Valentino Rossi finally finished his first tests of the 2020 MotoGP off-season in ninth place, which puts him nine tenths behind his teammate Viñales at the top of the standings. The equipment was new, as was the organization chart of the nine-time winner's box. A funny concordance but the main thing was a positive feeling withdrawn by the Yamaha official on his experience with the latest opus of the M1. There is still a long way to go, but the right direction would have been taken…
Valentino Rossi leaves Valencia inhabited by a certain optimism that he will be keen to anchor during the next meeting with the track for the same off-season tests. It will be next week, at Jerez. The new M1 seems interesting, notably with an improved top speed. There was a breakdown too, but we'll say that's part of the game in these particular tests...
« It was a positive test, I'm pretty happy because we did a good job » diagnoses the Doctor. “ For us it was very important to try the new bike and it's not so bad. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do, but we have already improved. The cooperation with the team, in which there have been some changes, works quite well. »
« In the end I finished ninth, but I was able to improve my pace with the worn tires, which is very important ", added Red. " We're trying to be faster on the straights with the new bike, but it's already working a little better in that regard. However, there is still a long way to go. But we have taken a good direction, even if the gap from the summit remains very significant »
On the new Michelin tires, he adds: “ in my opinion they are a little better and more consistent than this year's tires ", says the Yamaha factory rider. “ Even the chassis is different, some things are a little better, some things are worse. You definitely feel the difference, because you're usually trying to find more grip, and then you have other problems. »
He finishes : " I mainly rode the old bike on the second day because we had a small problem with the new chassis. The next tests will be very important because Jerez is a track that is similar to many other tracks, while the one in Valencia is very short and therefore somewhat special. We will return there with the 2020 bike. »
MotoGP Valencia Test J2: times
| 1 | 12 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha M1 | 1:29.849 | ||
| 2 | 20 | fabio quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:30.013 | 0.164 | 0.164 |
| 3 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:30.114 | 0.265 | 0.101 |
| 4 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:30.316 | 0.467 | 0.202 |
| 5 | 36 | Joan mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:30.427 | 0.578 | 0.111 |
| 6 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:30.503 | 0.654 | 0.076 |
| 7 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:30.556 | 0.707 | 0.053 |
| 8 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:30.685 | 0.836 | 0.129 |
| 9 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:30.781 | 0.932 | 0.096 |
| 10 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP20 | 1:30.854 | 1.005 | 0.073 |
| 11 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP20 | 1:31.143 | 1.294 | 0.289 |
| 12 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP19 | 1:31.258 | 1.409 | 0.115 |
| 13 | 51 | Michele Pirro | Ducati GP20 | 1:31.424 | 1.575 | 0.166 |
| 14 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | KTM RC16 | 1:31.470 | 1.621 | 0.046 |
| 15 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | KTM RC16 | 1:31.515 | 1.666 | 0.045 |
| 16 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:31.526 | 1.677 | 0.011 |
| 17 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati GP19 | 1:31.597 | 1.748 | 0.071 |
| 18 | 6 | Stefan bradl | Honda RC213V | 1:31.657 | 1.808 | 0.060 |
| 19 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:31.800 | 1.951 | 0.143 |
| 20 | 73 | Alex Marquez | Honda RC213V | 1:32.235 | 2.386 | 0.435 |
| 21 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:32.249 | 2.400 | 0.014 |
| 22 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM RC16 | 1:32.367 | 2.518 | 0.118 |
