Offseason testing – 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez –

MotoGP 2019 testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

The 2019 MotoGP riders were finally able to enjoy a day of testing in the dry for the last day of testing in Valencia! Yamaha official Maverick Viñales dominated the proceedings again, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez in the aggregate standings. Report and results.

When they’re not riding faster than 300 km / h on motorcycles of 240+ horsepower, Grand Prix World Championship riders are visibly watching series on their couch…

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"Orange is the new Black", Jorge Lorenzo warned this morning in reference to the eponymous series, since the former Ducati rider – not yet contractually authorized to wear his suit in the Repsol colors nor to speak publicly on his new motorcycle – is riding on an entirely black RC213V, as often in the off-season. "Winter is coming", warned the official Suzuki team, paraphrasing the famous Game of Thrones tirade to present the new winter decoration of Alex Rins’ helmet, adorned with snowflakes…

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

In the series "series", one also thinks of course of The Good Doctor – who had managed to place his Yamaha n ° 46 in but must finally be satisfied with the 9th in the combined classification of the two days. A True Blood for Danilo Petrucci, who discovers the "true red" of the official Ducati while vampirizing the lap times: a moment second time of the day, he finally ranks 5th overall.

At the Legends Office or at The Crown for Marc Marquez, who does honor to his new 2018 world champion crown with the third time of the day, which however did not allow him to dislodge Viñales. And of course to Maniac for Andrea Iannone – in a neon yellow jumpsuit as a tribute to the yellow vests ?! – who discovers the limits of his Aprilia by falling twice…

But in order not to be Lost in space, make way for the results of the members of this formidable Family who were able to avoid The Rain and are preparing for Attack on Titan on the handlebars of their prodigious Friend. !

Chronos of the second day of MotoGP 2019 testing in Valencia

  1. Maverick Viñales (official Yamaha) 1’30.757
  2. Andrea Dovizioso (official Ducati) 1’30.890
  3. Marc Marquez (official Honda) 1’30.911
  4. Jack Miller (Ducati Pramac) 1’30.939
  5. Danilo Petrucci (official Ducati) 1’30.959
  6. Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha SRT) 1’30.974
  7. Rins Alex (official Suzuki) 1’31.254
  8. Takaaki Nakagami (Honda LCR) 1’31.304
  9. Valentino Rossi (official Yamaha) 1’31.371
  10. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Gresini) 1’31.400
  11. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Pramac) 1’31.405
  12. Jorge Lorenzo (official Honda) 1’31.584

On the French side, Fabio Quartararo on the Yamaha satellite SRT finished 16th on the second day in 1’32.091 while Johann Zarco on the official KTM finished 20th in 1’32.509. The former Tech3 rider crashed this morning in turn # 1, luckily not serious, and again in the last half hour at turn # 4, immediately imitated by Yamaha development rider Jonas Folger who completely blew up the motorcycle against the wall.

Two falls to be deplored also for Andrea Iannone on Aprilia while his teammate Aleix Espargaro climbs into the top 10. "With the new tires I tried to attack, but everything is new for me and I do not know yet the limits of the bike. It’s normal, it’s a good start ".

Less than an hour and a half from the end, Andrea Dovizioso went on the attack and took the lead with a lap of 1’30.890. The Ducati official was then the only rider to ride under 1’31, before being joined by Franco Morbidelli in 1’30.974, while he discovered the new Yamaha satellite !

With 40 minutes remaining, Marquez responded in turn in 1’30.911 for second place, while Miller moved up to third place in 1’30.939! Jorge Lorenzo then tries a first foray into the top 10, then gets dislodged and has to settle for 12th time.

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

But Maverick Viñales does not intend to stop there: at 33 ‘from the end, the Yamaha rider, already leader yesterday, goes into "attack on all levels" mode and takes the lead in 1’30.757! He continues with the knife between his teeth but without improving, while Marquez and Rossi start the attack again 20 minutes from the end of the session with no more results..

In the last ten minutes, Marquez continued his effort on the handlebars of his numberless RC213V to attempt a final attack, only accompanied on the track by Zarco and Morbidelli. But the world champion must bow and be satisfied with the third time: remember that these are only tests !

Finally, we salute the courage of Tito Rabat, still injured – to the point of walking to his bike using crutches -, who finished 15th in 1’31.940 on the handlebars of his Ducati Avintia while his teammate Karel Abraham finished 21st in 1’32.906.

Statements by the pilots after the two days of testing

Maverick Viñales (official Yamaha), 1st in 1’30.757 : "It was a positive test. We worked a lot to improve the first lap of the race. I am very satisfied because from the first lap I had grip and I was able to attack. There is still work to be done to improve the engine braking and soften the power, so that’s what we’ll do in Jerez. It’s a shame we weren’t able to drive all day as planned. We got to test the engines thoroughly, so we’ll decide after Jerez which one you choose between the two. Like I said, you have to test again to be really sure about which engine to choose, but I think you are on the right track. the riding style and getting a smoother bike will be very important, especially when there is little grip in the race, but an evolution is planned which will help us a lot. These last two days I have focused on the engine and I didn’t touch the set-up. I think we could have improved the set-up for Valencia a lot, but I’m happy to have ga gained several tenths just by working on the engine ".

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

Andrea Dovizioso (official Ducati), 2nd in 1’30.890 : "Today it went better than yesterday because we were able to test a lot of things and we found interesting solutions. These were small details that we now want to try in different conditions and on another circuit to get more precise feedback. These two days in Valencia have been very positive and we will try to confirm in Jerez ".

