Barely rested from a very eventful Catalan Grand Prix, all MotoGP riders, official and test riders, today have the opportunity to fine-tune their bikes from 10 to 18 hours on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit. Aleix Espargaró, injured, does not participate.
The scheduling of this test quite early in the season means that we are not expecting the new 2020 features, but the session nevertheless remains interesting, if only because the Catalan track offers a more than low level of grip, and that the temperatures should be high there today, i.e. 2 points which significantly influenced the behavior of the Yamaha not so long ago...
On the other hand, the surface, which is still well rubberized on the Monday after the MotoGP race, does not protect us from a new record, especially since Michelin has brought a new rear tire, available in Soft and Medium, supposedly save 1/2 second... each driver has only one of each hardness.
Record: 1'38.680 Jorge Lorenzo 2018
Pole 2018: 1'39.484 Fabio Quartararo
At 10 o'clock, with a track already at 40°, it's Stefan Bradl who took to the track first for Honda, followed a few minutes later by half a dozen riders including Dani Pedrosa for KTM.
Then, in 1'40.276, Maverick Vinales quickly moved to the top of the timesheet ahead of Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller.
The Yamaha rider then continued his effort by crossing the 1'40 mark, just like Alex Rins who recorded a 1'39.618 during his 4th flying lap.
At exactly 11 a.m., while Marc Marquez, which has 3 motorcycles, entered the track, all the drivers had started to ride, with the exception of Valentino Rossi, Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir and Hafizh Syahrin.
The other side of the box is set for a very busy day as well 👀 #OneRiderThreeBikes pic.twitter.com/PqBKjO2tg7
- Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP) June 17, 2019
Just after 11 a.m., it only took 3 laps to Marc Márquez to establish one of the fastest times.
A few minutes later, Jorge Lorenzo experienced a fall at turn 9 with the new carbon-covered chassis, and the session was interrupted. The Majorcan pilot appears bruised and visits the mobile clinic.
Straight back to work for @ lorenzo99 after a tricky Sunday at the #CatalanGP. He and the team are looking to build on the speed shown during the start of the race. pic.twitter.com/NJDn5Utcs6
- Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP) June 17, 2019
On resumption, Joan mir confirmed the good performance of the Suzuki by placing 3rd.
A little afternoon, fabio quartararo entered the track and quickly positioned himself in 11th place.
To 12h20, Franco Morbidelli placed the first Yamaha in the top 3.
Dani Pedrosa is currently by far the slowest rider in the session, but there is talk of many elements to be tested at KTM: the future is on the way...
At Yamaha , we are testing the new, slightly longer jar already seen this weekend… (see cover photo).
The track is now at 50°.
Ranking at 12:30 a.m.:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Photo credit: Teams, Sky Sport MotoGP,
Twitter, etc.
