The second day of the official MotoGP test ended with a clear domination by Maverick Viñales. The new recruit of the Yamaha MotoGP team dominated the session less than an hour after the opening of the pitlane. Meanwhile, Aprilia and Suzuki unveiled their new aerodynamic fairings and Michelin tested new tires.
What should we remember from this second day in Australia?
Viñales dominates, but Marquez and the Honda are not far away
Maverick Vinales did not focus on a single lap time, but rather looked at his race pace, “Honestly, we did a great job today,” he explained at the end of the day. “We have taken a good step forward. I felt comfortable on the bike and the tires offered a lot of grip. We still have some work to determine which of the chassis we will choose. »
The two riders of the Yamaha MotoGP team have not yet made this choice. Viñales worked on the new chassis today which, in fact, offers better grip. Concerning the fairing, “We are currently using the old one, with which I feel better on this track. Maybe we'll use the old one on some tracks and the new one on others," added Viñales.
Although better time, the Spaniard highlights the consistency of the Hondas, and in particular that of Marquez, “We are better at acceleration, but the Honda is consistent over the entire lap. Marquez is consistent and we need to work more on this. »
Despite its regularity, Marc Marquez still looking for something. Author of 107 laps today, he still suffers from a lack of feeling between the accelerator handle and the rear wheel, “I did two long runs of around 15 laps, with different electronic configurations. We have a lot of information, but we are still missing something. We're here, but I'm not 100% comfortable yet. » Santi Hernandez, his chief mechanic, is unwell and this is perhaps one of the reasons which disturbs the reigning World Champion, “ It's when someone is absent from the team that you assess their importance. »
On Friday, Marquez will work on Michelin tires, “I tried the front tire today and we will try the rear tomorrow, because we didn't have time to do it today. »
His teammate, Dani Pedrosa, fell ill between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. He therefore skipped a good part of the session, “I had no more strength and my stomach was feeling bad. I didn't feel well until 14 p.m. I tackled the track during the afternoon. I completed a few laps without taking the risk of forcing myself, because I didn't feel in good shape. I feel much better than yesterday afternoon and I hope to be in better shape tomorrow. »
Cal Crutchlow, third time this Thursday, in turn demonstrates the potential of the direction taken by Honda at the start of 2017, “The day went well. We didn't look for the best time, but I think it would have been good. We focused on longer runs. Tire wear is good and overall the Honda looks really good. »
Rossi and Lorenzo, slightly behind
Valentino Rossi finished the day in 8th place, sandwiched between the two rookies Jonas Folger and Alex Rins. The Italian set a best time more than eight tenths behind his teammate Viñales, “The morning wasn’t so bad,” explained the Italian. “We tried different tires, but mainly we focused on pace. During the afternoon we did a few longer runs and made some modifications to the bike. It didn't work and I wasn't fast enough. We have obviously gone in the wrong direction. So I'm going to try to understand what happened. I hope we can improve tomorrow. »
In the Ducati clan, Jorge Lorenzo continued its testing program this Thursday at Phillip Island. Author of the 15th time, the Majorcan nevertheless managed to gain almost five tenths on his time on Wednesday. Lorenzo also emphasized that he was delighted to get closer to his rivals, “We have to stay positive. Viñales improved further and we finished far from his best time. We are nevertheless closer to the other drivers compared to Wednesday, but I am still far from some, like Bautista or Dovizioso. Bautista theoretically has a worse bike, but he managed to be faster than me. We need to find where to gain time to get closer to his best time. »
Suzuki and Aprilia join Yamaha in the race for fins
In response to the ban on external fins without protection, manufacturers are gradually starting to test new fairings. After Yamaha at Sepang and its fairing housing the fins, it was the turn of Aprilia and Suzuki to do it this Thursday at Phillip Island (see here).
In the Aprilia clan, Alex Espargaro took charge of testing this new fairing today, “It’s not that bad,” confided Espargaro at the end of the day. “In a wind tunnel in Italy during the winter, it gave good results. The force applied was quite interesting since it didn't cause us to lose at high speed, which is always important. However, on this track it wasn't so good: the bike feels heavier in a few places. This is not the best place to try it, because this circuit is special. We will try it again in Qatar. » For Espargaro, whose Aprilia RS-GP concedes up to 10km/h on the other MotoGPs, it is important not to lose top speed because of the wings.
