MotoGP Riders reflect on Valencia MotoGP Test

Marquez goes top with second last lap of the day

Most top riders do not improve times on day two

Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez followed up his sixth world title win on Sunday by going fastest in Valencia over the two days of testing, almost four-tenths clear of teammate Dani Pedrosa – with a best of 1:30.033.

Honda have been testing their 2018 bike as well as the 2017 and some parts on the bike with which they took the triple crown, and both men put in a combined total of over a hundred laps.

While many others riders will test next week in Jerez, this is the last time Marquez and Pedrosa will ride their MotoGP machines until they test at Sepang in late January.

LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, meanwhile, put in a mammoth 72 laps on Day 2 to go sixth fastest as he also begins work on Honda’s 2018 push for glory.

On the second day, Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was the fastest Yamaha, and the Frenchman put in 65 laps to go third overall – just pushed back down the timesheets in the latter stages by Dani Pedrosa. The 2017 Rookie of the Year has been testing the 2017 M1, and has been positive about the bike – saying he feels more potential with it, a sentiment echoed by Tuesday’s fastest Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) on Day 1.

On Day 2, Viñales was fifth fastest after 66 laps, with teammate Valentino Rossi taking P7 on the timesheets after 62 laps.

Rossi spent Day 2 largely working with a new 2018 engine, and Viñales said Day 1 was more positive but the slightly different track conditions on the second day had helped compare direction for next season. The Movistar Yamaha riders will ride again in a private test at Sepang later this month.

Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Team Director

“Today we worked on further analysing the difference between the chassis and especially the engines. We focused on the development of the bike rather than the time attack and we made decent progress. Though the riders weren‘t able to improve on their time from yesterday and had a different feeling on the bike due to the change in track conditions, we were able to gather some important data. Maverick and Valentino‘s feedback has been very similar, which is positive, as it gives us a clear direction to work in. Over the next week we will combine the data with the riders‘ feedback, so we can prepare further options to try at a private test in Sepang. We hope for at least one day of rain there, so we can make a step in the wet conditions, which was one of the main points for improvement throughout the 2017 season.”

Ducati, meanwhile, saw Andrea Dovizioso get through his testing program by mid-afternoon and hit the pause button until the Borgo Panigale factory head back out on track – ending the day in P15 but satisfied – with teammate Jorge Lorenzo ending the day in P4 and in the top three for some time.

Lorenzo said they got through a good program of work, but more that he understood and was able to practice some changes in his riding style to adapt to the bike – putting in 39 laps with a best of 1:30.534.

Both Lorenzo and Dovizioso will be back on track next week at Jerez de la Frontera for a further two days of testing on 22-23 November before the winter break. Where they will continue to carry out comparisons aimed at defining the details of the Desmosedici GP18, the debut of which is scheduled for the first test of 2018 at Sepang from 28 to 30 January.

Jack Miller (Octo Pramac Racing) impressed once more in eighth on Day 2 despite a crash, putting in 45 laps on his new bike and ending the session just 0.017 ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar).

Iannone, sidelined on the first day with a virus, made 47 laps on Day 2 – and teammate Alex Rins put in 38 laps.

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“To be honest, this test was completely different from what we expected, since we completely missed yesterday due to the riders’ illness. Even today we worked less than what was possible because both Andrea and Alex were still not at 100% and also felt weak. We only tried some of the main items, making choices by priority. We have a new chassis that is supposed to help the riders with the grip, and a new engine that is supposed to improve corner entry. For the amount they were able to test today, the feedback is positive. Although, we have to thoroughly double check and we still need to be prudent. Luckily we have already scheduled a three-day test for next week in Jerez, so we will be able to make up for some of this week´s missed program. The engine is the most urgent thing to analyse because its development and production requires time, but we are taking things step by step, trying different modifications, and then we will put everything together for the test in Sepang at the end of January.”

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was the last man in the top ten after 44 laps, again close to the man ahead and only 0.012 off ninth.

His teammate Scot Redding, settling in on his new machine, did 56 laps and ended the day in P19.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing had another positive day, with Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith lining up in P11 and P12 respectively.

With a host of new parts and new team members, positivity abounded once more – with Espargaro putting in 46 laps and Smith 39. Espargaro worked mainly on grip, saying a big step forward had been found.

Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was the fastest rookie in P16, turning the tables on Day 2 to end up just ahead of fellow rookie Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda).

