Photo: motogp.com
The second test day at Sepang saw a lot of changes in the time sheet, with Lorenzo setting the pace of the day, as the entire Movistar Yamaha team including his mate Valentino Rossi had precise goals for the session. Happy with the response of the new bikes yesterday, both Yamaha riders have decided to work on the top speed, and achieving the best speed on used tires. That is, simulating the way the bikes respond in the latter part of a race.
A big surprise came from Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, still on his Desmosedici GP14.3 bike and having to wait some more for the GP15 to be ready to roll. Dovizioso exceeded all expectations as he ended the day in the runner-up position, 52 ms behind Lorenzo and 131 ms ahead of Marc Marquez. It is impossible to know how competitive the GP15 machine will be, but if Gigi Dall’Igna’s claim is true and it will be significantly better than the intermediate development versions, then we’re once more in the “game on” zone with Ducati.
Two-time World Champion Marc Marquez crashed late in the test but was unscathed. He pulled off the day’s third-best lap time, 183 ms slower than Lorenzo, and was followed at just over a tenth by his team mate Dani Pedrosa. In a manner we’ve almost forgotten during the last three years or so, the other factory Ducati posted the 5th best time, with Andrea Iannone at the helm.
In the 11th position we already see an Open class bike, namely Stefan Bradl’s Forward Racing Yamaha. The team’s former top rider Aleix Espargaro rode it to the Open Class title last year, and it looks like the bike is up to similar performance this year. Bradl is no longer a rookie and he seems to get along well with the bike, too.
The frame is the 2104-spec works Yamaha one, and the engine is from 2013. However, the bikes will be upgraded with a 2014-spec power unit, but without the seamless gearbox, and will be of course running Open class software. We might be in for more surprises then.
As for the rest of the field, we can also see Maverick Vinales being much faster than yesterday and ending Day 2 in the 15th position, with Aprilia’s Bautista 17th and Melandri 28th, Hayden and Eugene Laverty 19th and 24th for Aspar, respectively.
It will be interesting to see how the lap times change in the third day of the Sepang test, with most of the winter rust shaken off, refined settings and with the riders re-familiarized with the Malaysian circuit… Stay tuned for more.
Two-time World Champion Marc Marquez crashed late in the test but was unscathed. He pulled off the day’s third-best lap time, 183 ms slower than Lorenzo, and was followed at just over a tenth by his team mate Dani Pedrosa. In a manner we’ve almost forgotten during the last three years or so, the other factory Ducati posted the 5th best time, with Andrea Iannone at the helm.
Rossi taking things easy in 6th, Forward Racing Yamaha still the best Open machine
Rossi apparently was not in a mood for pushing things to the extreme, as his pace put him in the 6th position, more than a quarter of a second from Pol Espargaro’s satellite Yamaha. Crutchlow, who at the end of Day 1 admitted he felt a bit rusty, took his CWM LCR Honda to the 8th position, ahead of Suzuki’s factory rider Aleix Espargaro, who made a solid progress form yesterday’s modest performance.In the 11th position we already see an Open class bike, namely Stefan Bradl’s Forward Racing Yamaha. The team’s former top rider Aleix Espargaro rode it to the Open Class title last year, and it looks like the bike is up to similar performance this year. Bradl is no longer a rookie and he seems to get along well with the bike, too.
The frame is the 2104-spec works Yamaha one, and the engine is from 2013. However, the bikes will be upgraded with a 2014-spec power unit, but without the seamless gearbox, and will be of course running Open class software. We might be in for more surprises then.
As for the rest of the field, we can also see Maverick Vinales being much faster than yesterday and ending Day 2 in the 15th position, with Aprilia’s Bautista 17th and Melandri 28th, Hayden and Eugene Laverty 19th and 24th for Aspar, respectively.
It will be interesting to see how the lap times change in the third day of the Sepang test, with most of the winter rust shaken off, refined settings and with the riders re-familiarized with the Malaysian circuit… Stay tuned for more.
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