Marc Marquez (official Honda), 3rd in 1’30.911 : "It was a good day for us, we tried a lot of stuff and we have lots of information. Today we focused on the new bike and the engine settings, but not only. We had plenty. new things to test and understand, which give quite different sensations. This morning I felt very comfortable and I was already fast. Then I calmed down and I kept the pace, because to be honest it ‘was really the day we shouldn’t fall! We tried out different setups spending a lot of time in the garage this morning, then I was able to do some regular runs this afternoon ".

Jack Miller (Ducati Pramac), 4th in 1’30.939 : "I’m really happy, it was two very interesting days of testing. The feeling with the bike is very good. It is clear that there is still work to be done on the settings and some details, but my first feelings are extremely positive ".

Danilo Petrucci (official Ducati), 5th in 1’30.959 : "I’m happy with this second day because we were able to try a lot of things and we were at the top of the classification. I was able to do excellent regular lap times without testing many settings, which means that the 2019 bike has a good base. At the end I miss a quick lap but I’m very happy with the way the team is working, I have more engineers helping me and that makes all the difference ".

Alex Rins (official Suzuki), 7th in 1’31.254 : "My first impression of the new engine is good. I did a lot of laps with the old and the new, so I could compare the differences. Finally I did my fastest lap with the old one. , but we will continue to work. The new engine is very powerful and that is a good sign. The main difference is in the arrival of the horses on the whole curve the power, I really feel it on the new one. that will give Jerez next week. I feel good ".

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

Valentino Rossi (official Yamaha), 9th in 1’31.371 : "We made progress compared to yesterday, but unfortunately less than our competitors. Today was a little more difficult. We tested a new engine with different specifications, but it looked like the one we tested yesterday so they have about the same level of performance. For the moment we are keeping the same material and next week we will check on another circuit, in Jerez, to try to understand better. After that, we will have to wait until the year next. The Jerez test will be important because during the Grand Prix there in May we weren’t very fast (editor’s note). We’ll have to see if we’re stronger now ".

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Gresini), 10th in 1’31.400 : "We did a good job during these tests. Today I tried a new frame and continued the tests on the new engine we used yesterday. The feeling is good, but I want to recheck everything in Jerez which is a different circuit and more revealing. We know the aspects that we have to work on and the arrival of two new riders with a lot of experience helps us to set priorities. It will be a very demanding because these two days have confirmed that the level of the championship promises to be even higher than that which has just ended, if that is possible "…

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Pramac), 11th in 1’31.405 : "It was two very important days. The first contact with Ducati is impressive but I must say that I immediately felt very good with the whole team. We have made great progress and we will continue to improve at Jerez ".

Pol Espargaro (official KTM), 13th in 1’31.628 : "It was a positive test, although I struggled to make a really fast lap at the end. We tried a lot of things, especially on the electronics. The team is satisfied. There is still a lot left. but we’re going to Jerez in a few days. Last year we were pretty good there (, Editor’s note) and we did a test after the race (on Yamaha, Editor’s note). I have good memories there. . The bike has changed a lot since then and we still have some changes to make. It’s good to have more fast riders on the bike like Johann, the test riders and the youngsters from Tech 3. They just need to time and experience ".

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

Joan Mir (official Suzuki), 14th in 1’31.714 : "Overall I’m very happy, I improved with each session and got to try a lot of things, especially electronics. I understand a little better how MotoGP works and how modifications affect the bike. My pace was good and that’s important, but in Jerez I’ll try to do fast laps because here I wasn’t really able to do it ".

Johann Zarco (official KTM), 21st in 1’32.509 : "Today I wanted to improve my lap times but I did not succeed. I really feel the potential of the bike, but we still have to gain speed. It’s a shame to have crashed twice but I am not not injured and it helps to understand things about the bike and what I should maybe change about my way of riding. I’m building this adventure step by step. We work on the sensations entering turns to find a direction. progressed and I felt I could play with the bike. I’m already thinking about the changes I need to make. Until then it was nice to get on this bike which is very different from what I have known so far in MotoGP ".

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

Hafizh Syahrin (KTM Tech3), 23rd in 1’33.008 : "Overall it was a decent test. I didn’t try to set a stopwatch, I was just trying to get my bearings on the bike, get used to it and understand the electronics. Yesterday we drove without changed nothing on the bike, then we started to make changes to the front and rear which turned out to be positive. Today it was quite cold and we took the medium tire. little fall in turn 10, but I had the right pace to understand the bike. We continue to work and I hope that we will have good weather in Jerez (for the tests of November 28, Editor’s note) in order to progress at each session ".

Bradley Smith (Aprilia Gresini), 24th in 1’33.028 : "It was good to do several laps with the new bike and the new team today. The first objective is to familiarize myself with the RS-GP and to find a base of adjustments which will allow me to better assess the technical evolutions that I will have to test when I have more experience. We worked a lot on the electronics and we made some changes to the suspension calibration so that I feel more comfortable. adapted pretty quickly and didn’t have too much trouble finding a good position in the saddle. I can’t wait to hit the track again in Jerez to give the team more information in order to prepare the best bike possible for 2019 ".

Miguel Oliveira (KTM Tech3), 25th in 1’33.798 : "Today we really made progress compared to yesterday and we improved our lap times a lot (1.5 seconds less, editor’s note). We also did more laps to continue working on the bike. started making changes, but since everything is new it takes time for the team to adapt to my remarks. It’s a learning phase for everyone and so far it’s positive ".

To be continued on MNC: stay connected (and read them again) !

2019 MotoGP test combined results in Valencia

Offseason testing - 2019 MotoGP testing in Valencia: Viñales confirms ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez -

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