Marquez tops MotoGP Test at Brno on 2015 Prototype Honda | Lorenzo & Rossi ride 2015 Prototype Yamaha
By Trevor Hedge
- Marc Marquez 93 ESP Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1’55.411
- Jorge Lorenzo 99 ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1’55.566
- Dani Pedrosa 26 ESP Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1’56.014
- Aleix Espargaro 41 ESP NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA 1’56.173
- Valentino Rossi 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1’56.446
- Bradley Smith 38 GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1’56.451
- Pol Espargaro 44 ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1’56.502
- Stefan Bradl 6 GER LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1’56.519
- Alvaro Bautista 19 ESP Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA 1’56.806
- Yonny Hernandez 68 COL Pramac Racing DUCATI 1’56.988
- Michele Pirro 51 ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1’57.375
- Karel Abraham 17 CZE Cardion AB Motoracing HONDA 1’57.659
- Scott Redding 45 GBR Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA 1’57.772
- Leon Camier 2 GBR Drive M7 Aspar HONDA 1’58.179
- Hiroshi Aoyama 7 JPN Drive M7 Aspar HONDA 1’58.327
- Alex De Angelis 15 RSM NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA 1’58.759
- Mike Di Meglio 63 FRA Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR-KAWASAKI 1’59.662
- Kenny Noyes 49 USA Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR 2’03.442
Brno MotoGP Records
- Pole position 1m 55.527s (168.3 km/h) Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha, 2013)
- Race lap 1m 56.027s (167.4 km/) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2014)
- Race time 42m 47.800s (166.6 km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2014)
- 2013 Race Winner Marc Marquez (Honda)
- 2014 Race Winner Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
Marc Marquez went under the Brno qualifying lap record by 0.15 of a second during testing yesterday with a 1m55.411, six-tenths better than Sunday’s race fastest lap recorded by Dani Pedrosa.
After initially testing the 2015 prototype in July, HRC had gone away to fettle the machine further after gaining the initial feedback from its riders during that initial test and made some further changes.
Marquez concentrated on his current RC213V during the morning session before switching his focus to the prototype bike where he recorded his fastest lap of the day with a 1m55.411 on the 54th of his 65 laps aboard the new machine.
Marc Marquez – 1st / 1’55.411 / 65 laps – “Today went very well and I am very happy, because we’ve erased the doubts that we had after yesterday’s race. We didn’t understand what had happened. We reached the conclusion that many factors combined yesterday, because today we were fast from the start and had a good pace with the same setup as yesterday. This morning we focused on work with this year’s bike, using some different setups, and I immediately felt very comfortable. Later we tried out the new bike again, which has great potential, and we set a good time with it. The best thing is that the pace we had today was back to that which we had over the entire weekend – except for Sunday.”
Jorge Lorenzo spent his day testing both a 2015 prototype M1 and also a 2015 spec’ M1 engine in the current 2014 frame. Lorenzo spent most of the day at the top of the time sheets before being displaced by Marquez late in the day.
Jorge Lorenzo – 2nd / 1’55.566 / 52 laps – “We tried a few things for the bike for next year and it’s quite good in some aspects, negative in others but in general better. We also tested some factors for this year. The chassis for next year seems a little more stable which is good.”
Dani Pedrosa worked on suspension settings and engine mappings on his 2014 RC213V in preparation for the remainder of the season. However, he also set his best time of 1’56.014 (lap 23 of 38) on the 2015 prototype, and finished 3rd fastest for the day. The next chance Marc and Dani will have to ride the 2015 RC213V will be in Valencia at the end of the year.
Dani Pedrosa – 3rd / 1’56.014 /38 laps – “We used today to try different setups, using the data gathered during the race yesterday here at Brno. Above all we focused on suspensions and on engine mapping, bearing in mind the races we have remaining this season. We also tested next year’s bike, which has a few updates compared to the last time we rode it here in July. After the first test we made a few changes; some worked out positively and others didn’t, but we were able to take a further step forward with its development and the next time we will test it will be at Valencia.”
Aleix Espargaro was testing new electronics settings. He completed 52 laps, setting his best lap time of 1.56.173 to end the day fourth quickest.