Michael Bartholemy – MarcVDS Team Principal

“It’s been an extremely positive first MotoGP test for Franco. It’s very easy for MotoGP rookies to be overawed by both the bike and the competition when they make the step up to the premier class, but he is completely unfazed. Instead he has worked closely with his crew, the HRC engineers and the Michelin technicians to understand better both the bike and the tyres and his focus has been on adapting to the demands of MotoGP rather than the lap time. This is the correct way to work as a rookie and he should be satisfied with his premier class debut. Having Takumi Takahashi here standing in for Tom has been a big help for us, as it’s allowed us to bring our new crew members up to speed while working with an experienced rider. I would like to thank HRC for making this possible and Takumi himself for a good job over these two days.”

Morbidelli did 58 laps despite a crash, 25-year-old Nakagami 62.

Xavier Simeon (Reale Avintia Racing), also a rookie and recovering from injury, put in 61 laps to take P20.

Now some teams head for Jerez for more testing, before the next official outing lights up Sepang International Circuit at the start of next season.

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Marc Marquez – P1

“Today we collected a lot of information, and now it will be very important to prepare well for the next time we’ll be on track, which will be the Malaysia test at the end of January. Anyway, today was a good day, very positive. We tried many things and had a good pace, so I’m happy with how it went. We had a few issues to sort out with the new bike, and of course it has some positives and negatives, but that’s completely normal for a test when you put a completely new engine and machine on the track. We also tried a lot of things on our current bike, which worked very well, and we were able to gather a lot of useful data. That said, we’ll need to try everything again at the next test. Valencia is a particular track, a small circuit, and today’s conditions were very good, so we’ll need to re-confirm everything at another circuit.”

Maverick Vinales – P2

“Today we were working on the engines and trying to understand this side very well, so we would know which direction to take and I‘m quite happy. We worked well over these two days. Sure, yesterday I felt more comfortable on the bike. The track conditions changed a little bit, but I‘m satisfied anyway. The team was working well and the good feeling came back, so it‘s nice to end the test like that. In Sepang I will start the private test as I ended the GP there, because I felt quite good in qualifying, so this is a good point of reference. I hope for at least one day of rain in Malaysia, that would be perfect for us, to try the bike and the electronics and it would also be good to try the new engines in the wet.”

Johann Zarco – P3

“It has been a great day of testing for me and I am happy to see how much I have progressed since last year. I had a very good feeling on the bike, and we were competitive with the lap time. In addition, we also worked on the pace, which is the main target in order to prepare for a race. I tested different chassis and gave my feedback to the team. Now we need to analyse everything in detail so that we know which option is the best. We will keep working but altogether, I can say that we have finished this year in a positive way.”

Dani Pedrosa – P4

“Today we started the test by checking the track with my race bike, and then we immediately moved on to the new bike to analyse the setup changes we made yesterday afternoon. We basically tested a different setup with electronics, suspension and geometry, looking to better understand how the new bike behaves. We’re not just considering performance but also trying to understand what the bike does on the tyres and on this track, and discovering what the positive and weak points are. We also tried a new swingarm and a new Michelin rear tyre that has a different compound on one side. So it was a lot of work, with many different things to understand and set up. We made a lot of progress, but of course we’re not there yet with all the settings. All in all it was a very important session, and we collected a lot of info to work with during the break.”

Valentino Rossi – P5

“Today we had some work to do, because we had to test and decide on some different engines. It was a long day, but it was positive. We concentrated on that and also tried some other things, nothing great, but in the end it was not so bad. Like I said, we mainly tested on the engines, so I don‘t know about anything else yet. We‘ll see in Malaysia.”

Jorge Lorenzo – P6

“In these tests we didn’t really try out anything new, but we picked up some very useful information for the development of next year’s bike. Today I felt really good, improving my performance on the bike by changing some things in my riding style, and I set some good times. However we must continue to work to find the tenths that we are still missing at some tracks. We also tried the new Öhlins forks, but we know that the most important new things will only arrive at Sepang for the first test of 2018.”

Jack Miller – P7

“They were two very positive days for me and I’m really happy for the feeling I was able to find right away with the bike. I feel comfortable on the bike and with the whole team. The sensations are very good. I look forward to being in Jerez”.

Cal Crutchlow – P8

“We’re happy with what we’ve worked on today. Yesterday was a bit more of an initial test with the bike and I struggled a little in a few areas with it, but that was just because it was different to what I used to. I was quite fast on my normal bike yesterday and today I was quicker on the newer one so we’re pleased with that and pleased with the way we worked. We did a lot of laps today and a lot of runs, I did two runs on my old bike and the rest on the new prototype bike, so we’ve worked hard and I believe we’ve done a good job for HRC. We’re happy as a team, I think we had a good last race of the year and now we have to look at the positives of working on the new bike and going into next year comfortable and happy.”

