time in 1'35.6 of Dominique Aegerter, a little faster than the time of Marcel schrotter the day before on an identical motorcycle. The Mistral 610 Tech 3 was also progressing, Xavi Virgo going from 1'36.2 to 1'35.7.

Tom Luthi, despite a big fall the day before with his Kalex, looked with curiosity at the Suter news from his opponents. He won his last GP on Suter in Valencia in 2014, before switching to Kalex. “ From my experience, if the Suter is perfectly tuned, it is very difficult to beat, explained Lüthi. The Kalex works well in a wider window ».
Although driving without a transponder, the Swiss driver achieved lap times essentially identical to those of Takaaki Nakagami (1'35.2). We will also note, in the same circumstances, the 1'36.5 and 1'36.6 achieved by his teammates Jesko Raffin et Iker Lecuona.

Sandra Cortese had a radiant smile: “ I'm very happy to be back on the bike, although three months after the operation was a long waiting period. My foot is one hundred percent like it was before the operation, but it still doesn't quite do what I ask of it. But I think it will come alone when using it at full charge. I trained at home, but on the bike, which is always something else. It takes a few days, until everything is oiled again ».

Second day results

1- Takaaki Nakagami – Idemitsu Honda Team Asia – Kalex Moto2 – 1’35.239

2- Franco Morbidelli – Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS – Kalex Moto2 – 1’35.327

3- Luca Marini – Forward Team – Kalex Moto2 – 1’35.584

4- Dominique Aegerter – Kiefer Racing – Suter MMX2 – 1’35.645

5- Xavi Virginie – Tech 3 Racing – Tech 3 Mistral 610 – 1’35.753

6- Lorenzo Baldassarri – Forward Team – Kalex Moto2 – 1’35.769

7- Sandro Cortese – Dynavolt Intact GP – Suter MMX2 – 1’35.857

8- Danny Kent – ​​Kiefer Racing – Suter MMX2 – 1’35.968

9- Marcel Schrotter – Dynavolt Intact GP – Suter MMX2 – 1’35.987

10- Jorge Navarro – Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 – Kalex Moto2 – 1’36.271

11- Yonny Hernandez – AGR Team – Kalex Moto2 – 1’36.321

12- Remy Gardner – Tech 3 Racing – Tech 3 Mistral 610 – 1’36.641

13- Khairul Idham Pawi – Idemitsu Honda Team Asia – Kalex Moto2 – 1’36.740

14- Francesco Bagnaia – Sky Racing Team VR46 – Kalex Moto2 – 1’36.833

15- Stefano Manzi – Sky Racing Team VR46 – Kalex Moto2 – 1’37.181

Reference times:

Test record: 1'34.879 by Johann Zarco (Kalex) in 2016

Lap record: 1'35.312 by Tom Lüthi (Suter) in 2014

Results of the first day:

1- Takaaki Nakagami – Idemitsu Honda Team Asia – Kalex Moto2 – 1’35.531

2- Franco Morbidelli – Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS – Kalex Moto2 – 1’35.691

3- Marcel Schrotter – Dynavolt Intact GP – Suter MMX2 – 1’35.935

4- Xavi Virginie – Tech 3 Racing – Tech 3 Mistral 610 – 1’36.230

Reminder: Unofficial chronos of February 9 and 10:

Miguel Oliveira (KTM), 1:35,887

Fabio Quartararo (Kalex), 1:36,057

Marcel Schrötter (Suter), 1:36,260

The fall of Nakagami filmed by Ian Wheeler