After winning the world titles by drivers, constructors and teams last Sunday at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, as well as the last race of the year with Dani Pedrosa, the Honda team returned to Valencia this Tuesday to begin work for the next season.
Marc Marquez started his test around 11 a.m., Dani a little later, and the riders spent the morning adjusting their 2017 bikes according to the weather conditions of the day. In the afternoon, they rode their 2018 prototypes, equipped with a new chassis and engine, and continued their testing program. They haven't tested the new tires Michelin back this Tuesday.
Marc quickly got into the rhythm, finishing the day in third position with a best time of 1'30.501 after completing 70 laps. Dani managed to complete 52 laps with a best time of 1'31.328, 11th overall for the day. Here is a nice slide from Marc:
First test day completed! / First test day done! #MotoGP @MotoGP pic.twitter.com/h8INpXj5dR
- Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) November 14, 2017
To Marc Marquez, “Today we tested our current bike with slight modifications and then the prototype. I can't say much more, because we still need to adjust many things. There's a new chassis, a new engine and a new exhaust, a lot of different elements. It is now important to understand and try to improve tomorrow. Identify the strong and weak points to find a good compromise. »
*That* save from the front looks even more insane 🙈
👏 @marcmarquez93 pic.twitter.com/y9s78DRL1z
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) November 14, 2017
« I was very motivated, but I immediately had a big alarm. So I told myself we were going to be more careful. Afterwards, I felt comfortable on the bike. Everything is different when you are Champion. You approach sessions differently, more calmly, trying to understand things. The main thing is to understand the machine and not to be the fastest. »
According to Dani Pedrosa, who are " We did a few laps on the 2017 bike in the morning to understand the track, which was quite dirty at first, then we focused on the new bike, starting work on the setup. We used our standard tuning, and of course, because the chassis and engine are new, all data needs to be adjusted. We have to work on it a lot, which takes time. We haven't changed too many things, because we have to take it step by step. That's completely normal, and it's also normal that there are some positive aspects right now and some where we need to improve, but overall it was a productive day of testing. »
Results of the first day:
1 VIÑALES, Maverick Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1:30.189 70 / 80
2 ZARCO, Johann Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1:30.389 0.200 0.200 44 / 53
3 MARQUEZ, Marc Repsol Honda Team 1:30.501 0.312 0.112 45 / 70
4 ROSSI, Valentino Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1:30.519 0.330 0.018 49 / 63
5 MILLER, Jack OCTO Pramac Racing 1:30.635 0.446 0.116 54 / 57
6 ESPARGARO, Aleix Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:30.756 0.567 0.121 31 / 51
7 DOVIZIOSO, Andrea Ducati Team 1:30.850 0.661 0.094 28 / 50
8 LORENZO, Jorge Ducati Team 1:31.059 0.870 0.209 34 / 48
9 ESPARGARO, Pol Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:31.166 0.977 0.107 45 / 56
10 CRUTCHLOW, Cal LCR Honda Castrol 1:31.259 1.070 0.093 31 / 55
11 PEDROSA, Dani Repsol Honda Team 1:31.328 1.139 0.069 13 / 52
12 SMITH, Bradley Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:31.415 1.226 0.087 30 / 53
13 RABAT, Tito Reale Avintia Racing 1:31.673 1.484 0.258 51 / 70
14 PETRUCCI, Danilo OCTO Pramac Racing 1:31.721 1.532 0.048 19 / 46
15 REDDING, Scott Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1:32.075 1.886 0.354 61 / 64
16 ABRAHAM, Karel Pull&Bear Aspar Team 1:32.445 2.256 0.370 52 / 66
17 NAKAGAMI, Takaaki LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1:32.723 2.534 0.278 66 / 76
18 MORBIDELLI, Franco EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1:32.762 2.573 0.039 76 / 78
19 TAKAHASHI, Takumi EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1:33.569 3.380 0.807 55 / 55
20 SIMEON, Xavier Reale Avintia Racing 1:34.242 4.053 0.673 36 / 43
Reference times:
Test record: 1'29.401 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in 2016
Lap record: 1'31.171 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in 2016
Best top speed: 335,9 km/h for Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) in 2015
Photo © Repsol Media
