#ThaiTest MotoGP Buriram J.2: Mid-day update!

Yes, here, we plunged into the total unknown of a brand new circuit, the first day of these MotoGP tests in Buriram in Thailand seems to have drawn the contours of the following panorama: of Honda as comfortable as fish in water (three motorcycles in the Top 5), Ducati who don't have much to envy (three bikes in the Top 7), Yamaha a little in ambush, whether deliberately as if to John Zarco, or a little less voluntarily for the official drivers, surprising Alex Rins which makes the Suzuki troops blush with pleasure, and a duo Aprilia/KTM in a little more difficulty, the first waiting for their new engine, the second Pol Espargaro.

But above all, as most drivers had anticipated, an extremely short and easy to learn circuit, generating times that we have rarely seen so close together, since no less than 20 drivers appear in the same second (see here) !

This second day will therefore be an opportunity to continue learning the circuit and fine-tuning the machines, and it would be surprising not to observe improvements at the start and/or end of the day, when the high temperatures prevailing in Thailand will not be at their maximum…

#ThaiTest MotoGP Buriram	Chronos
Jonathan Rea 2017 (WSBK SP2)	1'32.957
D.1 tests (mid-day)	1'30.912 Marc Marquez
J.1 tests	1'30.797 Cal Crutchlow
J.2 tests	1'30.127 Dani Pedrosa
J.3 tests

This morning, Marc Marquez celebrates its 25th birthday with a big gift…

At the opening of the session, Tito Rabat, Aleix Espargaro, Karel Abraham et alex rins are the quickest to take to the track.

The Suzuki driver first set a 1'31.598 before focusing on the new aerodynamic development brought by the Hamamatsu firm, in biplane or triplane version.

 

Quickly, Andrea Dovizioso et Marc Marquez fell below the 1'31 mark, the Ducati rider in 1'30.855 being less than a tenth of the best time established by Cal Crutchlow here.

But, as the first hour is about to end, Marc Márquez set the new circuit record in 1'30.292.

It is obvious that the two men wanted to take advantage of temperatures that were not yet too high to set a time before focusing on race pace later in the day.

We note that, as is often the case, Valentino Rossi isn't very early and still hasn't hit the trail...

First hour ranking:

The (good) surprise comes fromAlex Rins who, by positioning himself second like yesterday, shows at the start of the 2nd hour that he will have to be reckoned with.

An hour behind his opponents, Valentino Rossi then enters the track.

Danilo Petrucci in turn tries one of the evolutions of the Ducati fairing.

Valentino Rossi quickly positions itself in 7th place, just behind John Zarco. Like yesterday, things seem a little more difficult for Maverick Vinales et Jorge Lorenzo, while conversely Jack Miller, 3rd, continues to impress everyone. Esteve Rabat fall without consequence at turn #6.

At the end of the ranking, Hafizh Syahrin gave up last place to Xavier Simeon.

Michelin and Dorna must continue to experiment with the tire recognition system, since, from time to time, we see on the Live Timing those used by certain drivers (in fact, only Zarco and Rins).
This is how we see Johann zarco, equipped in medium/medium, take the third best time in 1'30.653.

A little after, Andrea Dovizioso comes in second, without us knowing which tires he uses.

Shortly before the end of the second hour, Andrea Iannone fall without gravity at turn #6 while trying the new fairing while Jorge Lorenzo is placed in 5th position, 4 tenths behind Marc Marquez.

alex rins experiences the same mishap as his teammate, but in a right turn...

Second hour ranking:

The third hour begins with a nice progression of Dani Pedrosa who, in 1'30.665, first took fifth position, between Johann zarco et Jorge Lorenzo, then improves and rises above the Tech3 driver. At the same time, same trend for Cal Crutchlow which enters the top 10.

Some pilots talk about the safety commission which took place yesterday, and it appears that they consider entering and exiting the pit lane of the circuit as dangerous. Development work will undoubtedly be required at the circuit before the Grand Prix which will take place in October.

No comments on fins that are not fins…

New Honda aerodynamics in testing…

At noon local time, 6:00 a.m. French time, Danilo Petrucci places his GP 18 in second position, 7 hundredths behind Marc Márquez.

Just before 13:00 p.m., Hafiz Syahrin improves by 4 tenths and is only 2 hundredths behind Tom Luthi. He passes it to the next round.

Third hour ranking:

The heat is at its maximum and, to keep people waiting with only 4 riders on track (Rins, Pedrosa, Rossi, Espargaro), the official MotoGP.com website is broadcasting the video of the start tests, carried out yesterday at the end of the session...

And to pass the time, here is one of the new features of the new Live Timing: the best sectors of each:

T1, Dovizioso
T2 Marquez
T3 Pedrosa
T4 Where Marquez makes the difference!

Just before midday, Dani Pedrosa also lights all sectors in red and sets a new record in 1'30.127, or 6 tenths better than the time of Cal Crutchlow here !

Fourth hour rankings:

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Photo credit: Twitter