Aleix Espargaró – 4th / 1’56.173 / 52 laps – “We arrive from a difficult weekend, so it was important to test some solutions in order to improve my feeling with the front and to work on the electronics settings. I’m satisfied with the work done today especially regarding the electronics. I’m optimistic for Silverstone”.
Valentino Rossi spent a productive day testing various details and was able to ride the 2015 prototype at the end of the day. The Italian was unable to replicate the same lap times as his teammate as the track conditions had dropped form the morning and finished in fifth place 1.035 seconds from the top.
Valentino Rossi – 5th / 1’56.446 / 63 laps – “The first prototype of the new engine is a small step but it is a little bit better. We also tried the prototype of the new bike. We improved some things, brake and entry is not so bad but in acceleration my feeling is that we lose a little bit. So we have something good and something bad. We have to do some more work but it was important to test today. We also tried some small details for the next races but not so important for the rest of the season. Now we have to take the data from myself and Jorge who was very fast in the morning when the conditions were a bit better.”
Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director – “Today was a very important test as we were able to evaluate the prototype 2015 machine for the first time. It’s been a very positive day overall, we have managed to get a lot of useful data from both Jorge and Vale which our engineers will now take back to make the next steps with. The team will now take a short rest and after two very intense back to back races be ready to challenge again at Silverstone in two weeks time.”
Bradley Smith took his Tech3 ‘Factory Option’ machine to sixth quickest after 60 laps where he concentrated on set-up with a full fuel load and new tyres to improve his early-lap race pace for the remainder of the season.
Bradley Smith – 6th / 1’56.541 / 60 laps – “I am really happy with the end results from today’s test as we have identified a few areas where we were struggling as well as undertaking some refinements which will help us at the beginning of the race. We now know what went wrong on Sunday, but we definitely have the pace to fight in the top five. So we mainly focused on this and I rode a lot of laps with full fuel loads. I did a low 56.4 at the end of the day with a full tank and brand new tyres like at the start of the race, which was really constructive. It was more of a case of amending at this test and not trying lots of new things and we have definitely found something with the rear shock setting to help with the full fuel load. Also, I explored a few tyre options and we know the direction to take there now. It was an information gathering day, so it’s onwards to Silverstone where I will use this new knowledge to get closer to the front and give British fans something to cheer about.”
On the other side of the garage, Pol Espargaro analysed his riding style, specifically to improve his corner speed with the Yamaha YZR-M. The reigning Moto2 world champion undertook 61 laps around the undulating Automotodrom Brno. In addition, he tested the new Bridgestone tyre compound with positive outcomes before completing the successful test in 7th with a best time of 1’56.502. This was set towards the end of his testing schedule on the 54th lap and a mere five hundredths of a second from 5th position.
Pol Espargaro – 7th / 1’56.502 / 61 laps – “All in all it was a useful day today as we really looked at my riding style which was the biggest factor I wanted to work on even if this track is not one of my favourites. We tried to improve my line around the circuit, going through every turn but the most important area where I wanted to advance is the corner speed. I am happy with my performance with braking and exiting the bends but during the curves, I need to refine how I ride the corners and make some changes to my style accordingly. After all the Yamaha is strongest in the turns and you have to be smooth. I think I am a bit too aggressive but I am learning a lot and it goes without saying that there is a big change from Moto2. There’s still some work to be done to be smoother but we made progress today focusing on specific parts of the track which I found tricky. I tried the new Bridgestone tyre which was positive with good stability plus great in braking. I can certainly use this to be quicker. Overall, we are prepared for Silverstone and I am sure we can use this information to our advantage for the next round.”
LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl was eighth quickest as the German tried to cure understeer issues which had affected him during the Brno Grand Prix.
