MotoGP test in Barcelona: Maverick Viñales pumped up!

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 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 a single copy of each hardness.

Record: 1'38.680 Jorge Lorenzo 2018
Pole 2018: 1'39.484 Fabio Quartararo

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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 drivers 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 with a new chassis. New aerodynamics should also arrive soon…

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.

Marc Márquez has 3 machines, two in Repsol colors, one seemingly made up of a 2018/2019 mix, partially in LCR colors.

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12h30:

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 already tested by Stefan bradl. The session was interrupted. The Majorcan pilot appeared bruised and visited the mobile clinic. His motorcycle landed on a pile of tires.

On resumption, Joan mir confirmed the good performance of the Suzuki by placing 3rd.

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 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 test on the M1 of Valentino Rossi the new, slightly longer pot already seen this weekend…

The Doctor also fitted a rear brake controlled by the left handlebar…

The track is now at 50°.

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15h :Since our last point, the rounds have accumulated but the ranking has barely changed at the top of the table.

With 69 turns, Tito Rabat has so far been the most diligent, in accordance with his working method.

Cal Crutchlow had a “rear tire cooler” fitted to his RC213V.

At Ducati, we pulled out all the stops with a new low-cut fuel tank cover to Danilo Petrucci, a bit in the style of the one Jorge Lorenzo brought back from Japan.

Andrea Dovizioso, he tried a new frame with carbon reinforcements on the rear part of the spars, a process already used in the past to modify the rigidity of the latter.

The Italian driver also has a slightly extended bubble. We are fine-tuning all the details at Ducati…

The track is currently at almost 55° and we expect a few fast laps a little before the end of the session, when the temperature will have dropped somewhat...

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18h00:

It was actually once the track went down to around 48° that the best times of this MotoGP test session were achieved.

It started with Marc Márquez which, a little after 16:00 p.m., rose to the top of the timesheet in 1'39.257. The Honda driver truly impressed, not only with his time, but also with the number of laps completed; no less than 80.

Then, at the very end of the session, Yamaha sounded the charge, first of all with a Maverick Vinales for once author of a good start during the Grand Prix which, in Soft/Soft, took the lead in 1'39.170, in the 94th of its 98 laps. The Catalan driver therefore covered the distance of 4 Grands Prix during the day!

One minute before the track closes, Franco Morbidelli however took the advantage in 1'39.014 but that was without taking into account the determination of number 12, very recovered after yesterday's incident, who crossed the 1'39 mark at the last moment and achieved 1'38.967.

In order to see things a little more clearly, however, we will have to wait for the drivers' debriefing to find out if they achieved their best time with the new Michelin rear tire whose carcass is supposed to save half a second per lap. Offered in soft and medium, each pilot only had one copy at their disposal.

https://twitter.com/mvkoficial12/status/1140675720630460417

While his little comrades worked, back in his box Aleix Espargaró gave his news after suffering a micro-fracture of the femur and an injury to the left tibia. For now, significant ligament damage has been ruled out, allowing Aleix to quickly begin his recovery.

Aleix Espargaró : " I am relieved because the medical examination showed a better situation than we initially expected. Anyway, I'm sorry for missing this test day. My goal is to start recovering as quickly as possible and accelerate my return to the saddle, in accordance with doctors' advice. They told me that in a few days I will be able to cycle again and I am counting the hours.”

The MotoGP riders will now be able to take a few days of rest before returning to Assen at the end of next week.

Ranking at 18:00 a.m.:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Photo credit: Teams, Sky Sport MotoGP, Twitter, etc.