It was under hazy skies and autumnal temperatures that MotoGP began its final round of testing for this year in Jerez. A two-day meeting before the start of a winter break which will last until February, the month at the start of which everyone will meet in Sepang. Last week, it was Valencia who gauged the new trends on the grid with the final domination of Viñales on his Yamaha. What will his first impressions give on a very different Jerez track?
Before launching into the fray, we will note the package of bagnaia whose injured wrist needs to rest. It is replaced by Pirro while on the side ofAvintia, we find Granado on the GP18. So much for the Ducati troops within which we await the officialization of the arrival of Johann zarco as a teammate Tito Rabat... Petrucci is in the ranks and turns while putting his shoulder to the test which is suffering from inflammation.
At Honda, Alex Marquez will continue his learning with an RC213V in HRC colors generally worn by Stefan Bradl, who is absent. This time he shares the box with his older brother. In Valencia, he played with the LCR team. Michelin also brought new tires for 2020.
The peloton initially snorted timidly with the brothers I will espargaro and both riders new KTM riders as debutants in the category on the track. Suzuki followed suit with a Sylvain Guintoli who is in the party alongside Mir andAlex Rins. But it's Marc Márquez who got into the lead from the start by setting the first benchmark in 1'38.595. The eight-time title winner has two 2020 versions and a 2019 opus at his disposal.
At KTM, Pol Espargaro continues to work on the new chassis seen in Valencia. It also has a 2019 version for comparison purposes.
fabio quartararo still hopes to be able to taste the new Yamaha engine, but nothing is yet certain about this in the work plan established for these two days in Jerez. In the meantime, his performance is disrupted by a technical problem which shuts down his engine. The M1 is brought back to the box by a mechanic.
Casa Particular in Viñales takes the best time of this mid-day with authority since he is seven tenths ahead of Quarterly and a second on Marc Marquez et Kidneys. Note that the Spaniard does not use the carbon swingarm with which he rides however Valentino Rossi. The reference to beat is 1'37.187. What will happen this evening?
MotoGP Test Jerez mid-day: times