Alvaro Bautista worked closely with Showa trying a different version of both the front fork and the rear shock. The improvement is proved by the good times recorded today by Bautista, who therefore will use this items for the next Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Alvaro Bautista – 8th / 1’56″806 / 66 laps) – “Given that we have been struggling since the last few races, today we worked hard together with Showa trying different suspension solutions, regarding both the front fork and the rear shock. We were able to take a step forward, because my feeling is improved both on the front and on the rear: it’s a small step, but still important to find the right direction to take to return to be competitive. Today I made a lot of laps with times lower than what we achieved in the Grand Prix qualifying, which means that the improvement is real, so in the upcoming races we will adopt these solutions. We then tried new Nissin brakes, but I was not happy with that, even if I was really surprised by the performance of the larger, 340mm diameter discs, which we tested again today: they provide excellent stopping power and work well, so we could decide to use them even in other tracks in addition to Motegi”.
The factory Ducati pairing of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow were absent from the test but Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez set the tenth quickest time just ahead of official Ducati Test/Development Rider Michele Pirro.
Karel Abraham was 12th quickest ahead of Scott Redding, who tested a new Nissin brake system, which gave him a better and smoother control when braking into corners, and also tested a new Showa front fork as well as some different suspension settings. The English rookie completed 56 laps.
Scott Redding – 13th / 1’57″772 / 56 laps – “Today we tried a new brake system from Nissin which works pretty well and offers a smoother control on corner entry; I’m not sure if we are going to able to use it already at Silverstone, but for sure we will push in this direction. Then we tried a new Showa front fork and a few suspension settings which felt quite good and that can help us for the upcoming races. Towards the end of the day I was struggling to make the new tyre work, though, so my lap time in the end was not great. Definitely we had something in the pocket because I set my best lap time with an old tyre. At the moment we are struggling a little bit with the cold weather and regarding the lack of edge grip we didn’t find much, but on the traction area we managed to find maybe 10-15% more traction, so I’m happy with that”.
Despite an early crash, Leon Camier ended the test marginally ahead of regular Drive M7 Aspar incumbent Hiroshi Aoyama, half-a-second quicker than he managed during the Brno race weekend. This was welcome progress for Camier who was recently confirmed to stay onboard the Drive M7 Aspar machine for his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. Hayden’s recovery remains on schedule but the American does not want to rush his return and take any risks.
Leon Camier – 14th / 1.58.179 / 36 laps – “It was a busy day, which started off with a crash virtually as soon as I went out. I wasn’t sure what had happened but looking at the telemetry it seems I hit a bump that unsettled the bike and I went down. It was just bad luck and it cost us some time but then I was able to get back out and make some good progress. I managed a 1’58.1, which was faster than I had gone all weekend, and a few more consistent laps in the 1’58s so I am happy. The improvements today have shown us the way forward. We still needed the bike to be a bit less aggressive over the bumps to improve our speed in corner entry but overall I am happy with the job we did. I still have to learn the bike and adapt my style to it but I think we’re doing a great job. Today we have confirmed that I’ll be riding at Silverstone for the DRIVE M7 Aspar Team, which is great news and a dream come true for me to ride in my home Grand Prix with such a great team. I know the circuit well and I really like it so hopefully we can take another big step forward there.”
Hiroshi Aoyama – 15th / 1.58.327 / 41 laps – “Today’s test was a good chance to make some comparisons to the set-up we used in the race yesterday. We were happy with the bike over the weekend but we tried to improve it in terms of the chassis response, on the front and the rear. We tried a lot of things and managed to improve the feeling on the front and the grip on the rear. Overall it has been a positive and satisfying test, we’ve also managed to try some things with the electronics that seem positive.”
Alex De Angelis improved his race pace and tested the Forward chassis with a very positive result. In total he completed 57 laps, setting a promising 1.58.759.
Alex De Angelis – 16th / 1’58.759 / 57 laps – “It was a productive and useful day. Lap after lap the feeling with the bike improves and I can be faster. Today we focused on the race pace and I’m satisfied of the progress we have done. I could ride in 1.59.00 with a tyre that had 23 laps on and this means that we have improved of more than one second. I have a better feeling under braking and I can keep the line. I’m sure that we will arrive in Silverstone more competitive”.
Bridgestone Safety Advisor Loris Capirossi also took to the circuit on three machines: the Honda RCV1000R of Cardion AB Motoracing and both versions of the Forward-Yamaha that NGM Forward Racing are racing this season.
MotoGP reconvenes for the Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Friday 29 August.