Aleix Espargaro’ – P9

“In these tests we did not try many new components, but we primarily tested the changes to the bike’s geometry and weight distribution. These are ideas that we would like to introduce on the 2018 bike and we need to confirm them to figure out which direction to go. I can consider myself satisfied. After a difficult weekend, we showed that we can be fast. Now the Jerez tests will be important. It is a different track where we will continue our work in view of 2018. The bike that arrives in 2018 will not be revolutionised, but the riding and ergonomic characteristics will change, so moving in the right direction is fundamental.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P10

“We took advantage of these two days to try out various details and solutions useful for the preparation of the 2018 bike. We were able to finish the work programme that had been decided on together with our engineers and also to test the new 2018 Öhlins forks. Now we are waiting for the final test of the year at Jerez next week, where we’ll be working to define the last details of the new bike before the winter break.”

Andrea Iannone – P11

“Yesterday I was not in any condition to lap as I felt very sick, which prevented us from working. Today I felt better and we could do some runs. Despite not doing many laps, we have already figured out some things and this is a good starting point for the next test in Jerez. Suzuki has worked hard to deliver the new engine specs and new chassis. We are working step by step with the introduction of one thing after another, and for Sepang we will have a more complete package. In the last month of the Championship we took many steps forward. I’m happy about how the team works and also Suzuki. In the garage we have a good environment and this helps me a lot with the work on the GSX-RR.”

Tito Rabat – P14

“It was another very positive day because we have improved the lap times a little bit, but the most important thing is that we have made a constant pace in mid 1’31. I felt very good on the bike, and I’m very happy with my new team and with the bike. Now it’s time to organize everything a bit and review all the data of this test to continue working next week in Jerez, I can’t wait to get back on my Desmosecidi and keep improving.”

Alex Rins – P15

“Today I felt a little better than yesterday and wanted to take to the track for at least some part of the scheduled work. I still don’t feel 100%, so we only did the most important things. We had a new spec for the engine and a new chassis, and we tested them both, trying to get a feel for them. The objective is to evaluate the single improvements and then put them all together for Sepang. Since the feeling about the new item was positive today, I´m really looking forward to going to Jerez, feeling better, and start working at 100%.”

Danilo Petrucci – P16

“We’ve worked hard on setting up the bike trying to solve the problems of the last weekend and also trying out new components. A job for Ducati that always makes me happy to finish. At Jerez I will have the new bike and I am very curious to try it.”

Franco Morbidelli – P17

“It was a good two days here and today we improved a lot. I was one second faster compared to yesterday, which is a step I wasn’t really expecting, so everything is going pretty good at the moment. Of course I still need to work on my riding style, because this bike is very different to a Moto2. This is the main thing, but then I also need to understand better the electronics, how the balance of the bike changes the feeling and many other things. There is still a lot to learn, so I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike next week in Jerez.”

Taka Nakagami – P18

“We made a small improvement for sure, but we’re still not completely decided on the riding position. We tried a bit further forward on the front side to make some more space because it was a little bit too tight for me before. We also tried some different mapping, but keeping the chassis the same. But the first priority is to do more laps and help me to understand the bike. We’re improving and getting to know each other and the new crew chief Ramon (Aurin) is very experienced and has been giving me a lot of information that helps. The team has been great. We are now planning the next Test in Jerez where we will have two days. For me it’s great, more laps and I can learn more about the bike there, rather than just going straight to Sepang.”

Scott Redding – P19

“These were two interesting days. There is a lot of work to do to adapt the RS-GP to my characteristics, starting with the dimensions. All the information we are gathering will obviously have an impact on the 2018 bike. For now, my goal is to gain familiarity with the bike’s character which is definitely different than what I was used to. Aleix is doing a great job and demonstrating Aprilia’s potential. I am confident because I feel like part of the project. The team gave me a fantastic welcome. I like their work methods and I have tried to give them the best possible feedback. Valencia is not my favourite track and hopping on a new bike after a race weekend is no simple task, so that’s why we worked without trying to do a time attack.”

Xavier Siméon – P21

“I’m very happy because today has been a very good day of testing and I’ve been able to progress much more than I expected. We have worked hard to improve my position on the bike and I’m very happy with the way we have planed the job today. These first two days of testing in MotoGP have been incredible and now I just want to keep improving. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I’m already looking forward to go to Jerez and continue learning more about the bike, the tyres and the premier class.”

Takumi Takahashi – P22

“I was trying to improve today, but the crash yesterday lost me some confidence, so it wasn’t so easy to do the lap time today. We worked on the set-up to make me more comfortable on the bike and I was starting to regain my confidence towards the end of today. Now we go to Jerez for the second test next week. This is my first time in Valencia, but Jerez is a track I raced at earlier this year with the Superbike, so I know it a little better. Of course it will be different on the MotoGP bike, but at least I won’t start from zero like here in Valencia and that will make it easier to focus on making improvements.”