For its part, Davide Brivio, Team Manager Suzuki, explained, “We tried the new fairing for the first time on track. We only did two runs, because the goal was to get an overview and collect initial data to evaluate its effect. If this is the case, we will have some time before Qatar to develop it further. It's still too early to say whether this fairing is worth it or not. This requires extensive testing and analysis. »
A test for Michelin too
On this route known for its atypical surface, this test allows Michelin to validate some new features. Since Thursday, two new front tires, offering better grip, and three rear tires of different construction, offering better traction as well as increased stability, have been offered. “This day went very well on our side,” explained Piero Taramasso, director of the MotoGP program for Michelin. “The times were very good: Viñales rode in 1'28 and many others rode in 1'29. »
“Regarding the front, the results are similar to the usual tires, there is no evolution. On the other hand, for the rear, the new carcass behaves very well. We will focus on the back tomorrow and do longer runs. The more information we have, the better it will be for us. If the tire structure turns out to be good, we will offer the same in Qatar, Argentina and Texas, with a different compound. »
To Ducati, the front tire seems to be beneficial, “We need to work on mass distribution. Usually at Phillip Island we have to put more weight up front, but it looks like we can lighten up the front with this new tire without losing feel. » confided Andrea Dovizioso's chief mechanic, Alberto Giribuola.
This Thursday, Michelin also tested the new sensor allowing it to know which tire was chosen by each driver when leaving their box. Used by 14 drivers today, this sensor responds to the difficulties for the media and spectators in identifying tire choices. During a test, it is difficult to know since some tires in development are not clearly identifiable.
The principle is simple: the sensor emits a signal to the motorcycle's electronic box. When the motorcycle passes a timing loop placed on the track (between 10 and 15 loops depending on the track), the box transmits the type of tire in addition to the usual information.
Note that at the request of the teams wishing to adjust the electronics for starts, the first 15 minutes of this second session were devoted to starting tests. Rather than wasting time unnecessarily in the box while waiting for a warmer track, the teams made this request to the race management.
| Pos | Pile | Team | Chrono | difference | Tours | |
| 1 | VIÑALES, Maverick | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:28.847 | 21 / 80 | ||
| 2 | MARCHEZ, Marc | Repsol Honda Team | 1:29.309 | 0.462 | 20 / 107 | |
| 3 | CRUTCHLOW, Cal | Honda LCR | 1:29.325 | 0.478 | 28 / 80 | |
| 4 | BAUTISTA, Alvaro | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | 1:29.411 | 0.564 | 42 / 86 | |
| 5 | P | DOVIZIOSO, Andrew | Ducati Team | 1:29.483 | 0.636 | 32 / 55 |
| 6 | P | Espargaro, Aleix | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:29.501 | 0.654 | 18 / 69 |
| 7 | P | Folger, Jonas | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:29.664 | 0.817 | 29 / 65 |
| 8 | P | Rossi, Valentine | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:29.674 | 0.827 | 18 / 70 |
| 9 | P | Rins, Alex | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:29.802 | 0.955 | 68 / 80 |
| 10 | MILLER, Jack | Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1:29.838 | 0.991 | 36 / 83 | |
| 11 | P | ZARCO, Johann | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:29.880 | 1.033 | 84 / 88 |
| 12 | IANNON, Andrew | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:29.947 | 1.100 | 19 / 72 | |
| 13 | ABRAHAM, Karel | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | 1:30.142 | 1.295 | 20 / 73 | |
| 14 | P | PETRUCCI, Danilo | Octo Pramac Racing | 1:30.150 | 1.303 | 64 / 65 |
| 15 | P | LORENZO, Jorge | Ducati Team | 1:30.197 | 1.350 | 32 / 64 |
| 16 | P | PEDROSA, Dani | Repsol Honda Team | 1:30.245 | 1.398 | 38 / 40 |
| 17 | BARBERA, Hector | Royal Esponsorama Racing | 1:30.352 | 1.505 | 18 / 62 | |
| 18 | P | REDDING, Scott | Octo Pramac Racing | 1:30.435 | 1.588 | 83 / 90 |
| 19 | P | ESPARGARÓ, Pol | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:30.645 | 1.798 | 24 / 59 |
| 20 | P | BAZ, Loris | Royal Esponsorama Racing | 1:30.852 | 2.005 | 34 / 53 |
| 21 | P | LOWES, Sam | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:30.895 | 2.048 | 34 / 64 |
| 22 | P | SMITH, Bradley | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:31.704 | 2.857 | 35 / 81 |
