It's done ! The ceasefire was declared in MotoGP near Jerez for a winter break which will last until February next year. Before that, four days of offseason testing took place. Two in Valencia and the last two in Jerez. Deadlines qualified at Yamaha as crucial. Verdict? Viñales is happy and Rossi much less. Yet the two are more or less in agreement. But their level of requirements is very different... Moreover, the Doctor regrets a defection from his ranks...
While Vinales assured that Yamaha was in the process of resolving its problems which date back end of 2016, Valentino Rossi was less enthusiastic: “ we have a lot of work to do if we want to be competitive » thundered Vale, finally eleventh, six tenths behind his teammate in fourth place in the Jerez standings.
To Red, there are positive things. But II think the engines we're testing these days are pretty similar. So it will be easy to make a decision on this subject. We worked and it was a little better. Above all, we improved the pace. But for me we have a lot of work to do if we want to be competitive, especially against Ducati and Honda. But also against Suzuki. So I hope Yamaha continues to work to do better in February ».
He specifies : " we must work in all areas because we are still suffering. These two tests weren't that bad, especially this one. But we must continue to work. It seems like we're improving a little, but it's not enough. We still struggle with grip when accelerating with sliding and spinning. We are improving a little but for me it is not enough. We need more efforts for next year ».
The roadmap for Iwata engineers is therefore drawn up. And since we are talking about roads, there is one who will not continue it with the man from Tavullia: Luca Cadalora : " Cadalora unfortunately said goodbye to us, because after three seasons he decides to stay at home. Honestly, the season is long. It's a real shame because I feel very good with Luca. I think he is with me too. But he makes a family decision. So it's a personal decision. We did everything to keep it. This will remain a very good relationship which will certainly continue ».
MotoGP, Jerez J.2 Test: times
| 1 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 1:37.945 | ||
| 2 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP19 | 1:37.968 | 0.023 | 0.023 |
| 3 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda RC213V | 1:37.970 | 0.025 | 0.002 |
| 4 | 12 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.066 | 0.121 | 0.096 |
| 5 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Honda RC213V | 1:38.105 | 0.160 | 0.039 |
| 6 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.118 | 0.173 | 0.013 |
| 7 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP19 | 1:38.185 | 0.240 | 0.067 |
| 8 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP19 | 1:38.207 | 0.262 | 0.022 |
| 9 | 63 | Francis Bagnaia | Ducati GP18 | 1:38.333 | 0.388 | 0.126 |
| 10 | 42 | alex rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:38.522 | 0.577 | 0.189 |
| 11 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.596 | 0.651 | 0.074 |
| 12 | 20 | fabio quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.761 | 0.816 | 0.165 |
| 13 | 19 | Alvaro Bautstia | Ducati GP19 | 1:38.830 | 0.885 | 0.069 |
| 14 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP18 | 1:38.876 | 0.931 | 0.046 |
| 15 | 36 | Joan mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:38.931 | 0.986 | 0.055 |
| 16 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:39.008 | 1.063 | 0.077 |
| 17 | 44 | Espargaro Pol | KTM RC16 | 1:39.144 | 1.199 | 0.136 |
| 18 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati GP18 | 1:39.744 | 1.799 | 0.600 |
| 19 | 5 | Johann zarco | KTM RC16 | 1:39.864 | 1.919 | 0.120 |
| 20 | 41 | Alex Espargaro | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:40.156 | 2.211 | 0.292 |
| 21 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:40.174 | 2.229 | 0.018 |
| 22 | 50 | Sylvain Guintoli | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:40.498 | 2.553 | 0.324 |
| 23 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM RC16 | 1:40.520 | 2.575 | 0.022 |
| 24 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM RC16 | 1:40.577 | 2.632 | 0.057 |
| 25 | 15 | Matthew Baiocco | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:41.907 | 3.962 | 1.330 |
